Acoustic design and testing for health and wellbeing

Acoustic design and testing for health and wellbeing was written by Stephanie King and Gary Timmins and was published by the BRE Trust in February 2019. It is freely-available to download from the BRE Website.

Good acoustic conditions are fundamental to the quality and enjoyment of homes. Domestic noise problems may arise either from sound travelling from one premises to another, such as music, voices and footsteps, or from noise entering from outside, such as road and aircraft noise. The two are regulated in different ways. Sound insulation issues are dealt with through the Building Regulations. Exposure to outside noise is dealt with through the planning system. Both require careful consideration, as poor acoustic design is difficult and expensive to remedy once a building has been completed.

This 16-page guide identifies the basic elements of acoustic design and the standards most commonly used when considering noise impact on homes. It is intended to help housebuilders, building owners, designers, architects, planners, landlords and householders take the first steps towards understanding acoustic requirements for homes and the kind of technical data they might encounter on the way.

Its contents are:

• Summary.
• Introduction.
• Sources of noise disturbance – sound insulation.
• Sources of noise disturbance – environmental noise.
• The role of laboratory testing.
• Case studies.
• References.
• Acknowledgements.

--BRE Group

[edit] Related articles on Designing Buildings Wiki

• Acoustic consultant.
• Acoustics.
• Acoustics in the workplace.
• Airborne sound.
• Approved Document E.
• Audio frequency.
• BRE articles on Designing Buildings Wiki.
• BRE Trust.
• BREEAM Acoustic performance.
• Building Bulletin 93: acoustic design of schools.
• Decibel.
• Flanking sound.
• Impact sound.
• Noise nuisance.
• Pre-completion sound testing.
• Reverberation.
• Room acoustics.
• Sound absorption.
• Sound insulation.
• Sound insulation in dwellings: Part 1: An introduction (GG 83-1).
• Sound reduction index (SRI).
• Sound v noise.
• Structure-borne sound.
• Suitable insulation can help preserve the golden sound of silence.
• Timber and healthy interiors.
• Wellbeing.