As urbanization continues to rise, noise pollution increasingly impacts daily life, especially nighttime noise that significantly affects sleep quality. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, prolonged exposure to noise above 50 dB at night increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases, while noise levels above 55 dB negatively affect learning and working. Research by Professor Yan Xiang, Director of the Architectural Physics Laboratory at Tsinghua University, indicates that there is an optimal background noise level for sleep—around 32 dB. Above 32 dB, every additional 1 dB increment results in a 4% reduction in deep sleep duration.
Deep sleep, often called the "golden sleep," typically constitutes only about 25% of total sleep time, yet it plays a crucial role in recovering from daily fatigue, boosting metabolism, and maintaining overall health. Thus, evaluating sleep quality requires focusing not just on sleep duration but more importantly on the duration of deep sleep.
Effective from April 1, 2022, China’s national standard GB55016-2021 (General Specifications for Building Environments) significantly reduced nighttime noise limits in ordinary residential bedrooms from the previous 37 dB down to 30 dB. This reflects the government's heightened attention to nighttime noise issues. If this new 30 dB standard is fully implemented nationwide, China’s overall sleep quality could improve by approximately 30%, equivalent to gaining more than three additional months of restful sleep annually compared to the older 2010 standard.
How Can Buildings Meet the New Noise Standards?
We conducted an analysis of indoor noise sources, identifying the following major categories:
1. Noise transmitted through doors and windows
2. Noise transmitted through walls
3. Noise transmitted through floors and ceilings
4. Noise carried by heating systems and water pipes
5. Noise from poorly designed mechanical and electrical equipment rooms
Among these sources, approximately 90% of external noise enters indoor spaces through doors and windows. Therefore, the key to reducing indoor noise lies in the use of acoustically insulated windows and doors.
Currently, the primary types of acoustic windows available include standard insulated glass units (IGUs), laminated glass windows, and vacuum insulated glass (VIG) windows. Comparative tests on the noise-reduction performance of these window types have been conducted.From these results, it's clear that windows incorporating LandGlass Titanium Vacuum Insulated Glass offer superior acoustic performance. But why exactly do vacuum-insulated glass windows provide better noise reduction?
Vacuum insulated glass consists of two glass panes separated by a vacuum layer, which prevents both heat and sound transmission. Because a vacuum does not transmit sound or heat, it effectively isolates interior spaces from external noise and thermal transfer. Thus, vacuum insulated glass windows deliver outstanding energy-saving thermal insulation along with excellent soundproofing capabilities.
