Kingspan Insulated Panels has produced an extremely comprehensive guide to help designers understand – and achieve – these various standards.

The Acoustic Performance Guide explains the fundamentals of acoustics and how these apply to buildings in different categories: health, education, industrial, retail, commercial and leisure and hotel and residential accommodation. It also demonstrates how the products in the Kingspan range of insulated roof, wall and facade systems can be used to help achieve acoustic requirements.

“Most buildings need some form of acoustic control to meet the various guidelines and statutory requirements,” explains Kingspan’s Building Technology Director, Mark Harris, “Kingspan panels offer external cladding solutions for roofs and walls that can help provide acoustic control of the environment within the building.”

Effective acoustic control must tackle four different areas:

  • Sound insulation for the building envelope to control noise break-in to the building or noise breakout from the building.
  • Effective flanking noise control, where internal partitions meet the building envelope.
  • Acoustic absorption when used in conjunction with profiled perforated steel liners or absorbent suspended ceilings.
  • Effective control of rain noise when used in conjunction with roof tiles, profiled perforated steel liners or absorbent suspended
    ceiling combinations.


  • Kingspan has worked with Sound Research Laboratories (SRL) to compile a comprehensive set of acoustic test data that covers all four areas of acoustic control. The test results are included in the Acoustic Performance Guide, along with practical advice on achieving the standards relevant to the different building types. It is intended for use by acoustic consultant and a helpful tool for architects and design teams.

    The guide also includes useful new advice on the control of rainfall noise based on data from SRL’s rainfall test rig.