Is de akoestiek slecht in huis?

In deze blog leer ik je alles wat je moet weten over akoestiek in huis!

Als je wilt leren hoe je de akoestiek kan verbeteren in huis, dan is deze blog voor jou!

Check de video!

2 – Hoe creëer je een gezonde akoestische omgeving :

Nagalm word gemeten in tijd en niet in decibel

Thomas zegt:

Wat we zeggen is, om nagalm te stoppen moeten er absorberende materialen in de ruimte hangen.

Dit is meestal aan het plafond of aan de muur.

But on top of that, the Akupanel will also dampen sound in another way. The slats (or lamellas) that are fastened to the acoustic felt is also dampening the sound by breaking up the sound waves.

Technically that is what’s called diffusion.

The panels split up the sound waves when they hit an uneven surface (due to the lamellas) and as a result of that, the sound waves will lose energy, since they are broken into smaller sound waves.

This helps dampen the sound even more.

But as I said earlier it is all about controlling the reflections in the room and you do so by installing a sound dampening material on the surfaces. But where’s the best place to install them panels in order to get the maximum effect out of the panels?

That’s what the next part is all about.

3 – Where should you mount your acoustical panels in order to achieve maximum sound dampening effect?

This is one of the questions that we are being asked times and times again.

And with good reason.

The short answer is that you should place the acoustical panels on the surfaces that the sound will hit quickly. Usually that would be on the ceiling or on a large wall in the room, since this typically will be a surface that the sound will hit fast.

So now you will have to use your imagination.

You have to try – using common sense – to figure out where the sound typically originates in the room, and what surfaces the sound most likely will hit first.

Because it will be on these surfaces that you would place the various sound dampening materials, that will absorb the sound, so that it will be stopped and as a result of that would stop reflecting back into the room.

Most people are able to figure for themselves where the sound originates from and what surfaces the sound hits first.

Let’s take this for an example: 

If you have a problem with reverberation whenever someone is talking in your living room, then the sound would most likely originate in the height of the head since this is where the mouth (the sound source) would be.

When the sound originates in the height of the head, then the sound would also hit the walls in the height of the head. And this would then be the most optimal height for the panels to be placed.

And another thing that you would have to consider is that sound is waves, which means that it will spread in all directions. That’s why it is a good idea to distribute the panels evenly in the room.

Again – the ceiling would almost always be a good choice, since it would be a surface that the sound would hit very fast.

So spread out the panels in the room and preferably on several surfaces.

A lot of people have asked whether it’s best to install it on the ceiling or on the walls.

So let’s have a look at that next.

4 – Would it be best to place the acoustical panels on the ceiling or on the walls?

I have good news for you.

According to Thomas the sound doesn’t care if you place your sound dampening materials on the walls or on the ceilings. The most important thing is, as previously described, that you place it on surfaces that the sound would quickly hit.

So the short answer is, that you can decide for yourself where you want to place the panels.

Personally I would always go for some place where I think that fits best into the decor in the room. After all it is a product that is made to add a modern look to the room.

So that would be my recommendation.

Because if you bear in mind the things we talked about earlier regarding the most optimal placement of the panels, then it simply can’t go all wrong. The reason being that the most important factor when it comes to dampening sound is not where you place it, but how much sound dampening material that you use.

So let’ have a look at how to figure out how many panels you need in order to create good acoustics in a room.

6 – Do I have to use mineral wool behind the panels or would it not be necessary?

In general all building materials have a sound classification.

The scale goes from A-F where a Class A represents the best possible rating.

A-B-C-D-E-F

We’ve tested the Akupanels in several tests and in different set ups.

The reason that we have done several different tests is that there are several different ways to mount the acoustical panels. And the sound class of the panels varies depending on how you mount them.

There are two ways to install the panels and the way you mount the panels affects the sound class.

• Mounting the panels directly on the wall without mineral wool makes the panels obtain sound class D.
• Mounting the panels on battens on the wall with mineral wool behind the panels makes the panel obtain sound class A.

(When using battens we recommend a 45 mm. which you drive into the wall first. Then you insert mineral wool (RockWool og Isover) behind the panels, and then lastly – you mount the panels on the battens so that you cover the mineral wool).

Now – I guess you might be thinking:

Why would anyone choose to install the panels directly on the wall if you don’t get a Class A effect?

Well, that’s because the acoustic wall – if you follow our installment guide – will take up 6,7 cm of space from the wall and into the room, which can be too much for some.

That’s why we also tested the sound dampening effects of installing the panels directly on the wall (without mineral wool).

And luckily we found out that it was – Sound Class D.

On a scale of A-F, sound class D is an average class. And that is actually pretty good when it comes to dampening sound.

The primary difference between the set up with mineral wool, and the set up without mineral wool is, that the Class D set up is not as effective when it comes to pitches in low frequencies as the sound class A set up.

That specifically means that the class D setup will not be as effective in terms of absorbing bass and deep male voices.

However – when it comes to pitches at high frequencies – women voices, children voices, glass that breaks and etc. – the two set ups are more or less equally effective.

And the advantage being of course that the Class D set up will only take up 2,2 cm of space from the wall and into the room instead of the 6,7 cm that the Class A setup will.

CONCLUSION:

We’ve been through quite a lot – I hope it all makes sense. I think it would be convenient just summarize the key points here:

1. Reverberation is sound waves that reflect on surfaces in a room. In order to improve the acoustics in the room you need to control the reflections of the room.
2. The way you control the reflections in the room is by installing a sound dampening material on the surfaces in the room. It is ideal to use our Akupanels for this purpose since it absorbs the sound and breaks up the sound waves.
3. In order to improve the acoustics in a room, you should place the acoustical panels on the surfaces that the sound waves quickly hit. This would usually be the wall and the ceiling. Use common sense in order to find out where to place the panels.
4. The sound doesn’t care if you place the panels on the walls or on the ceilings as long as it’s somewhere that the sound hits fast. Place it where it makes sense in terms of your style and the general decor in the room.
5. In order to achieve great acoustics you would need the amount of panels that equals approximately 25 % of the floor space in the room.
6. If acoustics is a big problem in the room you should install the panels with mineral wool behind your panels. If you don’t have problems with acoustics then you should install the panels directly on the wall since it would take up less space in the room.

Ok – that’s just about it.