Client information
A Polish company founded in the 1990s, specialising in the design and production of office furniture – including desks, chairs, reception counters, and acoustic solutions. Currently, the company exports its products to over 20 countries across three continents.
Acoustic booths – the origin story
The development of acoustic booths was a response to the increasing market demand for privacy and comfort in open-plan offices. Earlier solutions, resembling “glass aquariums,” were visually appealing but lacked practicality – they failed to offer enough privacy, poorly muffled noise, and were seldom used.
New designs were created with a focus on acoustic comfort, visual coherence with surroundings, and improved user ergonomics.
What did the client approach AFL with?
Despite its strong position in the furniture market, the company had no prior experience with ventilation systems. Their existing booths used small axial fans (intended for cooling computers or server rooms), which did not provide sufficient efficiency or comfort.
Project objectives included:
- increasing noise attenuation from 25 dB(A) to a minimum of 31 dB(A) to achieve Class A sound insulation,
- significantly reducing the noise generated by the ventilation system,
- substantially improving ventilation performance
Project stages:
During a joint meeting between the engineering teams from both companies-alongside structural, electrical, and R&D teams-it was agreed that the new booths would utilise centrifugal fans instead of axial ones.
These fans offer much higher available pressure, enabling more effective noise reduction systems. Three different centrifugal fan models were selected for further analysis.
Next, supply and exhaust airbox prototypes were developed for real-world testing. The design and production of these prototypes—a rarity among fan manufacturers-were carried out by AFL MOTORS EUROPE.
This presented a significant challenge for the furniture company. Their team had to trust ventilation experts, adopt a new technological approach, and switch to a different type of fan installation. Using an EC plug fan with a plastic impeller and silencer required breaking previous habits and ways of thinking-truly stepping “out of the box.” 😉
After testing, the B3P133-EC072-xxx fan was chosen as the quietest, most efficient, and least energy-consuming model. Its low profile enabled a compact ventilation module design, with a height of only 165 mm.
The fan was implemented in the new acoustic booth designs, which were enthusiastically received by the market.
Since then, both companies have continued their collaboration. Thanks to bold thinking, breaking entrenched patterns, and executing a demanding project, they developed a refined product – aying the foundation for a dynamically growing partnership.
Suggested fan model
Based on the solutions discussed, we recommend this model B3P133-EC072-101