Louvers are used anywhere clean air is needed, but water and debris are not. In locations where sound levels are important, acoustic louvers are essential for minimizing infiltrating or escaping noise levels. With their sound attenuation technology and design, acoustic louvers are a must for office buildings, public buildings, condominiums, and other buildings where sound levels are critical to the effective design of the building.
What is a Louver?
A louver is a ventilation product designed to allow the passage of air while preventing the passage of unwanted elements like water, dirt, and debris. Louvers also serve aesthetic purposes as they can shield less attractive equipment from plain view and can be a key architectural element of a building.
The Design of a Louver
Louvers can be large and take up a great portion of a building's wall area. Other louvers used for mechanical ventilation are designed to fit in the intake or exhaust openings on a building or sometimes they are a part of the wall structure.
Typically rectangular or round in shape, the frame of the louvers mounts securely to the building and consists of blades that fill in the frame. The number of blades used, their depth, and the shape of the slat are all design parameters that affect the cost and performance and aesthetic appeal of the louvers.
Benefits of Acoustic Louvers
Acoustic louvers look very similar to standard louvers and come with blades that are already fixed in position. The blades are filled with an acoustical grade fibrous material that is used to attenuate sound. As sound travels through the louvers, the blades dissipate that sound, resulting in a quieter building. This extends to the exterior, ensuring quieter performance on the outside as well. Acoustic louvers are specially designed to ensure that they can deliver clean air while still attenuating sounds.
What is an Acoustic Louver?
Acoustic louvers are a special subtype of louver used where noise levels are important to an effective building design. While all louvers are used to limit the flow of water and debris, acoustic louvers have the additional duty of sound attenuation.
Acoustic Louver Design
The design of an acoustic louver is very similar to that of a standard fixed louver. The main difference may be an increased thickness of the blade. The thickness allows for space inside the blade to add sound attenuation material.
Types Of Acoustic Louver Blades
The blades of an acoustic louver are simply sloped louver blades available in either a box blade or airfoil shape. The blade design gives the acoustic louver exceptional performance while minimizing pressure drop and allowing for a great deal of sound attenuation.
AWV Acoustic Louvers
AWV offers 14 acoustically fabricated architectural louvers in various frame depths (6 to 12-inches), blade angles, and spacing. In addition, we fill each of the non-drainable acoustic blades with fire and water-resistant, sound-absorbing insulation.
The insulation allows for noise absorbance efficiency to reduce noise more than free-standing sound reduction enclosures. Our acoustic louvers have AMCA air and water certification, when applicable.
The Benefits of AWV’s Acoustic Louvers
Our acoustic louvers provide architects, contractors, and building owners with many advantages.:
AWV architectural louvers produce aesthetically pleasing buildings.
Aerodynamic efficiency lowers air resistance, and reduces the fan energy needed to introduce the ventilated air into or exhausted air out of the building.
AWV louvers come in a wide variety of sizes, shapes, materials, finishes, and coatings to meet the needs of any project.
Durable AWV aluminum and steel architectural louvers ensure louver structural integrity.
Efficient and water-resistant AWV louvers provide proven and tested performance against air and water penetration.
AWV Options and Accessories
AWV offers an expansive selection of options and accessories to simplify installation and provide the functionality required:
Insect/bird screens and hinged access doors
Variable blade spacing and angles
Mounting angles
Sill extensions and blank-off panels of various dimensions
Painted finish with 20 year warranty and custom colors available.
Applications for Acoustic Louvers
Applications for acoustic louvers are numerous. Whether reducing mechanical room noise or making sure condos stay quiet at night, acoustic louvers have an important role. Some of the most common applications where acoustic louvers can be found are:
Office buildings
Condominiums
Public buildings
Mechanical rooms
Manufacturing plants
Power stations
Why Choose AWV Acoustic Louvers?
When choosing the right acoustic louvers for your job, choose a partner with an industry leading reputation. American Warming and Ventilating have been designing products for the industry for over 100 years. Let their expertise help ensure your next project is a success. Reach out to the experts at AWV today to learn more.
