Sound systems in educational facilities – what to pay attention to?
Educational buildings are characterized by high noise levels, especially during breaks lasting several minutes between classes. Creating a sound system that will meet many challenges and provide undisturbed messages regardless of acoustic conditions is not an easy task. Here we will present the features of an efficient sound system in educational facilities. We will tell you what to take into account when choosing a given solution. We will also indicate what functions a PA system should have in a school or other educational institution.
SOUND SYSTEM FOR EDUCATIONAL FACILITIES - FEATURES OF AN EFFECTIVE SYSTEM
Professional sound systems are responsible not only for the comfort of work and use, but also improve the level of safety of students and employees in the event of any threat occurring in the facility. As we know, schools, dormitories and other educational facilities are increasingly exposed to fire, terrorist and epidemiological threats. Therefore, school sound systems should take into account technological solutions also present in VAS systems. The key feature here is the uninterruptibility of messages, regardless of external conditions. Equipping the sound system with emergency battery power and backup amplifiers will ensure proper operation even in the event of temporary power outages or other failures.
Optimal sound system for schools allows you to create automatic and coded announcements. It is also crucial to provide high-power loudspeakers for locations such as sports fields or gymnasiums. It is worth choosing school sound systems that give you the opportunity to connect scattered locations into one system and allow you to manage it from one control console.
HOW TO CREATE A GOOD SCHOOL SOUND SYSTEM?
When creating sound systems for educational facilities, it is necessary to plan the division of the installation into different zones, which require various technological solutions. The outdoor playing field area must have high-power loudspeakers, resistant to changing weather conditions. For hallways and gymnasiums, a wall-mounted speaker system is best. The administration area and classrooms should be equipped with loudspeakers with adjustable sound intensity. A separate issue is the sound system of the lecture hall, which is also a place for organizing many educational and cultural events. It is becoming common practice for many institutions to purchase mobile sound equipment, supplemented with multi-zone amplifiers and volume controls. In the case of large halls with unfavorable acoustic conditions, it is worth using narrow, high-power loudspeakers. They will help reduce the reverberation phenomenon resulting from sound bouncing off the walls. Professional sound systems in educational facilities should meet the requirements of the EN 54-16 and EN 54-4 standards, dedicated to sound warning systems used in public buildings.
School sound systems are an essential element of the equipment of this type of facilities. Public address systems fulfill many functions - from improving evacuation in the event of a fire or other threat, to efficiently issuing organizational announcements covering the entire premises of the facility.
An important practical and functional aspect is the possibility of using clocks in school sound systems that automatically trigger announcements or bells. In modern sound systems, the tone bells that cause stress and noise, which we all know, can be replaced by stress-free bells in the form of, for example, pleasant music.
Stress-free bells are one of the elements that, according to the opinions of experts, psychologists and educators, calm down negative emotions. They also increase concentration by using freely selected background music (melodies) that are pleasant to the ears of the child and school staff. The purpose of such a bell is to communicate without side effects that indicate excessive exuberance of students.
