11 Noise Pollution Solutions for Optimal Acoustics

Unfortunately, we tend to get used to noise and just “deal with it.” Whenever we are around things that aren’t optimal but aren’t overtly a hindrance, our go-to method of dealing with it is to just get used to it — most of the time we do this without thinking about it. Whether it’s a squeaky door or janky ceiling fan, it may not seem that much of a big deal to fix, but what if the issues were fixed? What if the impact was significantly positive?

A recent customer called asking about noise pollution in their new office building. They loved the final result and had spent a considerable amount of time and money renovating it to be a marvelous open floor plan with many windows for natural light.

Once construction noises left and the office opened up, they quickly realized that for all of their hard work, there was pervasive noise pollution emanating from the hvac equipment previously hidden by the drop ceiling, as well as from traffic coming through the many new windows. It was more than an annoyance — it was causing inefficiency within their workforce. We analyzed the situation and were able to come up with some highly effective sound blocking techniques to shield the office from outdoor noise and to replace the drop ceiling with one that blocks the HVAC equipment noise but fits in perfectly well with the intended aesthetic.

No matter the situation and the types of noise pollution, we can find a solution to improve your acoustics. In this article, we’ll look at my favorite noise pollution solutions and how they can increase well-being and efficiency.

In the commercial space, there is more and stronger equipment to coincide with larger square footage. There are more windows, more doors, larger HVAC systems, more computers, and more people talking. All of these things may not be considered noise pollution when isolated, but boy can they add up quickly to an annoying cacophony.

Noise polluters include:

As you can see, many of these noise polluters are simply out of your control, while the rest are critical to your commercial activity. We can’t stop them, so our solution is to reduce the sounds they make to negligible or even completely in many circumstances. The way we achieve this is utilizing acoustical materials and strategies to block unwanted sounds and “tune” the sounds we want to sound better.

Sound control, also known as sound absorption, is how we tune sounds to make them sound better. If you’ve ever been in an open floor plan space with lots of activity and poor sound control, it will sound like a muddy mess and may even remind you of a cave.

By utilizing a variety of sound control products, we can effectively tone down or even completely remove echo and reverb and leave a clean acoustic space for sounds to sound as they should. This is especially important in busy commercial spaces with lots of people and voices to make sure instead of a cacophony we create a symphony.

So far we have talked about half of the acoustic coin, sound control. The other half is soundproofing, also known as sound blocking. Often confused, let’s make it simple:

For soundproofing then, we’re concerning ourselves with noise pollution that is coming from outside — whether that is from an open office area into a conference room, or outside noises like traffic and construction from entering the building. Soundproofing is a powerful tool that can make some of the most dramatic impacts to reducing noise pollution, while adding sound control on top will make everything sound perfect.

Let’s look at some of the best ways to soundproof specific spaces:

In addition to utilizing acoustic products and strategies, there are other things you can add that will help the overall goal to reduce noise pollution.

No matter your situation, there are absolutely products and strategies to reduce if not remove noise pollution entirely. As a part of optimizing workflows and efficiency, improving acoustics is a critical aspect. Feel free to give me a call today so we can analyze your unique scenario and develop an action plan to address it with the best in acoustic products and service from our acoustic professionals.