PET felt represents a rapidly growing segment in the acoustical materials market, and for very good reason. PET felt is a durable, effective material that works wonders for the sound in our interior spaces and can even help us lower our carbon footprint and gain LEED credits through its green manufacturing process.
Today, designers are using PET felt for office spaces, vehicle interiors, home furnishings, and everything in between. Once you learn about all that PET felt offers in terms of both its acoustic and aesthetic qualities, you will understand why this is quickly becoming the go-to material for designers across the globe.
What is PET Felt?
PET felt, or polyethylene terephthalate felt, is a type of synthetic material made primarily from recycled single use plastic bottles and a small amount of virgin fibers. The bottles are cleaned, shredded, pressed, and processed into a material that closely matches the look and feel of traditional felt, while providing a more sustainable material for creating the products we need.
PET felt is gaining traction in a number of industries, from fashion clothing and luggage to home goods, but none more than office spaces. One of the most popular uses of PET felt in office spaces today is in creating interior finishes that enhance both the acoustics and aesthetics of the space.
Benefits of PET Felt in Office Spaces
PET felt delivers specific properties and benefits that make it an extremely useful and prized material in a range of applications. Most of the applications of PET felt for office spaces revolve around its ability to absorb sound waves and enhance acoustics, so let’s begin there.
Sound Absorption and Acoustic Enhancement
One of the most important benefits of PET felt is its ability to absorb sound. In a world that seemingly gets louder every day, creating environments that promote office noise reduction is incredibly important to both the physical health and emotional wellbeing of our employees.
In fact, studies have shown that overexposure to loud sounds can lead to problems with communication and focus, increased agitation and stress levels. It can even cause physical ailments ranging from hearing loss and tinnitus to more serious complications like heart disease and stroke. Reducing employees’ noise exposure is one of the key benefits of using PET felt for office spaces.
PET felt achieves its superior sound absorption ability primarily through its porous structure, high density, and fiber composition. Sound waves are able to enter the material, where it becomes trapped, and the friction of the fibers convert the vibrational energy into a small amount of heat energy. PET felt’s effectiveness in the world of sound absorption makes it an increasingly popular material for creating acoustic panels and other acoustical treatments.
Aesthetic Appeal
PET felt is an amazing material when it comes to improving office aesthetics. Since they are made of pigmented plastic rather than dyed fabric, PET felt products can double as exceptionally vibrant art and branding pieces. We are able to easily customize the shape and design of the material, and can form them into interesting and functional acoustical products with a clean, modern look.
PET felt is far less likely to fade than many traditional materials, and its plastic construction makes cleaning it quick and simple. That means PET felt products will continue to look great and contribute big benefits to the overall aesthetic appeal long after installation.
Durability and Ease of Maintenance
Using PET felt for office spaces also delivers the benefits of high durability and easy maintenance. PET felt products are less susceptible than other products to experiencing damage from pests, mold, and mildew, and aren’t easily damaged if employees accidentally brush up against them, spill on them, or knock them to the ground.
PET felt is easy to maintain as well. Simply brush off dust or debris with a soft cloth or brush, and spot clean when needed. Dry them off after cleaning, and your PET felt products will look great and perform perfectly for years to come.
Sustainability
Using PET felt for office space structures and accessories may even help qualify your organization for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) benefits, which could save your organization a considerable amount of money. There are a number of potential LEED credits you could reap by using PET felt in the office.
Recycled Content
The use of recycled content in building materials can contribute to LEED credits, since they help reduce the demand for virgin materials and support recycling efforts.
Sustainable Materials
The use of PET materials can also contribute to LEED credits in the Materials and Resources (MR) category, since they have a lower environmental impact than more traditional building materials.
Indoor Environmental Quality
In the office, PET felt is very often used to reduce noise. This fact can help your organization qualify for LEED credits in the IEQ (Indoor Environmental Quality) category.
Common Applications of PET Felt for Office Spaces
In order to achieve all the benefits we’ve just looked at for our teams in the office, we utilize a number of different products that strike a beautiful balance between form and function to improve both the acoustics and aesthetics. Here are some of the most popular PET felt office applications on the market today.
Acoustic Panels
Acoustic panels are used to absorb a specific range of sound wave frequencies in indoor spaces. Absorbing these frequencies reduces echo and reverberation, makes communication with clients and colleagues more pleasant and effective, and even reduces the overall room noise by a considerable amount. They accomplish this by reducing the amount of reflective surfaces in the room.
Introducing more dense, absorptive materials into the space allows many of the sound waves that would otherwise contribute to acoustical issues to become trapped. Plus, using PET felt acoustic panels provides those additional benefits like durability, colorfastness, and increased sustainability that set them apart from traditional acoustic panel materials.
Ceiling Tiles and Ceiling Clouds
Like acoustic panels, PET felt ceiling systems absorb the problematic sound waves that lead to acoustical issues. Two of the most popular ceiling systems, tiles and clouds, work in slightly different ways from one another, but are equally effective at reducing noise in the room. Let’s look at how each one works.
PET Ceiling Tiles
PET ceiling tiles work almost identically to the way acoustic panels work, but they are either suspended from the ceiling in a T-grid system or mounted directly to the ceiling instead of the walls.
T-Grid Systems
Ceiling tiles suspended in a T-grid system delivers the classic drop ceiling look popular in many office spaces. You have likely seen this type of ceiling in schools, workplaces, and doctors’ offices. This type of system is incredibly effective at reducing noise from overhead mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems, so they are a fantastic choice if you have exposed systems below your true ceiling.
Direct Mount
Ceiling tiles that are directly mounted to the true ceiling are more often used in rooms where the true ceiling already covers the overhead MEP systems. Adding them to the ceiling in addition to the walls further reduces the amount of reflective surface space in the room, and contributes to better sounding spaces.
PET Ceiling Clouds
Another great use of PET felt for office spaces is the ceiling cloud. Ceiling clouds operate very similarly to the other types of acoustical panels listed, but are suspended from the ceiling without a support grid to create artistic focal points that deliver just as much acoustically as they do aesthetically.
Since ceiling clouds can be suspended horizontally, vertically, or diagonally, they provide us with a wide range of potential creative applications that deliver the look and sound we are after. They also catch many reflected waves as they travel across the space over our heads. This provides an additional layer of protection against overly loud spaces.
Office Partitions and Dividers
Since so many of our modern work spaces have transitioned into shared spaces divided by cubicles, the partitions and dividers used to create individual areas illustrate another great use of PET felt for office spaces.
Introducing sound absorbing elements between individual work areas gives us a way to keep the clicking of keyboards and rustling of papers to ourselves, rather than polluting the soundscapes of our office neighbors. It also gives us the privacy to communicate more freely, knowing our voices won’t travel nearly as far as they would otherwise.
Wall Art and Decorative Elements
We mentioned printing on our acoustic panels to create wall art or introduce more branding to the office, but the options don’t end there. Since PET felt is incredibly flexible, we can form it into any type of creative element we’re after. This includes panels, baffles, partitions, and anything else we can conceive of to improve the look and sound of the office. Any one of these is a great use of PET felt for office spaces.
What is the Best PET Acoustic Panels Solution?
Some solutions work better than others for specific applications, so you should do your research before investing in a PET acoustic panels solution. Some spaces are more reflective than others, and the shape of the room will determine how sound travels in space. You also need to identify whether you’re after full office soundproofing or simple acoustical enhancement. Your best bet is to consult with the professionals before getting started.
Firms like Material LogIQ have decades of combined experience in creating solutions that perform just as well as they look. If you are interested in using PET felt for office space acoustic and aesthetic comfort, reach out for a consultation.