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Why acoustical performance is important...
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Acoustics play an important role in a building’s overall comfort. fiber glass insulation helps reduce disturbing outside noise, and when added to interior walls and ceilings limits room-to-room noise.
Sound Acoustical Performance
Innovative Solutions for
Fire Performance
is important...
Why Acoustical Performance
Did you know...
Adding insulation to wall or ceiling assemblies can boost the acoustical rating of the system by up to 35%.
Understanding your goals up front is key to building the right solution. For instance, solutions for managing in-room acoustics could vary drastically from managing room-to-room noise. Insulation can help achieve goals for both instances.
Why Insulation Matters
While insulation plays a major role in managing sound in an assembly, it can’t stand alone. Individual products do not have acoustical ratings, but instead are rated together as an entire system. Don’t be fooled by misleading claims, and be sure to take into account all components to ensure acoustically comfortable spaces.
It’s not uncommon for productivity to drop as much as 66 percent when an employee can overhear nearby conversations while trying to read or write.
Improved ability for employees to focus
Workplace
Increased productivity balanced with collaboration
Reduces stress and improves workplace happiness
With the increasing popularity of open-concept spaces bedrooms have become a shelter from the hustle and bustle of your active home. The bedroom is where you start and end each day, where you go to relax, unwind and recharge so creating a comfortable bedroom environment contributes to a good night's rest and your overall quality of life.
Reduces room-to-room noise
Residential
Reduces exterior noise
Even addresses challenges for popular open concept layouts
Studies show that noise is a top complaint among hotel guests. Ironically, guests complain about noise to hotel management in only about half of all cases. This leaves hotel management with unhappy guests and without the information they need to recognize the severity of the problem and address it properly.
Increased privacy and comfort for guests
Hospitality
Allows hotel brands to stand apart from the competition & increase occupancy
Create more tranquil and restful environments
In classrooms, if students can’t hear they can’t learn. A 20 dB increase in classroom noise has been shown to delay a student’s reading level by up to eight months.
Proper acoustic design results in enhanced student auditory perception
Education
Greater speech comprehension, leading to improved language development
Fewer distractions, resulting in enhanced concentration
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When ambient noise in a hospital reaches 65 decibels (dB), the risk of a patient suffering a heart attack increases. This is especially concerning as noise levels in some hospitals have been measured as high as 95 dB —roughly equivalent to the sound of a subway train at 200 feet.
Reduction of patient stress
Healthcare
Improved doctor-patient communication and confidentiality
Improved quality of sleep
Home
Once sound becomes disruptive, it is classified as noise. This noise carries with it a variety of harmful effects—many of which we may not even realize. This is where the role of acoustics comes into play in creating spaces where we can optimize how people learn, work and heal—and the effects are considerable.
The Role of Acoustics
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about acoustics
Learn the facts...
Noise Conrol
Three Steps to Noise Control
3. Design the solution
2. Measure the noise
1. Locate the source
ASTM Test Methods
Four ASTM Test Methods for Acousitcal Performance
Ceiling Attenuation Class (CAC) measures airborne sounds between rooms with common air plenums. The higher the CAC rating, the better.
Wood Joist Floor-Ceiling Assemblies
Floor 5 – IIC 49
Floor 4 – IIC 46
Floor 3 – IIC 37
Floor 2 – IIC 30
Floor 1 – IIC 28
Standard construction Standard construction adding 6-1/4" fiber glass cavity insulation and air seal Standard construction with drywall mounted to resilient channel, no cavity insulation Same as Floor 3 construction adding 6-1/4" fiber glass cavity insulation Standard construction with a 6-1/4" fiber glass insulated wire suspended drywall ceiling
Standard construction Standard construction adding cavity insulation and air seal Standard construction adding cavity insulation, mounting drywall to resilient channel and air seal
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Controlling sound through building assemblies...
Impact Insulation Class (IIC) measures floor-to-ceiling impact sound transmission. The higher the IIC rating, the better.
How STC changes affect apparent loudness...
Wood Stud Partition Walls
Wood 3 – STC 46
Wood 2 – STC 39
Wood 1 – STC 29
Steel Stud Partition Walls
Steel 3 – STC 50
Steel 2 – STC 50
Steel 1 – STC 38
Standard construction Double layer of drywall, no cavity insulation, air sealed Single layer of drywall, fiber glass insulation in cavity, air sealed (Most cost effective system)
Sound Transmission Class (STC) measures airborne sound transmission. STC ratings are most often used to measure room-to-room acoustics. The higher the STC rating, the better.
Sound Absorption Coefficients of Building Materials and Furnishings
Sound Absorption Coefficients of Building Materials and Furnishings...
Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) measures sound absorption. NRC is most often used to measure in-room acoustics. The higher the NRC, the better.
Primary Sound Paths
2. Structureborne sound travels through solid building materials. Examples: footsteps, door slams, plumbing vibrations, rain impact
1. Airborne sound radiates from a source directly into the air. Examples: highway and industrial noises, voices, music
Fundamental Properties
Three Fundamental properties of sound
Amplitude (loudness) is expressed by its sound pressure level; sounds having the same wavelength may have differing loudness
Wavelength: the distance between the start and end of a sound wave cycle
Frequency: the number of cycles per second made by a sound wave, expressed in Hertz (Hz)
The Science of Sound
The key to minimizing unwanted sounds is to use the right products and systems, but it's important first to understand the science behind sound.
The Science
Unwanted sound is classified as noise
Sound waves can travel through any media (air, steel, water, wood, etc.)
Sound is what we hear when pressure variations in the air vibrate our eardrums
Acoustics is the science of sound including its production, transmission and effects
Why acoustical performance is important
Sound is a form of mechanical energy transmitted by vibrating the molecules of the medium the sound is passing through.
What is sound?
Solutions
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apparent volume of airborne sounds in half, improving the STC rating by 14 points.
OPTIMA maximizes acoustical benefits by filling all voids completely. And when compared to no insulation in the midfloor, OPTIMA cuts the
OPTIMA MidFloor Applications
OPTIMA delivers outstanding acoustic control as it forms a custom blanket of insulation that tightly fills all gaps that sound could travel through.
OPTIMA SideWall Applications
Noise Control
Specs
Products
Learn more about OPTIMA
(washing machines, dryers)
Interior
Appliances Home theatres and video games Plumbing sounds and pipes Footsteps on hard flooring
Exterior
Road and air traffic Lawn mowers Barking dogs
Help silence these common acoustical offenders...
NoiseReducer™ CertaPro™ AcoustaTherm™
CertainTeed’s Sustainable Insulation fiber glass batts and rolls including , , and can improve sound reduction in interior walls and floors/ceilings by 5 to 15 decibels, helping to create more comfortable and quiet environments.
Sustainable Insulation
AcoustaTherm
Noise Reducer
CertaPro
Click here to learn more.
By expanding 35-50 times it original volume, CertaSpray efficiently seals all voids and cracks which blocks air and sound from travelling through the wall.
CertaSpray Spray Foam Insulation
Learn more about AcoustaBoard »
This rigid fiber glass board is used for applications requiring an exposed black-faced, sound-absorbing insulation. AcoustaBoard has an abuse-resistant, nonwoven facing that is fully bonded to the insulation; delamination is not an issue. It is widely used to improve acoustics in theaters, sound studios and entertainment facilities—controlling reverberation time, reducing noise levels and eliminating echos—and is ideal for interiors that are meant to be dark. It is lightweight, easy to fabricate and install, and carries a Class A/Class I fire hazard classification of 25/50 for exposed applications.
TM
AcoustaBoard
Learn more about AcoustaBlanket »
This fiber glass blanket has an abuse-resistant surface and is used for applications requiring black sound-absorbing insulation. AcoustaBlanket is flexible for easy fabrication and installation on irregular surfaces. It improves acoustics in theaters, sound studios and entertainment facilities—and is ideal for interiors that are meant to be dark. AcoustaBlanket Black carries a Class A/Class I fire hazard classification of 25/50 for exposed applications.
AcoustaBlanket
HVAC system
ceilings
drywall
CertainTeed understands acoustics, and knows that while insulation is a large contributor to solving challenges around sound mitigation, solutions should be viewed as a system approach which include proper air sealing, , and assemblies. CertainTeed offers this full breadth of interior acoustics solutions, and we know the science behind how to make them all work together to provide your clients the most comfortable environments imaginable.
Other Components
salessupportgroup@certainteed.com
www.certainteed.com/insulation
Professional: 800-233-8990 Consumer: 800-782-8777
CertainTeed Corporation 20 Moores Road Malvern, PA 19355
