Air movement and conditioning acoustics
Ventilation is what a sealed room needs and what most often spoils it. Air brings noise in along the ducts, and the plant makes its own.
Everything in this section
Once a room is isolated, the ductwork is usually the loudest remaining path — for plant noise arriving along it, and for conversations passing between two rooms served by the same branch. It is also the last thing considered, which is why it is so often the reason a finished room misses its target.
Three problems, one system
| Plant noise | Fans and units heard along the supply and return — solved with attenuators, lined duct and plenums. |
|---|---|
| Regenerated noise | Made locally by air moving too fast at bends, dampers and grilles — solved with velocity limits and better geometry. |
| Crosstalk | Speech passing between rooms through a shared branch — solved with crosstalk attenuators and duct routing. |
| Breakout | Noise radiating through the duct wall itself as it passes over a quiet room — solved with lagging or rerouting. |
| Structure-borne | Plant vibration entering the building through its bases and duct supports — solved with isolation. |
What we handle
- HVAC attenuation — silencers, lined ducts, plenums and crosstalk control.
- Acoustic louvers — where air must cross a facade or plant room wall.
- Silencer selection — sizing attenuators against noise, airflow and pressure.
Designed with the mechanical engineer
Attenuation costs pressure, and pressure costs fan power and makes its own noise. The acoustic and mechanical designs have to be done together — silencer type, duct velocity, branch layout and plant location are one decision, not two. Where the numbers do not reconcile, the answer is usually a larger duct rather than a deeper silencer.
A room can only be as quiet as the air it breathes.
Tell us the room
Send dimensions and intended use. You get back an indicative acoustic treatment, a systems outline and a budget range.