What acoustic regulations for the limitation of noise in housing - residential buildings ?
With respect to housing (e.g. residential buildings), including those comprising premises for professional use, technical premises, or business premises, this is a question that arises in various contexts:
- for the architect, the engineer, the technician in charge of the construction or the renovation of such edifices, individual (houses) or collective (buildings), including when he works in a real estate development company
- for the president of a co-ownership trustee
- for anyone living in the building (resident: owner, tenant) perceiving that the acoustic comfort leaves something to be desired
In France, the Decree of 30 June 1999 relates to the acoustic characteristics of residential buildings: being therefore not new, this document should not - nowadays - be referred to as the "new acoustic regulation" ; among other technical regulatory aspects, the acoustical insulation, the limitation of reverberation and the equipment noise impact (determining the acoustic comfort and therefore the habitability of residential buildings) are the subject of specifications.
sound insulation, limitation of reverberation and equipment noise determine the acoustic comfort and therefore the habitability of residential buildings |
Acoustic regulation for noise limitation in housing - residential buildings: specifications relating to acoustic insulation
With regard to sound insulation (a major concept for noise limitation and acoustic comfort) , the decree of 30 June 1999 relating to the acoustic characteristics of residential buildings specifies the requirements relating to airborne noise inside the building in terms of standardized sound insulation weighted DnT,A [1] :
- when the noise emission is located in a room of the dwelling excluding individual garages (with regard to the room of another dwelling as a noise reception room):
- 53 dB(A) for a main room; 50 dB(A) for a kitchen or a bathroom
- when the noise emission is in a common circulation inside the building (with regard to the room of another dwelling as the noise reception room):
- when the transmission room and the reception room are only separated by a landing door or by a landing door and a distribution door:40 dB(A) for a main room; 37 dB(A) for a kitchen or a bathroom
- in other cases: 53 dB(A) for a main room; 50 dB(A) for a kitchen or a bathroom
- when the noise emission is located in an individual garage of a dwelling or in a collective garage (with regard to the room of another dwelling as a noise reception room):
- 55 dB(A) for a main room; 52 dB(A) for a kitchen or a bathroom
- when the noise emission is located in an activity room, excluding collective garages (as far as the room in another dwelling is concerned as a noise reception room):
- 58 dB(A) for a main room; 55 dB(A) for a kitchen or a bathroom
Also with regard to sound insulation, the decree of June 30, 1999 relating to the acoustic characteristics of residential buildings specifies the requirements relating to noise coming from the outside space in terms of standardized sound insulation weighted DnT,A [1] :
- (with regard to the room of a dwelling as a noise reception area):
- 30 dB(A) for a main room and/or for a kitchen
Acoustic regulation for noise limitation in housing - residential buildings: specifications relating to the limitation of reverberation
With regard to the limitation of reverberation (another major concept for noise limitation and acoustic comfort), the decree of June 30, 1999 relating to the acoustic characteristics of residential buildings specifies the requirements relating to the equivalent absorption area of the absorbent coverings placed in the common circulations inside the building:
- at least a quarter of the ground surface of these circulations
Acoustic regulation for noise limitation in housing - residential buildings: specifications relating to equipment noise
With regard to the noise of equipment, the decree of June 30, 1999 relating to the acoustic characteristics of residential buildings specifies the requirements relating to noise:
- generated by a controlled mechanical ventilation system (MVC) (as far as the room in another dwelling is concerned as a noise reception room):
- 30 dB(A) for a main room; 35 dB(A) for a kitchen
- generated by an individual equipment of a housing of the building (with regard to the room of another housing as noise reception area):
- 30 dB(A) for a main room; 35 dB(A) for a kitchen
- generated by a collective equipment of the building (with regard to the room of another dwelling as a noise reception room):
- 30 dB(A) for a main room; 35 dB(A) for a kitchen
What can ITS offer for the compliance to acoustic regulations for noise limitation in housing - residential buildings ?
What ITS can offer for compliance with acoustic regulations for noise limitation in housing - residential buildings:
- an acoustical diagnosis:
- with (on site) airborne noise insulation measurements, equipment noise level measurements e.g. for Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC) facilities: involving a qualified technician in physical measurements (specialized in instrumental techniques) and duly sound measurement equipment calibrated and verified
- with the study (based on drawings and involving sound propagation calculations by an acoustical engineer with extended skills in buillding physics) of issues refering to acoustical insulation (in relation to the construction systems constituting the envelope of the building and the separations between dwellings: walls, roof, floors, partitions - including doors and windows - for what concerns in particular the sound reduction index of such construction elements) and to the limitation of reverberation (in relation to the area and the acoustic absorption coefficient of the materials in the common interior circulations)
- with a comparison of the planned or existing construction provisions with what the noise regulation imposes for residential buildings
- the marketing of solutions for compliance with acoustic regulations for residential buildings:
- soundproofing materials and products (acoustic insulation, limitation of reverberation, equipment noise reduction)
- works, with guaranteed results
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[1] difference between the sound pressure levels in the noise emission room (or alternatively: in front of a building) and in the reception room, with a corrective term taking into account the reverberation time [2] of the receiving room; when calculated for pink noise: accounting an emission sound spectrum with the same level in dB in each frequency band of 1/1 octave
[2] time (s) required for the existing sound level in a room to decrease by 60 dB when the noise source is instantly interrupted