National and European requirements concerning acoustic insulation from air sounds for internal walls

Abstract

Neighbourhood noises in newly erected residential buildings are problems which are more and more frequently raised by their inhabitants. Pursuant to the binding European norms, the way of testing acoustic insulation properties has been standardized, however both required values and indices used to express them remain at the discretion of individual countries of the European Community. In the article, single-number acoustic insulation indices for air sounds used in Europe are presented and the methods of converting them are described. Current national requirements concerning acoustic insulation properties for interior walls within the apartment and between apartments in multi-family buildings as well as their comparison with requirements applicable in selected countries of the Western, Central and Southern Europe are presented. Based on the provided data, the evaluation of national requirements regarding acoustic insulation properties for interior walls was carried out. It was concluded that Polish acoustic requirements for interior walls are at a low level not only compared to the countries of the Western Europe, but also Central and Southern Europe.