Evaluation of green walls as passive acoustic insulation system for buildings

Greenery on buildings is being consolidated as an interesting way to improve the quality of life in urban environments. Among the benefits that are associated with greenery systems for buildings, such as energy savings, biodiversity support, and storm-water control, there is also noise attenuation....

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Azkorra, Z., Pérez Luque, Gabriel, Coma Arpón, Julià, Cabeza, Luisa F., Burés, Silvia, Alvaro, J.E., Erkoreka, A., Urrestarazu, Miguel
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2015
Country:España
Institution:Varias* (Consorci de Biblioteques Universitáries de Catalunya, Centre de Serveis Científics i Acadèmics de Catalunya)
Repository:Recercat. Dipósit de la Recerca de Catalunya
OAI Identifier:oai:recercat.cat:10459.1/47797
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2014.09.010
http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/47797
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Vertical greenery systems
Acoustic insulation
Airborne sound insulation
Sound absorption coefficient
Noise reduction
Hydroponic systems
Construcció
Building
Description
Summary:Greenery on buildings is being consolidated as an interesting way to improve the quality of life in urban environments. Among the benefits that are associated with greenery systems for buildings, such as energy savings, biodiversity support, and storm-water control, there is also noise attenuation. Despite the fact that green walls are one of the most promising building greenery systems, few studies of their sound insulation potential have been conducted. In addition, there are different types of green walls; therefore, available data for this purpose are not only sparse but also scattered. To gather knowledge about the contribution of vertical greenery systems to noise reduction, especially a modular-based green wall, two different standardised laboratory tests were conducted. The main results were a weighted sound reduction index (Rw) of 15 dB and a weighted sound absorption coefficient (a) of 0.40. It could be concluded that green walls have significant potential as a sound insulation tool for buildings but that some design adjustments should be performed, such as improving the efficiency of sealing the joints between the modular pieces.