Creating quiet in buildings for better comfort and higher productivity for everyone has increasingly become a priority in commercial building practice. Older, less reliable methods of noise control, such as resilient channel, have a high failure rate and can leave tenants and occupants unhappy and unsatisfied. The Quiet Soundproofing System not only simplifies the process with easy solutions, but delivers quieter results, reliably. Recently published in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, a multifamily condo conversion of a former soap factory uses the Quiet system for their soundproofing building upgrade. Located in the busy streets of Manhattan, Quiet products were chosen for soundproofing between apartments and in corridors of the condo units to create quiet, comfortable rooms for residents.

Interpretting the acoustical testing results for Serious Energy's iWindow.

Some of our first iWindow™ retrofit projects have been city buildings in noisy, high-traffic settings. So, the immediate feedback from a number of occupants is a thankful “It’s so much quieter in here.” We wanted to quantify that, so we sent iWindow samples out for sound transmission testing. This returned some impressive reports. But, what do the numbers really mean to my – or anyone else’s – ears? It wasn’t coming through loud and clear. So I turned to our Quiet® brand team for an explanation.

Sunnyvale, CA—November 1, 2011—Serious Energy, Inc., a leader in energy efficiency solutions that increase the value of buildings, today announced that Quiet® Soundproofing System is the core enabling technology in the renovation to be featured in this week’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, airing November 4th, 8/7C on ABC. The episode focuses on rebuilding the home of Staff Sergeant Allan Hill of Ottawa, Kansas, who was nearly killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq. After almost a year in treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) the Sergeant’s ability to move back home to his family hinges on interior tranquility and high acoustic performance of the house. The Quiet Soundproofing System, including QuietRock® soundproofing drywall, QuietSeal® Pro acoustical sealant, and QuietPutty™, was chosen to accomplish the soundproofing performance and ensure entire build was completed in seven days by 2,000 volunteers.

Serious Energy joins Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Ottawa, Kansas to help a family in need of quiet. While serving in Iraq, Staff Sergeant Allan Hill was nearly killed by a roadside bomb. Although he has recovered from physical injuries, Sergeant Hill now suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Loud noises can cause traumatic flashbacks that can be dangerous for Sergeant Hill and his family. Hill has spent almost a year away from his family, treating PTSD. We are very excited to help be a part of reuniting the Hill Family!

The Hill Family 2 hour episode airs November 4th 8/7C on ABC. Please tune in and see the Quiet Soundproofing System – including QuietRock, QuietPutty, and QuietSeal Pro in action!

With over 2000 dedicated volunteers the entire build was completed in 7 days! Truly amazing! Take a look as we take you behind the scenes with Serious Energy Rep Holly Burgess.

QuietSeal™ Pro acoustical sealant engineered for fast application, maximum performance, and reliable results for any soundproofing project

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Serious Energy, Inc. today announced new QuietSeal Pro acoustical sealant — engineered to work together with QuietPutty™ and QuietRock® drywall for reliable, high performance, low total cost soundproofing. QuietSeal Pro is designed to maximize high acoustic performance in any soundproofing project. With a new and improved formula, QuietSeal Pro acoustical sealant is fast, easy to use, and offers a hassle free clean up. This low VOC and water based sealant remains soft preventing sound from passing through.

Even though well-designed urban spaces are potentially more sustainable and energy efficient than pastoral or suburban environments, there are also some unique quality-of-life challenges that come with living in tightly shared spaces. If unmanaged, noise, in particular, can negatively impact comfort, peace of mind, and a sense of wellbeing.

Cathedral Hill Hospital, California Pacific Medical Center’s newest hospital in San Francisco, is organized around comprehensive centers of care rather than traditional departments, enhancing the delivery of patient care while improving space efficiencies, workflow and productivity. The Cathedral Hill Hospital is designed to meet LEED silver rating, making it one of the largest hospital projects to seek LEED certification.  In addition to improving patient care, the design/build team sought innovative solutions that would meet code requirements for noise control while saving materials, space, time and money.

Several months ago, we pointed out a project that green home remodeling expert Matt Risinger highlighted on his blog. The owners of a 1940's original home, as part of their high performance green remodel, wanted to address the unwanted noise between kids' bathrooms, the master bedroom, and laundry rooms. The use of QuietRock for soundproofing walls does the trick, as Matt captures in this video.

Mo Rocca from the CBS News’ Sunday Morning Show and Tomorrow Show recently stopped by Serious Energy's headquarters in Sunnyvale to talk to CEO Kevin Surace about The Future of Noise.  Mo’s video segment on noise and how the technology for producing sound has, until recently, outstripped the ability for us to suppress sound, ran on Sunday.  Within the segment, Kevin’s interview with Mo happens around the 3 minute, 40 second mark.

Commercial Building Products Magazine ran an article by Serious Energy's CTO, Dr. Brandon Tinianov, in their most recent issue.  In this article, Brandon explains the basics of building codes, STC and acoustical design.  He also suggests best practices in acoustical design solutions and implores the building industry to design not just to code, but to code-plus:

Often times, others say things much better than I can. Acoustics By Design is an excellent Midwest acoustical consulting firm that recognizes the implications of good acoustics and green design for the schools that will create our next generation of leaders. Tim Koldenhoven’s recent blog post “My Scarlet Letter | Distractions in the Classroom” is well worth a read.

Last week, I had the pleasure of chairing a technical session titled, “The Acoustics of Green Buildings” at the Acoustical Society of America’s international spring meeting in Portland, OR. Why would the world’s experts in building acoustics and noise control devote an afternoon to the specific sector of green buildings? Because we need to...