ACHIEVING ACOUSTIC COMFORT WITH HEAT
Here, ThermoSphere looks at how the negative impact of unwanted noise can be reduced by an underfloor heating system that provides a unique combination of heating, acoustic and cushioning layers.
The importance of building acoustics can’t be underestimated because prolonged exposure to noise can have a detrimental effect on wellbeing. Excessive exposure to unwanted noise has been proven to cause a rise in blood pressure, increased heart rate, sleep disturbance and fatigue. So, when designing the construction of a floor, specifying materials that help reduce impact sound helps to create an environment that is acoustically comfortable and benefits wellbeing.
Providing acoustic comfort means minimising intruding noise and keeping the people using the space happy and comfortable. For example, the educational performance of students in schools is proven better when they can clearly hear the teacher without any unwanted audible distractions.
A report released in 2011 by the World Health Organisation (WHO) highlighted key findings from a study conducted over 10 years on the impact of noise and discovered more than one million ‘healthy years of life’ are lost every year due to noise pollution because of how the human body reacts to it.
To help reduce the negative impact of sound on people, the WHO recommends for the perfect night’s sleep, a guideline of 30dB LAeq and to avoid becoming ‘moderately annoyed’ with sound during the day, a level of 50dB LAeq should not be exceeded.
IMPACT SOUND AND DESIGN Impact sound is generated when one object hits another object, and the sound travels through the building. An example of this is when is when walking on a hard timber floor
26 | UNDERLAY & ACOUSTIC SOLUTIONS
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