The open office space of today, featuring collaboration areas and stations for different types of work, is a boon for business.
- In these environments, distractions such as HVAC noise can lower productivity.
Businesses and employees benefit from removing individual offices and cubicles by bringing in more daylight, attracting clients, encouraging collaboration, and reducing costs. However, open office design can fall short when it comes to acoustics. Good news. It is possible to have that beautiful open plan office and still have peace and quiet to work. How? Better HVAC design can reduce HVAC noise and voice distraction. Make sure your HVAC noise problem isn’t caused by a malfunction. Is the problem getting worse? Does your loud AC unit make different noises than usual? Air conditioning systems that have been around for a while probably only run at a single capacity and may even be oversized. Have you redesigned your office space without changing the HVAC system? You might have ducts and air handlers in the wrong places. Hot and cold spots can result, as well as distracting HVAC noise. By using sound boots, you can reduce HVAC noise and crosstalk. It can be an easy and quick way to improve the acoustics in your open office. For quiet phone conversations, does your office have pods or phone booths? The open office area can be noisy, so this should provide a way for people who really need quiet to escape. High ceilings and metal and glass surfaces are common in modern office designs. It looks beautiful and inviting, but bounces sound around. Materials that absorb sound without compromising design, such as carpets, drop ceilings, and wall coverings, can help reduce HVAC noise.