[Noise insulation in the office]

Noise insulation in the office: finally working quietly and productively

Nothing is more disturbing in the office than acoustic unrest, because it has a significant impact on the health, concentration and performance of your employees. Noise in the office increases the error rate and the stress level. That's why sound insulation in the office is so important. Sound absorbers and soundproof walls can reduce noise in the office and thus optimise sound insulation in the office.

The Gerriets Sound Curtain OFFICE for example, achieves a sound insulation of up to 26 decibels. That's quite a bit. Even 10 decibels less halves the perceived loudness and thus improves performance. In addition, soundproof curtains can also improve the room air quality and visual aesthetics. With the integrated OFFICE WINDOW sunlight, acoustically optimised office spaces can be created. Find out what is possible in terms of noise protection in the office workplace with sound absorbers and how you can dramatically improve health and productivity in offices with the use of them.

If you would like additional information or assistance in planning your soundproofing solution, please Contact us here !

What is noise and what effect does it have on us?

Noise is defined as unwanted sound:

  • In the office, noise pollution is considered a major disruptive and stress factor
  • Adversely affects health and has a negative impact on subjective well-being
  • Reduces concentration and performance
  • Disrupts communication

Therefore, the planning of room acoustics is essential for offices as well as private rooms and public buildings. A suitable room acoustic design:

  • Lowers the noise level
  • Increases speech intelligibility
  • Improves the subjective impression of space
Yellow creative workshop, room within a room with acoustic curtains

"Sound" is the name given to the propagation of minute pressure variations in an elastic medium. Our hearing converts these pressure differences into electrical signals that our brain processes so that we can hear something. There are five types of sound events:

  • Tone: a periodic and sinusoidal vibration (e.g. tuning fork).
  • Sound: a non-sinusoidal periodic oscillation (e.g. violin sound).
  • Noise: an irregular vibration (e.g. speech).
  • Bang: an irregular vibration with a large initial impulse (e.g. rifle shot).
  • Noise: due to the structure (usually loudness), disturbing, stressful or harmful noise

If the vibration is transported through an elastic medium, sound can propagate. Media can be air, water or iron, for example. The pressure fluctuation is called a sound wave when it propagates. It reaches a speed of sound of 343 m/s in the air at 20 degrees Celsius.

The loudness of a sound event depends on the respective sound pressure and is indicated with the unit decibel.

Unlike in machine shops or industrial warehouses, the noise that occurs in the office is usually not harmful to hearing. Nevertheless, disturbing sound and poor acoustics are distracting, impede creative processes and can have a lasting effect on the body and psyche. It has been proven that the level of stress hormones increases, as do blood pressure and heart rate. For this reason, the Workplace Ordinance also describes that noise pollution at VDU workplaces should be kept low in order not to impair concentration and speech intelligibility too much¹.

1) German workplace ordinance from August 12th, 2004 (BGBl. I s. 2179), last amended by article 1 V from November 13th, 2016 | 2681.
2) Schönpflug & Schulz, 1979.
3) Lärmbeurteilung - Büro-Arbeitsplätze, Dortmund 1996, Bundesanstalt für Arbeitsschutz und Arbeitsmedizin (BAuA).Fehlerhäufigkeit bei Sachbearbeiter-Tätigkeiten in Abhängigkeit vom Geräuschpegel

An acoustic curtain can achieve up to 26 dB of sound insulation. In order to be able to estimate this value, you can find an overview of different sound levels here:

  • Normal breathing: 10 dB
  • Ticking alarm clock: 30 dB
  • Quiet library: 40 dB
  • Normal conversation: 50 dB
  • Main road during the day: 70 dB
  • Motorbike: 90 dB
  • Pneumatic hammer, circular saw: 100 dB
  • Rock concert, disco: 110 dB
  • Jet aircraft test run: 120 dB
  • Rifle shot at 1 m distance: 130 dB

Hearing damage can occur above 85 dB, above 120 dB after a short time. That is why 85 dB is the limit value above which hearing protection is recommended at the workplace. The risk of cardiovascular diseases is increased from 65 dB, learning and concentration disorders can already appear from 45 dB - that is the range between a quiet library and a normal conversation.

The 12-layer Sound Curtain OFFICE achieves sound insulation of up to 26 dB, depending on the installation situation. If previously the noise in the office was more reminiscent of a main traffic road, an atmosphere like in a library becomes possible. This is how you create noticeable workplace improvements.

If you would like additional information or assistance in planning your soundproofing solution, please Contact us here !

Avoiding noise in an open-plan office is difficult. There are inevitably many noise sources in large workspaces and the larger the office space, the further sound can spread: Printers, copiers, scanners, telephones, air conditioners, fans and especially conversations from colleagues and meetings ensure that concentration suffers greatly due to noise in the office workplace.

Sound absorbers for the office, such as curtains made of acoustic fabrics, can improve this by reducing the reverberation time of the whole to a recommended level. Room dividers, partitions or sound-absorbing curtains help by separating meeting areas and creating an island of quiet. Not only the meeting participants are happy about this, but also the others who are now no longer unwanted participants in the meeting. But soundproof curtains can also be used to create and support thinking rooms, recreation areas or intensive work rooms. There are no limits to your imagination here.

You can combine our sound curtains in a variety of ways: different insulation values, with a single-colour or elaborately printed visible side, manual or automated operation - the variable and attractive alternative to the soundproof wall adapts perfectly to your ideas. You can also retrofit the curtains with additional inner layers at any time to further increase sound insulation in the office.

The highlights among the sound absorbers for offices

WOOLSERGE OFFICE

The natural wool fabric

The WOOLSERGE OFFICE consists of 80 % wool and thus feels very natural. In addition, the natural material absorbs moisture and releases it again, thus regulating the air in the room. This makes this sound absorber for offices highly sound-absorbent and moisture-regulating. It is available in 20 different colours - the effective and versatile solution for sound insulation in offices.

You can order the highly absorbent WOOLSERGE OFFICE fabric directly in our on-line store.

Red acoustic curtain to separate the quiet zone in the office
Variable room acoustics for meeting rooms and think tanks by means of soundproof curtains

Sound / room divider curtain OFFICE

Create individual quiet zones

If you want to separate different work areas acoustically and visually, or create meeting islands, then the Sound Curtain OFFICE sound curtains are the ideal solution for this.
The standard outer layers of Trevira CS velour ALICANTE are permanently flame retardant, washable, sound absorbent and odourless. The design can also be customised. The OFFICE sound curtain is ideal for designing open-plan offices.

Further information on the Sound Curtain OFFICE from Gerriets.

ABSORBER LIGHT

Translucent sound insulation for the office

A common misconception often existed that it was not possible to have sun filled rooms and perfect room acoustics. Now both are possible. The ABSORBER LIGHT is a translucent acoustic curtain that absorbs sound through micro-slits in the fabric. This absorber is the best choice when offices need to be bright and quiet.

You can order the ABSORBER LIGHT acoustic fabric directly in our on-line store.

Product video ABSORBER LIGHT - Design: Annette Douglas

GERRIETS TRACK SYSTEMS

How are the sound absorbers in offices controlled?

Our Sound Curtains for offices are specifically designed for use on our Track Systems and thus offer a wide range of possible uses. The curtains can be moved manually or automated by motors. They can be operated by remote control, touch panel or integrated into a third-party automation system.

Our solutions in detail:

TRUMPF 95 OFFICE is the further development of the well-known TRUMPF 95 track from the theatre sector, used worldwide for medium-weight and heavy fabrics. The track system is multifunctional, reliable, light and quiet. A wide variety of fastenings can be realised via a groove channel.

The FRICTION-DRIVE drive is unique because here the acoustic curtains are moved without a traction cable and the motor works almost silently and extremely reliably. This is possible because the acoustic curtains are attached directly to the drive unit. And you don't even see it: With the Sound Curtain OFFICE the FRICTION-DRIVE can also be hidden between curtain layers and moves without a visible drive unit or ropes.
Are you interested in the FRICTION-DRIVE drive?

Simply contact us and we will create your individual solution together.

Product video FRICTION DRIVE

ELEGANCE OFFICE is a 1-run track profile with internal runners. The track system is also available with a soft-touch motor. Here, a light pull on the curtain fabric is enough for the curtain to open or close. If you don't fancy a cumbersome curtain control, then this is the right solution for noise protection in your office.

Sound insulation solutions from Gerriets

We are there for you: from planning to installation

For acoustic office planning, reliable acoustic data and the possibility of accompanying measurements and advice during the construction process are crucial. We are there for you: All textiles are tested for their effectiveness and to ensure that your office project is an acoustic success. We advise you throughout the entire process - from planning to installation. We supply and install the correct office soundproofing solutions for you. Our portfolio of soundproofing solutions for offices is varied and quite versatile. We can put together a suitable solution for you on an entirely individual basis. Let's simply talk to each other and together we will find the optimal combination for your office.

Flexible soundproofing solution with acoustic curtain in the office
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