How To Properly Soundproof Windows
One of the big frustrations a lot of people have is with noise pollution. Unfortunately, it can be very distracting and cause real issues including anxiety and even sleep problems in certain individuals. Whether in your home or workplace, it is not something you have to deal with.
In this article, we will go over what noise pollution is and how you can stop it with the proper installation of soundproof windows from professional businesses such as KJM.
Sound effectively travels through various things including the air, liquids, and even solids. You can visualize this with a ripple of the surface of a pond when something is thrown onto it. Ultimately, sound waves stem from the source in every single direction. As sound waves travel, they gradually decrease in intensity. It is sound waves that cause our eardrums to vibrate and they are effectively interpreted as sound by our brains.
In the case of noise-cancelling headphones, a speaker produces a sound wave with the very same amplitude but with antiphase to the original sound. Because of this, the waves produced combined with one another to create a brand new wave that effectively interferes with the other. This wave that is produced helps to cancel out the other wave which is known as ‘phase cancellation.’ This is what helps the headphones result in noise cancellation. As you can probably tell, the science behind the inner workings of this type of technology can get very technical and complex.
The Main Causes Of Noise Pollution:
Common Sources
1. Transportation (planes, trains, cars)
2. Neighbours
3. Pets
4. Nightlife
5. General city life
6. Industrial and construction sites
7. Maintenance (Government and Private)
Why Do Your Windows Matter?
Typically, the window is one of the weakest components of a property when it comes to soundproofing. This is due to the fact that glass is typically very thin and they are fairly taut. Because of this, they can actually enhance the sound as the soundwaves hit the window. This can end up causing your windows to act sort of like a loud phone to enhance the transfer of noise. Any windows that don’t close the right way because they lack the proper sealant are also going to lead to a leakage of sound.
This isn’t something that only applies to single-glazed windows. This actually applies to every type of window ranging from single-glazed to standard double, and even triple-glazed. All of these typically struggle to noticeably reduce sound due to the vibration of the glass and other deficiencies. Due to the fact that double and triple glazing features glass panes that are close together, it can make it easy for sound energy waves to continue to enter the property without being interfered with much.
How Can It Be Improved?
Acoustic glass is the way to do so. Acoustic glass is essentially a sandwich of two (or more) sheets of glass. The layers inside work much like a noise damper which can help to weaken the sound waves as they begin to travel directly through the glass.
This type of glass is fully designed to absorb and to help the dissipation of sound much better than what you would get from standard window glass options.
To put it simply, terms of distance can be used to describe the level of noise reduction it offers. Pretty much every 3 decibels reduction in noise can increase the distance from the source of the noise by two times. Therefore, if you live 10 meters from a very busy and subsequently noise highway and you are able to get 3 decibels of noise reduction from your windows, you could double the direct source of the noise to a full 20 meters.
Improve Sound Insulation Of Double Glazed Window By:
1. Having as wide of a gap as possible between the two glass panes
2. Changing the thickness of the two panels
3. Using thicker panels
4. Insulating the frame of the windows
5. Using specially made and laminated acoustic glass