Various manufacturers offer a wide variety of acoustic wall panels to their clients. These panels are mostly used to sort out various acoustic problems from the meeting room, office, studio, or house. Firstly it is important to understand what an acoustic panel is. Simply an acoustic panel is said to be a sound-absorbing panel that is used to reduce the reverberation and mitigate the noise and echo in a particular space. When talking about acoustic panels it has been referred to in its broader sense that includes horizontal panels and vertical panels too.

When to use an acoustic panel?

As it has been discussed earlier that acoustic panels are of two types namely horizontal and vertical. Generally, vertical acoustic panels are used to mitigate sound that transfers in space and help in preventing the sound which travels from one end to the other end of the room. Up to an acceptable level, these acoustic wall panels help in lowering down the background noise. It has been seen that in many of the modern office spaces the recommended level of noise should range between 45 to 55 DB but in actual these noise level changes from 60 to 80 DB.

If it is desired to reduce the noise level up to the desired level then some vertical solution must be included. Alternatively, it is also possible to go for some sound-absorbing wallpaper that also helps in bringing a new life to the dull walls. But to completely remove the background noise it is advisable to go for vertical panels as they go a long way to reduce sound transfer. 

Like vertical panels, horizontal acoustic panels also help a lot to improve the direct absorption of sound. These horizontal acoustic panels help in converting sound energy into heat energy through friction and thus prevent the spreading of the noise. The horizontal acoustic panels are best for absorption as they are made up of sound-absorbing materials and also soft acoustic foams are used to make these vertical acoustic wall panels.

Where to apply acoustic wall panels?

In large spaces or bigger rooms sound energy does not travel much and bounces back into the room as sometimes it happens that original sound drops dead. So in such areas, it is advisable to go for horizontal ceiling acoustic panels rather than to go for acoustic wallpapers as it helps to improve the sound of the space. On the other hand for smaller rooms, it is advisable to go for acoustic wall panels as these panels help a lot in observing the sound by reducing the number of waves that are sent back into the room.

Conclusion

This simple guide hopes to have inspired many of the Architects out there to consider acoustic wall panels in their next project. It is always advisable to make these wall panels an integral part of the interior rather than hiding them. There are a lot of acoustic wall panel ideas one can get after browsing through the internet which further helps in giving new life to the walls.