The Influencing Factors of Noise Control

Successful acoustic management can only be achieved when all of the specific factors are taken into consideration.

Andy Milkins, General Manager at Acoustica – part of the Elta Group, has taken time out of his busy schedule to discusses the influencing factors of Noise Control.

Influential factors

In reality, the acoustic needs of specific commercial buildings go a lot further than the guidelines suggested by the British Council for Offices; meaning that every application needs to be looked at separately.

The practical measures for an office, bank, shop, court room or distribution centre, for example, are all very different and must be managed by varying acoustic attenuation methods if the exacting demands are to be achieved.

Additional considerations need to be added into the mix when residential and commercial co-exist in the same structure, such as apartments sitting above retail facilities.

All things taken into account

Effective acoustic management can only be achieved when all of the specific considerations are taken into account, which include:

• Sound Insulation; the passage of sound between buildings, from street to a room, from room to room or between floors.
• Reverberation; a re-echoed sound that is persistent after its source has stopped, which is caused by reflection of the sound within a closed space. Reverberation can be controlled with the specification of suitable wall, floor and ceiling finishes. It is crucial that the reverberation of sound is controlled in spaces where speech intelligibility is important, such as in meeting rooms.
• Ambience; correct specification of materials can significantly affect the acoustic performance of the space and the ambience that is created. This is particularly the case in large open spaces such as car show-rooms, in areas with large hard surfaces and in stores where the quality of music and/or PA system is important.
• External noise intrusion; any external noise in your surroundings created by people and the nearby environment.

Find out more about selecting the correct attenuating solutions in our next blog…