Assessment of outdoor-to-indoor noise attenuation levels for night-time residential noise exposure
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Although people spend most of their night-time hours indoors, environmental noise exposure is typically assessed using outdoor levels. This study examined outdoor-to-indoor noise attenuation across 49 dwellings in Greater London using synchronized and unsupervised measurements, while noise levels were expressed via the A-weighted equivalent (LAeq ), maximum (LAmax), and percentile (LA 01, LA 05, LA10 ) noise indicators. Moderate-to-strong correlations between night-time outdoor levels and outdoor-to-indoor attenuation levels (r = 0 4. – 0 8. ) informed the development of multiple and mixed-effect linear regression models to estimate indoor noise levels based on outdoor levels. Mixed-effect models outperformed multiple linear models (RMSE: 0.7–4.9 vs 2.3–5.7 dB(A)), with outdoor levels accounting for most variability, and with additional contributions from the occupation status, window size, and room volume predictors. The estimated attenuation levels ranged from 20 to 26 dB(A), with LAeq in line with the WHO recommended 25 dB(A) level. The proposed modeling approach enables estimates of indoor noise exposure, offering a more representative basis for night-time exposure–response assessments in the UK and similar urban settings.
Date Issued
2026-06-18
Date Acceptance
2026-05-26
Citation
Building Acoustics, 2026
ISSN
1351-010X
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Journal / Book Title
Building Acoustics
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
License URL
Identifier
10.1177/1351010X261455446
Subjects
outdoor-to-indoor noise
attenuation levels
noise indicators
night-time
noise exposure
regression modeling
Publication Status
Published online
Date Publish Online
2026-06-18