Acoustic Ceiling clouds are just like acoustic wall panels because they&#;re made from the same materials, but they&#;re mounted in different ways. Ceiling clouds are hung down from the ceiling using airline wire, while wall panels are hung with either impaling clips or z-clips.
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Ceiling clouds are typically used where wall panels cannot be used, or they&#;re used in addition to wall panels in especially echo-y spaces. They help more with echo absorption since both sides of the panel are available to absorb sound. Ceiling clouds are also popular in areas where wall panels would otherwise get dirty, which is a common occurrence in restaurants.
This also keeps them out of view from anyone, such as an owner, who may not want any acoustic treatment to actually be visible. For example, if someone has an exposed black metal ceiling, they usually opt for black ceiling clouds to keep people from noticing them. However, if an owner does want to ceiling clouds to be noticed, they can select and accent color form our wide range of acoustically transparent fabric colors.
Similar to acoustic ceiling clouds, direct attach ceiling mounted panels are used when there&#;s not enough wall space available for sufficient sound absorption. Unlike clouds, there&#;s no air gap between the dire-attach panel and the ceiling, so while still very effective, they don&#;t absorb as much sound as the clouds.
Cloud ceiling panels and direct attached ceiling panels both use a different form of Rotofast anchors to hang. In both cases, the Rotofast anchor is screwed directly into the exposed fiberglass on the back of the panel. For ceiling clouds, the anchor protrudes and has a eyelet on the end, and a cable is used to connect the anchor to and eye lag bolt that is drilled into the ceiling.
For direct attached ceiling panels, the anchor is screwed into the back of the panel until it sits flush with the fiberglass. It is then snapped onto the corresponding hardware that has been properly placed on the ceiling, allowing for the panel to directly attach to the ceiling without an air gap.
While ceiling clouds are the most common acoustic ceiling panel option on the market, there are other options including (but not limited to):
Puck mounted panels are another form of direct attach ceiling panels, however they&#;re mounted with a washer and screw directly through the face of the panel. These are a more cost effective alternative to other ceiling panels since they&#;re typically made with a less dense fiberglass core and wrapped in PVC rather than fabric. These ceiling panels are ideal for use in gyms, cafeterias, or any other area they could still experience some high abuse while hung up high. Mounting them through the face makes the hanging method more secure, and PVC wrapping allows for easy cleaning.
Ceiling baffles, like clouds, hang down from the ceiling, but they hang perpendicular to the floor. These are most commonly used in gymnasiums, office lobbies, and any other high ceiling spaces requiring echo absorption while keeping the aesthetics of the space. Baffles can be made using a fiberglass core if significant echo reduction is needed, otherwise they&#;re commonly made of dyed, recycled polyester, which still absorbs sound, but looks much better visually.
No matter if you need sound absorbing panels on your ceiling, walls or both, when a space has too much echo, this is when you should install acoustic panels. While people mostly install panels in churches, restaurants, clubhouses, offices, schools and more, they can be used in your home.
When using acoustic panels in a house, most people will need them if they have an in home recording studio, or if there is simply too much echo in their home. Most of the time, echo in a house can be fixed with plush furniture, area rugs and heavy curtains, but if the room is especially large with hard surfaces (drywall, marble floors, etc), acoustic panels will probably be necessary.
In summary, you can use acoustic ceiling clouds in spaces that may not have sufficient wall space for enough acoustic wall panels to significantly reduce the echo. This is common in more industrial style spaces that have corrugated metal ceilings, such as restaurants, modern offices and gymnasiums.
Acoustic panels, acoustic baffles, sound panels, and acoustic boards. The list of names continues. Call it whatever you prefer, just like many manufacturers do. For sake of clarity, we stick to acoustic panels in this guide. Despite the descriptive name, you will find various interpretations, both wide and narrow along with different use cases.
Therefore, in this guide, we will dive into the basics of acoustic panels. More specifically, we will answer the following questions:
To get the most out of this guide, make sure to check one of our other guides, The Basics of Noise Reduction, where we zoom in on the essential terminology of acoustics.
The category of acoustic solutions is growing, and within this segment, you will find a range of different solutions, including acoustic panels. These are not limited to acoustic baffles suspended from the ceiling. To treat acoustic problems in your office, studio, and meeting room, there are plenty of other solutions available&#;some of which we will present to you in this guide.
But, first things first. Let&#;s define what an acoustic panel is.
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An acoustic panel is a sound-absorbing panel used to mitigate background noise and reduce the reverberation and echo in a space. When we talk about an acoustic panel, we refer to it in its broadest sense including vertical and horizontal panels.
With a better understanding of what acoustic panels are, we can now move on to the next question: when to use acoustic panels?
As mentioned earlier, vertical and horizontal panels can be characterized by different features related to their acoustic performance. However, we can specify it even further.
In general, vertical panels help mitigate sound transfers in a space, preventing that sound travels from one end of the room to the other. Vertical panels may also aid in lowering background noise to an acceptable level. For instance, in many modern open-space offices, the noise levels range from 60-80 decibels, while the recommended level is 45-55 decibels.
Therefore, if the goal is to reduce background noise and the reverb time, possible vertical solutions include:
Alternatively, opt for sound-absorbing wallpaper, such as BuzziSkin Printed, to bring dull walls back to life!
In order to remove background noise completely, ideally, you have to build floor-to-ceiling partitions or remove yourself from the noise source. Yet, vertical panels can go a long way to help reduce sound transfers.
Horizontal panels, on the other hand, are primarily used for direct absorption. To stop sound waves from spreading, absorptive panels must be used to convert the sound energy into heat through friction. Made from sound-absorbing materials or soft acoustic foam, all our horizontal panels are performing well in terms of absorption.
Examples of possible solutions for direct absorption include a range of ceiling-suspended panels such as BuzziLand, BuzziDonut, BuzziBlox, and BuzziPleat.
Check out another guide providing more in-depth recommendations for which acoustic solution might be best to solve your acoustic problem. Read it here.
Whether you want to limit sound transfers, reduce background noise and reverb time, it&#;s crucial to determine the location of the acoustic panels to achieve the best performance. Finding the ideal positioning depends on several factors, including
Here, we will primarily share general advice on where to apply acoustic panels. For specific recommendations and simulations, we suggest you get in touch with our acoustic help desk. Generally speaking, we can define a few guidelines for placing acoustic panels. The first step involves asking yourself: What is the size of the space? Are you dealing with a small or big space?
In smaller rooms, for instance, meeting rooms, designated focus areas, and private offices, sound waves will typically first bounce against the walls. Why? These are usually the hard surfaces closest to the sound source. As a consequence, you should be looking into using wall-mounted acoustic panels. These will help absorb the sound, reducing the number of waves that are sent back into the room. Examples include BuzziPod, BuzziSkin, BuzziMood, and BuzziBlox.
In bigger rooms and large spaces, sound waves behave differently. Sound energy propagates in any space, but in larger spaces, less sound energy is bouncing back into the room as the original sound sometimes drops dead before even reaching a hard element.
Yet, often sound waves do hit a hard surface before dropping dead&#;typically the ceiling rather than the walls. In these cases, horizontal ceiling-suspended acoustic panels can help improve the sound of the space considerably. When suspended from the ceiling, horizontal panels absorb undesired sound waves. For improved acoustic performance, install the panels in different suspension heights. The air pockets between the panels will capture sound waves, preventing them from traveling even further in spaces with high ceilings.
Examples of possible ceiling-suspended panels include BuzziZepp, BuzziDonut, BuzziGrid, and BuzziPleat. Some of these acoustic panels also come with an LED option for improved functionality. This way you can turn your acoustic panels into acoustic lighting and combine two features in one.