Acoustic ceiling systems inside buildings: What we were taught and should now know instead

Abstract

This presentation is an executive summary of how modular, suspended, acoustic, ceiling systems perform inside buildings as presented at meetings of the Acoustical Society of America and noise control engineering conferences between 2015 and 2022. It bridges the gap between laboratory testing of ceiling panel metrics and how complete ceiling systems perform inside buildings when combined with other building elements such as lights, air diffusers, floor slabs, plenum barriers and mechanical devices in the plenum. Ceiling system performance will be discussed from the perspectives of complying with minimum sound absorption, minimum sound isolation and maximum background noise level requirements in building design standards and guidelines. Corroboration with foundational testing conducted by the National Research Council of Canada and ASHREA will be integrated. Standards with prediction methods that should be used instead of ceiling panel metrics will be reviewed. Citations to studies will be provided for more detailed information.