Creating sustainable living environments requires careful consideration of multiple design objectives, including acoustic comfort. While managing environmental noise is crucial for the health and well-being of residents, it is equally important to integrate acoustic design with other aspects of sustainable development. This article explores the challenges of balancing acoustic design with competing design goals and how quantifying the health and social costs of environmental noise could help inform decision-making. The Challenges of Integrating Environmental Acoustic Design Acoustic design mea ..read more

In a groundbreaking study presented at the CIBSE Technical Symposium in April 2024, researchers from Apex Acoustics Ltd and Peninsular Acoustics are collaborating to propose a pioneering approach to aligning acoustic and thermal models for partially open windows. This innovative method simplifies the assessment of noise and overheating in dwellings, providing a consistent understanding between acoustic and thermal modellers. The introduction of Approved Document O (AD-O) in England has brought attention to the importance of mitigating overheating in new residential buildings. AD-O sets noise l ..read more

This article is a summary of a conference paper that was presented at Forum Acusticum Torino 2023 and the IOA Conference 2023 in Winchester – you can access the full paper here. Museums are renowned for sounding cold and echoey. Their signature soundscape has been portrayed in films, TV and other media for many decades and we have all become accustomed to it. It is easy to picture the moment when we step into an exhibition room: the floor is hard, we feel obliged to whisper to each other, hoping no one will pay attention to us. We have traced the origins of this soundscape by looking at the hi ..read more

We are delighted that the Welsh Government has published the reports that we delivered in collaboration with Sustainable Acoustics. In making these reports public, Julie James MS, Minister for Climate Change, wrote: Today, I published the Air Source Heat Pump Noise & Permitted Development Rights in Wales Phase 1 and Phase 2 reports. Wales’s current permitted development rights (PDRs) to install an air source heat pump require a minimum 3-metre distance from the neighbour’s boundary, to reduce noise pollution potential. We wish to encourage residents to transition from f ..read more

Fantastic opportunity to join our 100% employee-owned company that is growing from strength to strength. Closing date for applications is 15th January 2024, but we also welcome applications at any time from interested and motivated people. If this description isn’t you, but you’d like to find out more – without obligation or commitment, and in confidence – about whether this challenging and supportive company is the right place for you, please do not hesitate to contact Jack Harvie-Clark. Download the flyer here. The post Opportunities in acoustics at all levels appeared first on Apex Acoustic ..read more

This article is a summary of our conference paper that was presented at Forum Acusticum Torino 2023 and the IOA Conference 2023 in Winchester – you can access the full paper here. Last year, we had the opportunity to apply a novel soundscape approach to a proposed urban park, which is part of one of the biggest urban redevelopments in the region, the Stockton Waterfront project. One of the features of the site is a road which passed through the middle, which will be converted from a dual to a single-carriageway. Combining cutting-edge soundscape analysis tools and noise propagation modell ..read more

An article in The Telegraph on 12th November 2023 makes several misleading claims about heat pumps that promote an anti-heat pump agenda, quoting work that we did for the Welsh Government and DESNZ. Some key issues with the article are: The headline claims heat pumps are “too noisy” for millions of British homes. This is an exaggeration. While noise is a valid concern with heat pumps that needs to be addressed, technology improvements and proper installation can mitigate noise issues in most homes. The article presents noise as an insurmountable problem, which is not the case. The article sug ..read more

Following our work for the Welsh Government, and subsequently our input into the report for DESNZ, we presented some of our findings at the Institute of Acoustics conference in Winchester, October 2023. While the decarbonisation of residential heating is an essential strand of the government’s policy to achieve NetZero, noise constraints may make this journey more problematic. The Welsh Government led the way in commissioning research into the question of whether noise issues may constrain the roll-out of ASHPS. There is also public concern about noise from ASHPs, which may be installed under ..read more

Six of us are travelling to Winchester to co-present our research and ground breaking practice at the Institute of Acosutics annual conference, Acoustics23. Here’s a brief summary of each piece of work that we have co-authored, working with many academics and other acoustic consultants. Here’s a brief summary of each, with links to read the paper if you want to know more. The Science of Soundscape – Summary of the Evidence Base from the UK Acoustics Community provides a comprehensive summary of the scientific evidence supporting the use of a soundscape approach in environmental design and plan ..read more

We are thrilled to announce that we have been shortlisted for two categories in the prestigious John Connell Innovation Awards, hosted by the Noise Abatement Society at the Palace of Westminster.  Firstly, we have been nominated in the Innovation category for our APEAL (Acoustic Performance Evaluation through Listening) method. The APEAL method combines point-of-view video with binaural audio to capture, as closely as possible, the experience of a space in use. This groundbreaking technique allows architects, designers, and clients to actually hear what a space sounds like when occupied ..read more