Open spaces have been known as the trending layout for homes and offices for the past few decades. They allow the light to come in and provide ample space for gathering. However, they are not all upsides. Those with open spaces can easily create an atmosphere for sound waves to reverberate and reflect. It means that you have to deal with noise and echoes, which can distract you from your conversations.
Acoustic wall panels are a go-to solution for all these interior sound issues. They absorb the sound waves, thereby creating a pleasant atmosphere around the room. If you’re unaware of acoustic wall panels, then it’s time to get yourself familiarized with the famous acoustic products available today in the market.
Before understanding how acoustic panels can help regulate the noise, let’s talk about how sound issues arise within a room.
The trouble with Excess Room Noise
When the sound waves bounce around the room, we end up with reverberations and echo. Such noisy nuisances occur due to sound waves that bounce off hard on smooth surfaces and traverse the open space in between. As a result, an audible jumble of sound is created as reflections mix with other sound waves. Such noise issues are often faced in larger rooms where the sound effect is amplified thus, requiring a sound mitigation measure.
How Acoustic Wall Panels Regulate Noise?
To prevent sound waves from creating echo, it is important to absorb some sound waves by scattering or diffusing them. In cases when the sound waves reflect on hard or reflective materials like hardwood floors, walls, etc., many times sound bounces back into the room.
Replacing or covering the reflective surface with an acoustic wall covering will help in trapping sound waves before they re-enter the room and lead to sound issues. Although you wouldn’t want to completely cover the wall as you will end up with a dead-sounding room, finding a balance of soft and hard surfaces will help in creating a natural-sounding room that is suitable for any type of event.
Scattering Sound Waves
What leads to unwanted noise is greatly dependent on the ability of the sound waves that reflect directly at the source. Most often, reverberations are allowed to happen. On the other hand, if the room is large, you will also feel echoes. Moreover, the amount of echo will also increase with the increase in the size of a room.
The best way to combat the sound waves is to scatter or diffuse them. It can be done by creating curved surfaces or flat surfaces at varying depths. It helps in directing the sound wave reflections within the room and lowering the negative effects of the sound reflections. Diffusers are also of great help, though using them with materials that absorb the waves will cancel out the acoustic treatment plan you have used.
Absorbing Sound Waves
The main way to absorb the sound waves is by using soft and absorptive materials. It is mainly easy in a smaller space like a carpeted living room which is decorated with sound-absorbing furnishings. The smaller space will lessen the reflection, and the soft or porous surfaces in the wall-to-wall carpeting and couches also contribute to absorbing unwanted sound waves.
But, let’s say you occupy a larger room like a gymnasium. What would you do to absorb the sound? Well, a larger room filled with fans, people’s voices, music, etc., requires a great acoustic absorption plan. In such a situation, in the absence of acoustic performance, sound waves will continue to amplify. Thus, you will get the best results only by adopting acoustic absorption properties which are made to combat unwanted noise like echo and reverberation.
Final Thoughts
Finding ourselves in a room that sounds bad is an unmistakable feeling. We are not able to hear conversations, might even lose our voices in the crowd and feel awful. Therefore, deciding to give a room a great acoustic wall panel ensures that the guest never has to experience anything like that again.
For any room type, Unidus have got the right material and products for you to treat your space with the best sound quality. Call us today to know more.