How Do Sound-Dampening Panels Work?

Being in control of the sound in your space—whether it’s a bedroom, office, classroom, or private area to work from home—can be the catalyst you need to improve your productivity. It also allows you to eliminate noise pollution in and around your home, and help you to simply better enjoy your space.

But if you live in a busy area or have a large family, escaping for some peace and quiet can be tricky. More than that, you deserve a living space that promotes wellness and makes you feel good in your home.

You may think you can’t change your home’s acoustics without an expensive upheaval, but acoustic panels can provide inexpensive and colorful relief, transforming your space into a peaceful oasis. But how do they work, and how many do you really need to reach the relief you’re looking for?

In this blog, we’ll detail the science behind sound-dampening panels and provide an estimate for how many are necessary to achieve the desired effect in your space. Different rooms will have different requirements, but through acoustics and a little creativity, you can transform yours into the perfect environment for your goals or needs.

At Felt Right, we believe interior spaces matter. They have a significant impact on how we feel, what goals we set and achieve, and how comfortable we are in our living or working spaces. Through specific design, fun and easy installation, and instant relief, we provide acoustic felt wall panels to absorb or dampen sound in your home or workplace. Take back control of your environment, and tailor it to your specific needs and comfort level.

What Is the Science Behind Sound Dampening?

It can be daunting to try and change the sound of your home. It might seem like a difficult and pricey adventure that you prefer putting off. But the truth is, the science behind sound dampening and reducing noise is quite simple. Best of all, sound-dampening solutions don’t have to break your bank.

Whether you need to block out your neighbor’s loud music, reinforce a study space to be more quiet, or create a quiet room in your home for a newborn or for sensory-inclusive reasons, sound-dampening can provide relief. The sound quality of your room affects you more than you might think.

Sound Dampening Vs. Soundproofing

Sound dampening panels work by using dense materials to reduce the vibrations within a given space. The material absorbs the sound and prevents it from dissipating within the room, or transferring to other areas. These materials are easy to install, and in the case of Felt Right, can be turned into stylish designs that complement the room.

This is similar to sound absorption, which is detailed below by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, “When a sound with a frequency close to that of the resonant frequency of the spheres enters the material, the spheres vibrate in their soft silicone sheaths, sending out sound waves in all directions. Some of those waves interfere with the forward movement of the offending noise, quieting it.”

Soundproofing is a little different. When you do this to a room, it means sound can’t effectively penetrate its exterior walls. This is generally used in rooms where no outside noise is wanted or expected to enter at all. You may consider choosing soundproofing panels for your home office or recording studio.

How Many Sound-Dampening Panels Do I Need for My Space?

Depending on what type of space you want to optimize for sound-dampening, the panels you need vary. But you might not only consider the audio benefits. Felt Right panels come with an endless combination of colors and patterns for decorating your walls. This way, you can bring your walls to life with a visual solution that compliments your home’s personality.

The panels are versatile and transform any kind of interior space. For example, you can invigorate your office from bland, corporate walls to bright, electric colors that energize and inspire your employees. Or teachers and students can collaboratively design their classrooms and install panels together when they arrive in the mail.

Numerous studies have shown that colors have a direct impact on our brains, altering how we feel, how we think, and how we work. With Felt Right panels, you can flip your space on its head, changing both auditory and visual elements to build the perfect environment for living, working, or creating.

But each of these rooms have specific dimensions and limitations, which determine how many panels you need for your project. Using our acoustic calculator feature, you can plug in a few simple details about your space, and we’ll make recommendations for optimizing it best. Below we break down an example.

Acoustic Calculator

Felt Right wall panels boast a noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of 0.35, meaning they absorb an average of 35% of the sound wherever they’re placed. This can help you reduce excess noise that plagues the backgrounds of Zoom meetings, important calls, or when you want a quiet moment during a busy day.

Whether you want to sound dampen your space for simply living, working, studying, or recording a podcast at home, a 0.35 NRC can help eliminate noise pollution that could impede work calls or interrupt a nap.

Below we experiment with the acoustic calculator feature on Felt Right’s website.

1. Let’s say you have a room that is 12x12x8 (length times width times height in feet).
2. Let’s also say 0% of your walls are covered in soft materials like heavy drapes, tapestries, quilts, etc., which can help absorb sound.
3. This room also has a three-seat sofa and a single-seat recliner, as well as carpet on 20% of the floor.

The calculator provides three different options from a basic solution to the most optimal solution. The numbers are based on the calculator’s entries, so if you don’t have carpet or furniture, what is recommended will change. Based on the above data, here are the proposed solutions:

• Good - 23 square feet
• Better - 56 square feet
• Best - 88 square feet

Your taste will also determine how much you think you need. Do you want your panels to cover the entire wall, or just an allocated section? You can peruse designs based on the above measurements to get a visual for what those numbers actually look like on a wall. Once you determine how many panels you’ll need, you can dive into our design studio feature to experiment with colors and patterns.

Love Your Space Again with Felt Right

Expand what is possible for your interior space with Felt Right acoustic wall panels. Make your walls pop and dampen unwanted sounds with stylish and scalable solutions. Eliminate stress and boost productivity in your office or conference rooms, or transform your home into an auditory oasis for relaxation. Improve sound by reducing echo and high frequency noises effortlessly.

We deserve to feel as comfortable and healthy as possible in our homes. Managing the sound levels in a stylish way creates a sense of wellness and relaxation that promotes good health and lets us love our spaces better.

See more about how Felt Right can bring your space to life and give you back control over your home or workspace. Try our color quiz to explore our endless design options and determine the exact amount of panels you’d need, and contact us today for any additional information about our services. Simply call (801) 742-1458‬ to get started.