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Differences between Outdoor and Indoor Sound Levels for Open, Tilted, and Closed Windows

Noise exposure prediction models for health effect studies normally estimate free field exposure levels outside. However, to assess the noise exposure inside dwellings, an estimate of indoor sound levels is necessary. To date, little field data is available about the difference between indoor and ou...

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Autores principales: Locher, Barbara, Piquerez, André, Habermacher, Manuel, Ragettli, Martina, Röösli, Martin, Brink, Mark, Cajochen, Christian, Vienneau, Danielle, Foraster, Maria, Müller, Uwe, Wunderli, Jean Marc
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2018
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5800248/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29346318
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010149
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author Locher, Barbara
Piquerez, André
Habermacher, Manuel
Ragettli, Martina
Röösli, Martin
Brink, Mark
Cajochen, Christian
Vienneau, Danielle
Foraster, Maria
Müller, Uwe
Wunderli, Jean Marc
author_facet Locher, Barbara
Piquerez, André
Habermacher, Manuel
Ragettli, Martina
Röösli, Martin
Brink, Mark
Cajochen, Christian
Vienneau, Danielle
Foraster, Maria
Müller, Uwe
Wunderli, Jean Marc
author_sort Locher, Barbara
collection PubMed
description Noise exposure prediction models for health effect studies normally estimate free field exposure levels outside. However, to assess the noise exposure inside dwellings, an estimate of indoor sound levels is necessary. To date, little field data is available about the difference between indoor and outdoor noise levels and factors affecting the damping of outside noise. This is a major cause of uncertainty in indoor noise exposure prediction and may lead to exposure misclassification in health assessments. This study aims to determine sound level differences between the indoors and the outdoors for different window positions and how this sound damping is related to building characteristics. For this purpose, measurements were carried out at home in a sample of 102 Swiss residents exposed to road traffic noise. Sound pressure level recordings were performed outdoors and indoors, in the living room and in the bedroom. Three scenarios—of open, tilted, and closed windows—were recorded for three minutes each. For each situation, data on additional parameters such as the orientation towards the source, floor, and room, as well as sound insulation characteristics were collected. On that basis, linear regression models were established. The median outdoor–indoor sound level differences were of 10 dB(A) for open, 16 dB(A) for tilted, and 28 dB(A) for closed windows. For open and tilted windows, the most relevant parameters affecting the outdoor–indoor differences were the position of the window, the type and volume of the room, and the age of the building. For closed windows, the relevant parameters were the sound level outside, the material of the window frame, the existence of window gaskets, and the number of windows.
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spelling pubmed-58002482018-02-06 Differences between Outdoor and Indoor Sound Levels for Open, Tilted, and Closed Windows Locher, Barbara Piquerez, André Habermacher, Manuel Ragettli, Martina Röösli, Martin Brink, Mark Cajochen, Christian Vienneau, Danielle Foraster, Maria Müller, Uwe Wunderli, Jean Marc Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Noise exposure prediction models for health effect studies normally estimate free field exposure levels outside. However, to assess the noise exposure inside dwellings, an estimate of indoor sound levels is necessary. To date, little field data is available about the difference between indoor and outdoor noise levels and factors affecting the damping of outside noise. This is a major cause of uncertainty in indoor noise exposure prediction and may lead to exposure misclassification in health assessments. This study aims to determine sound level differences between the indoors and the outdoors for different window positions and how this sound damping is related to building characteristics. For this purpose, measurements were carried out at home in a sample of 102 Swiss residents exposed to road traffic noise. Sound pressure level recordings were performed outdoors and indoors, in the living room and in the bedroom. Three scenarios—of open, tilted, and closed windows—were recorded for three minutes each. For each situation, data on additional parameters such as the orientation towards the source, floor, and room, as well as sound insulation characteristics were collected. On that basis, linear regression models were established. The median outdoor–indoor sound level differences were of 10 dB(A) for open, 16 dB(A) for tilted, and 28 dB(A) for closed windows. For open and tilted windows, the most relevant parameters affecting the outdoor–indoor differences were the position of the window, the type and volume of the room, and the age of the building. For closed windows, the relevant parameters were the sound level outside, the material of the window frame, the existence of window gaskets, and the number of windows. MDPI 2018-01-18 2018-01 /pmc/articles/PMC5800248/ /pubmed/29346318 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010149 Text en © 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Locher, Barbara
Piquerez, André
Habermacher, Manuel
Ragettli, Martina
Röösli, Martin
Brink, Mark
Cajochen, Christian
Vienneau, Danielle
Foraster, Maria
Müller, Uwe
Wunderli, Jean Marc
Differences between Outdoor and Indoor Sound Levels for Open, Tilted, and Closed Windows
title Differences between Outdoor and Indoor Sound Levels for Open, Tilted, and Closed Windows
title_full Differences between Outdoor and Indoor Sound Levels for Open, Tilted, and Closed Windows
title_fullStr Differences between Outdoor and Indoor Sound Levels for Open, Tilted, and Closed Windows
title_full_unstemmed Differences between Outdoor and Indoor Sound Levels for Open, Tilted, and Closed Windows
title_short Differences between Outdoor and Indoor Sound Levels for Open, Tilted, and Closed Windows
title_sort differences between outdoor and indoor sound levels for open, tilted, and closed windows
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5800248/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29346318
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15010149
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