As we now approach the summer months and start to experience those long hot days and sleepless nights, many of us rely on ventilating our homes through open windows. Whilst this can provide some level of cooling during uncomfortably warm nights, it does lead to disturbance from noise from any activities taking place in your neighbourhood.
According to BS8233, noise levels inside a bedroom during night-time hours should be 30dBA across the period from 11pm to 7am. With this in mind, noise levels outside an open window would need to be around 35-40dBA so that sleep is not disturbed. But how many of us live in areas where such low noise levels exist?
35-40dBA noise levels are equivalent to that experience in a library, or the level from an average domestic refrigerator, or a whisper (normal speech being around 60dBA at a metre). This seems practical for those living in rural areas, though for residents in mixed industrial and residential areas, such low noise levels are rarely experienced during night time hours.
In fact, what can make industrial noise even worse during summer months is the increased acoustic output from chillers and cooling units needed for maintaining temperatures in some industrial settings.
So how do you reduce industrial noise pollution?
The first step is to undertake a detailed acoustic study to identify the areas of concern, and the associated levels from each plant item. Then introduce a noise action plan to tackle the worst offending items to gradually reduce noise from the site. The particular noise control solutions are determined on a case by case basis, and can include inline attenuators, acoustic enclosures, acoustic screens and louvres, or a combination of all.
Wakefield Acoustics has a long proven history of identifying and providing solutions for industrial noise control.