If noise is perceived as stress, high blood pressure and diseases of the cardiovascular system can result. Your own house can be protected against this - with soundproof windows.
Berlin (dpa / tmn) - noise is annoying and you can hardly escape even in your own apartment. Road and air traffic, passing trains - especially in cities, many people suffer from constant noise, which their usual windows do not keep outside. The solution in some cases: soundproof windows.
What can these soundproof windows do?
Soundproof windows keep out the coarsest noise - provided that they are the right ones and they are installed properly. "In residential areas, soundproof windows are even required by law if the ambient noise exceeds certain limits," explains Marc Ellinger from the Association of Private Builders.
Compared to normal windows, soundproof windows have stronger glazing with an asymmetrical structure and soundproofing films integrated in the glass. Frames and seals are also specially insulated.
These windows are available with different levels of sound insulation: normal windows with insulating glass limit external noise by around 32 decibels. Jürgen Benitz-Wildenburg from ift Rosenheim, a testing institute for window technology, lists simple soundproof windows with values from 40 to 42 decibels, so-called composite windows up to 50 decibels and box windows with 55 decibels.
Which window do i need?
"If, for example, 80 decibels are measured outside, but 30 decibels are to be achieved quietly inside, windows with a soundproofing value of 50 decibels are required," explains Benitz-Wildenburg. With a low external sound pressure level of around 60 decibels, normal double glazing would be sufficient.
Can I analyze the window selection myself?
"Going out the door with your cell phone and picking up the noise doesn't do much. That results in deviations of at least five to ten decibels," says Benitz-Wildenburg. Through windows that were insulated too little with ten decibels, you can hear the noise at least twice the volume than with an exact design.
Conversely, it doesn't make sense to buy 20 decibels more than necessary to be on the safe side. "This is rather uncomfortable because it is insulated too much. It makes you feel like you're in a soundproof room." But you can find out in advance: Cities and municipalities, including Deutsche Bahn, have created so-called noise maps in which you can find out about the situation in your living environment.
I have windows like that, and they bring little. How can that be?
"For sound insulation, you have to look at the entire wall with the window and all the joints. The sound insulation in total can only be as good as the weakest link of the assembled components," explains Frank Koos from the Association of Windows + Facade.
Even tiny openings or leaks in roller shutters, for example, can let sound through. "Above all, the design of the connection joints is decisive for the sound insulation of the entire component," says Koos. These must be sealed all around the inside and outside and filled with insulation. It is also advisable to insulate the roller shutter box.
Are there solutions if you want to sleep with the window open?
"A sound insulation fan under or next to the window can help here," says Benitz-Wildenburg. "It brings fresh air into the room, but leaves the sound outside."