Last Updated on: 22nd November 2023, 04:55 pm
- West Midlands manufacturer see’s 240% increase in sound insulating foam sales
- Noisy neighbours, Zoom calls and home office setups said to be the cause
- Manchester, Birmingham & London identified as the top cities leading the trend
- Manufacturer claims there is ‘no evidence that the trend won’t continue’
The coronavirus pandemic has had a devastating impact on life as we know it. Beyond the fallout this is most evident in the way industries now conduct business.
The safest and most sustainable form of work during this time has been remote working. Although, it has not been without its challenges. Most homes are not designed to be an office, with many workers having to adapt home spaces to suit their working needs.
This has led to sound insulation providers experiencing a huge increase in demand since the start of the covid-19 pandemic. One of the UK’s top acoustic foam providers, efoam.co.uk, confirms that they have seen a dramatic increase of over 240 percent in sales over the last quarter.
“It won’t come as a shock that the number of people purchasing sound-insulating foam has hit an all-time high, driven mainly by residents installing products to dampen the sound of noisy neighbours. In fact, so far this year our sales of foam have increased by 240 percent”, explains Charlie Barrett from eFoam.co.uk, a custom foam manufacturer based in the West Midlands.
“Pre-pandemic, our acoustic foam was being purchased mainly by recording studios and musicians such as drummers, who were converting garages or spare rooms into practice studios to help insulate the noise. But now we are receiving enquiries from people saying they need something to insulate their home from noisy neighbours, as they haven’t slept properly in weeks. There’s no evidence the trend won’t continue as the work from home culture benefits many industries.”
Acoustic foam is designed to treat room acoustics. It is sometimes referred to as soundproof foam or studio foam and helps reduce reverberation, reflections and flutter echoes which cause sound interference. Soundproofing foam effectively absorbs energy contained within a variety of sound waves which prevents them from bouncing around rooms and causing sound distortion. These are usually installed in tile, cube, trap or wedge arrangements.
With Zoom meetings becoming a standout feature of remote working, it’s unsurprising to see a sharp increase in sound proofing installations.
eFoam produces a range of foam products that can “greatly assist in reducing reverberation, reflections and flutter echoes in recording studios, home theatres, music rooms, workshops, cinemas, etc and now home offices”.
Outside of work, personal time has been another area of people’s lives that has been affected by the lockdowns. With everyone spending more of our time at home, finding a quiet space in the day has become more challenging.
This is another area where eFoam has been helping with, so don’t be surprised to see their figures increase further over the coming weeks and months as the stress of Christmas takes hold!
Here are the top 20 cities:
- London
- Birmingham
- Manchester
- Glasgow
- Sheffield
- Manchester
- Edinburgh
- Liverpool
- Bristol
- Nottingham
- Milton Keynes
- Cardiff
- Leeds
- Coventry
- Bradford
- Belfast
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- Plymouth
- Leicester
- Wolverhampton
