When it comes to installing acoustic panels, whether it is in your home, office or any other place, the most important thing to consider is how high off the floor they should be. Sound is a very sensitive phenomenon and the wrong placement of your panels could render all your efforts useless.
This is why we believe a guide to installing acoustic panels in your space is crucial. You have to know exactly where to place your panels in order to get the most out of your money. And once you have them installed, you will notice a difference in the way you live and work, and it will be glorious.
How High Should Your Acoustic Panels Be?
For a standard room, acoustic panels are usually placed directly in the middle of the wall. Ideally, there should be 24 inches of space both above and below the panel. However, the best way to assess the correct height for acoustic panels is by experimenting with different heights and seeing which height diffuses sound the best.
When it comes to the correct height of acoustic panels, people have struggled with it for as long as acoustic panels have existed. It is true that incorrect placement of an acoustic panel can prevent it from working efficiently. So what is the solution to this?
Well, when deciding the height of your panels, allow your ears to guide you. Each room is built differently. Different rooms have different ceiling sizes, different heights, and different forms of flooring. It is almost impossible to have a rough estimate of exactly how high to go with acoustic panels, unless of course, you experiment.
So, once you get your acoustic panels, you will have to start experimenting. Let’s say you purchase four panels. You will take one and place it in the room that you want to soundproof. Make sure that the other panels are out of the room though, because they will mess with your experiment if they’re not.
Now, you must place the panel at different points in the room and figure out what position leads to the least amount of noise pollution. You can even bring a friend to do this with. Have a loud conversation with the panel in the room and see what works. Once you have determined the optimum place for your acoustic panel, you can bring in the next one and repeat the same experiment. This entire process may sound tedious, but if you make a day of it and really commit to it, you will come out of it knowing the optimum position for your panels.
But again, even though this is a good height, the only way to be absolutely sure is to experiment. So get cracking!
How Should You Place Your Acoustic Panels?
Now that you know the height of your acoustic panels, it is time to familiarize yourself with some basic rules about acoustic panel placement. Make sure that you don’t place them at ground level. Not only will they get dirty, they will also not work as efficiently as you would want. If you place your panels higher, they will have greater room to breathe and absorb sound.
The exact height has already been covered in the previous section. Moreover, all your panels must be in the same area together for them to work efficiently. And finally, at least two parallel walls should be left un-paneled. All of these things, along with the exact height of your panels, will ensure that you get the most out of your money.
Should Acoustic Panels be Installed on the Ceiling?
Some people prefer to install their acoustic panels on the ceilings as opposed to the walls. This is usually a better idea with foam panels because they are lighter and will not wear your ceiling down. Normal acoustic panels would be better suited for the wall.
With foam acoustic panels, you can install them into the ceiling yourself for improving the acoustics in your room. First, of course, you will have to figure out the placement, which again, is the most important thing. Next, you will go about the installation process. You can either take out a bracket from the wall and fit a panel inside. Or you can place it on top of your ceiling. Either way, make sure it is fastened correctly; otherwise, unfortunate accidents might occur. And we definitely do not want that.
After this, you’re pretty much done. Just ensure that each panel is firmly secured next to another one and that there is an equal distance between each panel.
How To Hang Acoustic Panels Without Wall Damage
Acoustic panels generally do not weigh enough to damage your walls significantly, especially if you choose from our list of top-rated acoustic panels. However, if not installed correctly, there is a chance that the panels might fall off the wall, and cause damage to people and objects in your room.
To ensure that this doesn’t happen, invest in wall fittings. This means that you should install your panels in a hole in the wall, as opposed to installing them on the wall itself. This is more work, however, it will save you time and money in the long run. This is because it will make it less likely for your panels to fall over.
There may also be the danger of chipping off the wall paint during installation. This can happen if your walls are already old or worn out. Any manipulation to it will then lead to unfortunate consequences. We recommend donning a fresh coat of paint on your walls after you install the panels. This will give the room a nice finish, and it will also take care of any slight damage that the panels may have caused it during installation.
Finally, to avoid the risk of damage at all, we suggest you hire a team of professionals to install your acoustic panels for you. Of course, you can easily undertake this task yourself. But getting outside help may just reduce the risk of wall damage. Once the panels are installed, you can go over the finish one last time to see if there are any marks or dents that need to be catered to.
Height of Acoustic Panels In a Home Theater
Home theaters are all the rage these days, and for a good reason. They provide an incredible viewing experience that is impossible to achieve in your living room. A lot of this has to do with acoustic panels and where they are placed.
A home theater is essentially supposed to be one long tunnel from the screen to the people who are watching it. The goal then, is to diffuse the sound evenly for maximum efficiency, as opposed to simply canceling unwanted sound. For this, your panels will have to be placed flat in the center of your ceiling. The ways in which you can install ceiling panels are covered in the sections above.
Conclusion
Now that you have all the information you need about acoustic panel placement, it is time to purchase your panels, install them, and marvel at the difference they create in how you perceive sound. Hopefully, we have shown you how easy and straightforward this entire process can be. So go out there and get to work!