Will Acoustic Panels Reduce Echo in Worship Facilities?

Don Strahle

Don Strahle

The need to reduce echo in worship facilities is a very common need.  As such, one of the most common places you will find acoustic panels is in churches and other worship facilities. 

Churches and fellowship halls are usually huge spaces with very large, blank parallel walls and vast angular ceilings.  This is a recipe for a long reverberation time (the time it takes for a sound to fade, like echo). This interferes with the visitors’ ability to understand each other’s speech, which leads to an increase in the overall noise level.

 

How Do Acoustic Panels Help Reduce Echo in Worship Facilities?

Acoustic panels absorb sound, keeping it from bouncing around the room and creating echo. Like a basketball, sound bounces off hard surfaces more than it does with soft surfaces. Imagine bringing that same ball into a room covered wall to wall with fabric wrapped acoustic panels. No matter how hard you throw it, the ball is not going to travel nearly as far as it does on a basketball court.

These sound absorbing panels are available in a wide variety of sizes and colors including the standard Guilford of Maine FR701 fabric, or Anchorage fabric lines.

Acoustical Solutions’ 2″ thick fabric wrapped acoustic panels have a Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) rating of up to 1.30 at 1000 Hertz. This means that they absorb virtually all the sound within that frequency that hits them. These panels are a common acoustic treatment in worship facilities, home theaters, restaurants, conference rooms, and other commercial facilities. Acoustic panels can be easily mounted on a wall or ceiling. They can also be suspended from a ceiling as acoustic ceiling clouds.

church_pewsWhy Are Acoustic Panels Important for Worship Facilities?

Correcting the acoustics of a church has the main benefit of improving the well-being and comfort of its congregation. Acoustic panels are needed when the echo or sound resonance of a space is too high. This is generally caused by the hard-surfaced materials used in the construction of the building.

Echo and reverberation can often give the impression that there is an unpleasant background noise. This is mainly caused by the overall volume in the room. A church with a higher resonance will result in a loss of speech intelligibility. This can lead to listener fatigue and lower concentration for the audience.

Regardless of the space, acoustic panels’ effects are noticeable immediately.

 

 

Examples of Acoustic Panels in Worship Facilities:

These were the exact issues that members of Tuckahoe Presbyterian Church were dealing with in their fellowship hall. The room was intended for banquets, meetings, and other church activities. Frequently, the echo made it too loud to be comfortable for the congregation. The folks at Tuckahoe Presbyterian were thrilled with their AlphaSorb® Cloud Mount Panels and the results of their acoustic wall panels. A dinner was held in the fellowship hall the next evening. The difference in the room was noticeable immediately. In fact, many even said the room looked better with the panels than it did before!

Tips and Reminders for Acoustic Panels:

Acoustic treatment is best implemented in the original design but can also be achieved after the construction of the church is finished. You can do this in steps to meet your budget by starting with treatment that achieves the most results. 

Typically, you would want to start with the rear wall or front balcony area for general sound control. You would then treat the stage area to control sound from the musicians and the choir. Don’t get caught in the trap where you do not do anything because you cannot do it all at once. Whether the room is a sanctuary, fellowship hall, or gymnasium, Acoustical Solutions has the materials to meet your sound absorption needs within your budget.

To learn more about how Acoustical Solutions can solve your noise control problems, use our contact form, call one of our Acoustical Sales Consultants at (800) 782-5742, or visit us on the web at www.acousticalsolutions.com.