Sound Reducing Glazing

Due to our densely packed Island, domestic and commercial entities and buildings often lie in close proximity, giving rise to sound pollution with the inherent issues caused. Future trend research suggests that traffic and noise in general will only get worse.

Acoustically insulating glazing can be a major contributor to comfort levels in buildings and houses. Depending on the location and level of noise pollution, a wide range of option are available.

Sound travels through the air like the ripple you see on the surface of water when a stone is dropped into it. The soundwaves radiate out in all directions from the source, steadily reducing in intensity or until an object stops their progress.

Describing a sound

Sound can be characterised in different ways but primarily in terms of INTENSITY and FREQUENCY:

• The sound intensity describes how soft or loud the sound is (dB).

• Frequency (or pitch) describes how high or low pitched the sound is (Hz)

To successfully deal with the particular type of noise pollution, we need to understand the particular attributes of the sound source as mentioned above. Then the appropriate specification can be made for the new sound reducing glazing. Sound reduction is often described as reduction weighting or (RW)

How Glass Controls Noise:

• By reflecting the noise back towards the source, and
• By absorbing the noise energy within the glass.

Acoustic reduction is best achieved by interrupting the passage of the soundwave through the glass, and that means using material or combination of material that have a resistance to resonate at the same frequency as the sound. This is why at a simple level, laminated glass is more effective at acoustic reduction than the equivalent solid glazing pane.

Taken a step further the more dissimilar layers between the outer and inner face of the glazing unit, then the better the acoustic performance. So a triple glazed unit will generally perform better than a single or double glazed unit.

By using careful choice of glazing combinations the specifier can achieve a combination of solar control and acoustic control to achieve the desired results.

Glazing Refurbishment have extensive experience in resolving clients's glazing repair and refurbishment issues - including hi specification glazing. Please contact us for a no obligation inspection and report for your glazing refurbishment needs.