Noise may start as a nuisance or something you can adapt to, but excessive or consistent noise over time can have a very real impact on your health. Noise can lead to several health issues, including: altered sleeping patterns or sleep deprivation, headaches, increased blood pressure, fatigue, irritability, poorer reading comprehension and attention in children. One of the easiest and most economical ways to improve the acoustic comfort of your home is to install glasswool insulation.
In fact, insulation offers more than just keeping interiors warm in winter and cool in summer. It is a vital element in any DIY project thanks to its ability to improve a home’s acoustic performance, which in many ways is just as important as climate control.
Acoustic insulation is designed to absorb sound waves and reduce the transfer of airborne noise and impact noise:
- Airborne noise travels through the air and is generated from a variety of common sources such as voices, TVs, music and household appliances, or urban noise, which can include outside traffic, neighbourhood animals, or road and building construction.
- Impact noise is produced when noise directly or indirectly impacts surfaces across the home. Examples are heavy footsteps on wooden floorboards, banging doors, furniture scraping, loud music vibrations, and plumbing noises. Harder and smoother surfaces, like marble or concrete, will create more unwanted noise that others.
If we look at the glasswool under a microscope we can see it is full of holes and air pockets in between the individual fibers. When the sound energy impinges on the insulation it is impaired by the air pockets and is thus converted into heats energy meaning less sound energy makes its way through the partition resulting in an increased level of sound reduction.
One way to measure the acoustic performance of an insulation material is to use air flow resistivity which measures the ability of a material to resist the passage of air through it. The higher the flow resistivity, the better an insulation product will absorb sound and reduce the transfer of noise. The following table compares the density and Flow Resistivity of Earthwool® insulation and polyester products that are commonly specified for acoustic performance in wall systems.
For example, Earthwool® provides a flow resistivity of 9000 Rayl/m compared to polyester, which is 580 Rayl/m. This is because tiny air pockets are created within the glasswool during manufacturing, resulting in a higher flow resistivity value compared to common insulation products used for acoustic applications, such as polyester insulation and other mineral wool products.
While most insulation batts have some acoustic benefits, not all products are the same. Earthwool® SoundShield range of products have been specifically designed high density to maximise the acoustic performance and reduce the transfer of noise.
