Acoustics

It is observed that if noise energy is continuously poured into a room, the sound level
eventually stabilizes; this is because the rate of sound energy input into the room is exactly
compensated by the rate of energy absorbed into the room. The energy that is absorbed is taken
by the room boundaries (walls, ceilings and floors) or transmitted into other rooms or out in the
open. The table below illustrates the recommended sound levels for particular rooms in an inner
suburban house.

To achieve these standards outlined, measures can be taken to control sound levels. It is
possible to reduce room sound levels by increasing absorbing material into the room (materials
such as carpet, soft furniture and curtains are good for absorbing sound. Increasing the amount of
transmission, by simply opening a window will help to reduce noise levels in the room as well.
Reverberation time is a parameter that describes the time, in seconds, required for average sound
pressure level in a room to decrease by 60 decibels after a source stops generating sound.
For the proposed house, the method chosen to achieve the ideal reverberation time for
each room was to use
acoustic foam on
Bedroom
the walls of the room.
The absorption of
Surface
Area
Absorptio Absorptio
each
room
was
calculated and is
n
n Units/
tabulated below.
Coefficien m2Sabins
t
Walls
38.25
0.03
1.1475
Ceiling
13.5
0.12
1.62
Floor
13.5
0.06
0.81
3.5775
Study
Surface
Area
Absorption
Absorption
Coefficient
Units/
m2Sabins
Walls
27.54
0.03
0.8262
Ceiling
7.2
0.12
0.864
Floor
7.2
0.06
0.432
2.1222