Placement matters almost as much as quantity. A panel in the right spot removes a strong reflection; the same panel in a corner nobody hears may do very little. In classrooms, start here:
- on the back wall, which reflects the teacher's voice back as echo
- high-NRC ceiling tiles over the whole room
- upper side walls, above where chairs and hands hit
Spread them out
Absorption works best spread across several surfaces rather than all on one wall. Treating two facing walls stops sound bouncing between them (flutter echo). If you only treat one of a pair of parallel walls, alternate panels on each so no strip of bare wall faces another.
Height
Mount wall panels so their center is roughly at the height of the people in the room: about 48 in for seated rooms and 57 in for standing rooms. Higher placement is fine where furniture or impact is a concern.
Wall or ceiling?
For classrooms we suggest roughly 50% of the treatment on walls and 50% on the ceiling. In larger rooms the ceiling is the biggest surface you can treat, and the closest to every listener.
Try the 3D layout builder to arrange panels on your wall before you order.