SOUND FIGHTER® SYSTEMS (SFS) IS LOOKING FORWARD TO ATTENDING THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF ACOUSTICAL CONSULTANTS (NCAC) ANNUAL MEETING IN DALLAS, TEXAS  APRIL 13-15, 2012. 

Sound Fighter® Systems (SFS) is looking forward to attending the National Council of Acoustical Consultants (NCAC) Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, April 13-15, 2012.

This year marks a milestone as the 50th Anniversary of the National Council of Acoustical Consultants and includes special events including tours of the Meyerson Symphony Center and the Winspear Opera House.

Sound Fighter Systems will have an informational display on their fully sound-absorptive LSE Noise Barrier System at Table 1 in NCAC Exhibit Hall located in the Crescent Hotel on Saturday (4/15) from 2:30pm – 5:30pm.

If you are also attending, the SFS Team looks forward to meeting you or reconnecting.

NOT ATTENDING? HERE’S MORE INFORMATION ON THE LSE ABSORPTIVE NOISE BARRIER SYSTEM:

The LSE Absorptive Noise Barrier System was specifically engineered and tuned for maximum noise attenuation. The result is an absorptive design for noise reduction barriers that boasts an NRC of 1.05, ranking the LSE System as one of the top-performing noise barriers in the world today.

For decades, the LSE System has been the go-to noise abatement tool of Departments of Transportation, Acoustical Engineers & Consultants, Developers, Architects, Oil & Gas Companies, Manufacturers and Contractors around the world for countless different applications.

If you are in need of a proven, highly effective outdoor noise barrier, the LSE System has no equal. Contact SFS and we will help you resolve your noise problems quickly and effectively. Toll-free 866-348-0833 or info@soundfighter.com.

THE COST OF AN AGING GRID

If you take a look at the critical expenditures spreadsheet of most states, one of the recurring items you’ll see is “electrical grid maintenance.”  What that means is the grid – the network of lines, transformers and substations that transports electricity within and without the state – is old, obsolete, and in dire need of replacement.  In addition to the aging hardware, electricity consumption has been growing at an exponential rate.  This is not a good combination.

Although much of the grid structure was originally positioned where population densities were much lower, many of these sites now lie amongst densely-populated areas. Once located where their noise bothered no one, now their constant humming and vibration are sources of litigious discontent amongst nearby residents  - which raises the question:

HOW DO UTILITY PROVIDERS ADDRESS THE ISSUE OF UNWANTED NOISE WHILE MAINTAINING AN AGING GRID?

Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the three primary solutions for mitigating unwanted noise at transformer/transmission sites:

UPDATE TO NEWER, QUIETER EQUIPMENT

• Pros: Since the older equipment usually needs updating anyway, utilizing new components that are designed to attenuate noise is easy and relatively cost-efficient.

• Cons: Built-in attenuation treatments seldom provide adequate overall noise reduction and additional investment in noise mitigation is often required.

CONSTRUCT AN ENCLOSED ACOUSTICALLY-ATTENUATED BUILDING

• Pros: A fully-enclosed attenuated building will provide the highest level of noise reduction.

• Cons: Attenuated buildings require lighting, mechanical ventilation, non-conductive components, etc, driving the cost of compliance higher, which is usually passed-on to the consumer in some fashion.

CONSTRUCT A PERIPHERAL NOISE BARRIER WALL

• Pros: Like an enclosed building, a peripheral noise barrier wall around the site is an effective tool to reduce noise – especially if it is a non-reflective or absorptive noise barrier wall. Additionally, peripheral noise barriers do not require the lighting and ventilation components of an enclosed building, and they are generally much less expensive to install and maintain than attenuated buildings. Peripheral barriers also provide a visual screen for the equipment.

• Cons: Peripheral barriers do not provide any protection from the elements, which can be a consideration in the most extreme environs.

WHAT SOLUTION OPTION WOULD YOU CHOOSE?

While all three options do have cons, peripheral noise barriers are often selected because they provide the most tangible mitigation benefits in relation to cost. This is where utility companies, their customers and nearby residents benefit from understanding that not all sound barrier walls are created equal. They are either absorptive or reflective – preventing reflective noise by absorbing it, or reflecting sound in different directions.

If protecting customers from unwanted noise created by your power company’s aging grid was your project -or- you were enlisted to lead the “Do something about this noise!” charge for your neighborhood association, what noise mitigation solution would you choose?

Sound Fighter^® Systems’ mobile site is accessible on any smart phone or PDA, including the iPhone, iPad, Blackberry and Android models.  Users can access much of the same valuable content of the company’s web site, www.soundfighter.com, including informative videos and demonstrations on noise and noise barriers, photos, and commonly-asked Q&A. Customers using mobile devices from an iPad to a Smart Phone can easily find educational tips on noise barrier performance or quickly contact a Sound Fighter^® Systems representative to ask questions or request a quotation.

The site is designed to provide basic but meaningful information regarding absorptive noise barriers and absorptive sound walls:

• Fast – the site streamlines content size to speed user interface.
• Concise — the site includes the most commonly-searched components of Sound Fighter^® Systems’ main website, scaled-down for ease-of-use by mobile viewers.
• Informative — Fast-loading educational and instructional videos
• Answers — To commonly-asked questions
• Visual — Photos showing a wide variety of uses for Sound Fighter^® Systems’ noise barriers

Those involved with the more obvious noise sources such as airports, shooting sports, manufacturing or even musical concerts have long known the detrimental effect of extreme noise levels on long-term hearing. Only recently, however, has environmental noise been thoroughly researched for its affect on our mental and physical health – and the findings may surprise you.

Subjected to 45 decibels of noise, the average person cannot sleep. At 120 decibels the ear registers pain, but hearing damage begins at a much lower level, about 85 decibels. And one burst of noise, as from a passing truck, is known to alter endocrine, neurological, and cardiovascular functions in many individuals.

Does this mean we are doomed to a noise-filled life of stress? Fortunately, no. Noise is now recognized as a controllable problem that can be minimized via varied abatement technologies. One of the most effective environmental noise abatement technologies to be developed is the noise barrier wall, or sound wall. Sound walls are classified as reflective or absorptive. Hard surfaces such as masonry or concrete are considered to be reflective. This means most of the noise is reflected back towards the noise source and beyond. A barrier wall such as the Sound Fighter® LSE 2000 with a porous surface material and sound-dampening content material is tested to be highly-absorptive, meaning little or no noise is reflected back towards the source or elsewhere.

Is a sound wall the best mitigation option for every application? Certainly not. There are effective mitigation tools for any situation – from earplugs to ceiling tiles. But for many outdoor applications such as traffic, manufacturing, compressor and commercial retail noise, nothing outperforms a well-engineered and efficient absorptive sound wall.

So what are the best noise barrier options for eliminating unwanted outdoor noise?  Address these three key considerations, and you will be on your way to a quieter solution:

1. Use a fully-absorptive barrier material (i.e. non-reflective) with an NRC of 1.0.  Acoustical absorption is measured by a rating called “NRC,” (Noise Reduction Coefficient) where an NRC of 1.0 is considered 100% absorptive, and NRC ratings lower than 1.0 are considered less absorptive.
2. Use a barrier material made for the outdoors.  Request test data on UV protection, color stability, freeze-thaw testing and wind-load testing.  Newer barrier products that have been in the market less than ten years have no way to verify this data except in theory.
3. Use a barrier manufacturer with a long track-record.  You want your barrier to last decades, so you should use a company who has been in business long enough to back-up what they offer.

Fully-absorptive noise barriers are not inexpensive, but if noise-reduction is the overriding objective in a contentious or even litigious situation, a properly-designed absorptive noise barrier will be money well spent.

Sound Fighter® Systems (SFS) is the sole manufacturer of the LSE Absorptive Noise Barrier System, a fully sound-absorptive, high-performance sound wall designed for outdoor noise mitigation.

        Sound Fighter® Systems works with design engineers, environmental engineers and directly with the water companies and municipalities to address their noise issues. “Add the fact that our LSE System is engineered specifically for harsh outdoor environments, is completely corrosion resistant, and maintenance-free, it’s an attractive long-term solution for our customers in the Water Industry.” concludes Stacy.

        Many sites targeted for noise barriers – either design-built or retrofit – have limited space in which to install a barrier. As a result, the barrier must be located very close to the noise source equipment, and such equipment often includes coolers that require specific minimum airflow in order to keep the system from overheating and potentially shutting-down. Gaps underneath or in the noise barrier itself destroy the attenuation performance of the barrier. So Sound Fighter® Systems has partnered with a top custom baffle manufacturer to provide acoustical baffles designed to allow sufficient airflow to the noise source, while simultaneously maintaining meaningful noise attenuation. And the baffle system is designed specifically to fit with the company’s LSE Absorptive Barrier Systems.

        Sound Fighter Systems has successfully designed LSE Barriers utilizing these attenuated baffles for customers in the HVAC, gas compression, manufacturing, water treatment and utilities industries.

        Besides the LSE System’s renowned durability and acoustical performance, Sound Fighter Systems recently conducted Miami-Dade wind load testing on the system (both static and dynamic testing), and it passed with ease, and such testing is essential for such large wall structures along the Gulf Coast.

        This newest section will be the final of four noise barrier sections, ranging from 30-35’ tall – all engineered for Gulf Coast wind loading.

       Sound Fighter’s® designs range from traditional hinged swing-gates to sophisticated automated rolling gates, and can design a custom noise barrier gate for your specific needs.

       With few exceptions, gates incorporated in to large sound walls (including most DOT sound walls) have posed serious problems from a logistics and performance perspective. Most of America’s highway sound walls are made of concrete, which is too heavy to be used as a gate material. Utilizing wood or other non-attenuating materials as an alternate significantly diminishes the overall performance of the sound wall into which they are going.

       However, Sound Fighter® Systems has designed and engineered numerous gate designs that are adaptable to nearly any new or retrofit sound wall application – enabling the customer to maintain peak attenuation while providing needed access for maintenance or emergencies. Weighing-in at only 5 lbs psf, the LSE System is ideally-suited for gate applications.

        Sound Fighter’s® designs range from traditional hinged swing-gates to sophisticated automated rolling gates, and can design a custom noise barrier gate for any specific needs.