Royal Wharf, Double Glazing Won't Block Out All Noise

I have shown in previous blog posts that the Royal Wharf site is situated very near the London City Airports.  

London City - More than 200 Flight Movements A Day
This Airport has more than 200 flight movements a day, on average. It has permission to operate up to 120,000 flight movements per year, currently it is operating about 70,000 flight movements a year.

Double Glazing
The issue to be addressed in this blog post is whether the double glazed windows as promised by the developer of Royal Wharf would be useful. Some agents I have talked to on the noise issue give me the impression that these windows will block out all noise, like magic.

What Can Double Glazing Do?
What exactly is double-glazing and what type of double glazing is being used? Another way to ask this question is as follows - how many decibels of noise can double-glazing cut? With these research questions in mind, we can start searching the Internet and/or asking experts.

Findings - Normal Double Glazing Reduce Noise by 20 Decibels
Here is what I found, and I stand corrected (since I am not an expert on double-glazing). Typically, double-glazing windows can only reduce the noise by 20 decibels, which isn't too bad. 

The best noise reduction results I have seen so far is what is called a laminated acoustic double glazing window which can reduce noise levels by up to 35 decibels. Source: www.double-glazing-info.com

Now, what type of double-glazing is the developer installing for the unit? It is not clear from the marketing collateral. What is very clear, however, is that double-glazing doesn't work like magic to cut out all the noise.
The next logical question to ask is this. How loud are the planes when they take off? 

See this video where a person measures the sound of a passing plane. It reaches a whopping 81 decibels. 

If your double-glazed windows can only block out 20 decibels of noise, it means that you still have 60 decibels coming in. 60 decibels is as loud as a normal conversation. You may think that sounds reasonable.

But think of it this way. Every time the plane takes off or land (200 movements a day), you have to hear somebody 'talking' to you, even though you don't want to hear that person. Bearable?

Don't forget, your double-glazed windows would help cut noise if and ONLY IF, they are shut. Wait a second, isn't that obvious? What's the big deal?

Royal Wharf Units have No Air-Conditioning
Do you know that the Royal Wharf units do not come with air-conditioning? Before you scream at the developer, cool down and realise that this is London, not Singapore. Only the very high-end UK properties and developments come with some type of heating plus air-conditioning system. The bulk of residential developments only have heating elements.

Ok, so what's the point?

Rely on Natural Ventilation
UK properties, even London properties, rely on fresh natural air for their day-to-day air circulation! People leave their windows open. They expect to be able to leave their windows open for the fresh air.

Now you see what I am driving at? People in London would like to leave their windows open. In summer, when it gets warmer, would you want to live in a flat that you can't open the windows lest 80+ decibels of aircraft noise overwhelms you?  Oh, whatever the case, do buy a fan for the summer. It may help the stuffiness. 

Anyway, Noise is to Be Expected in a City 
Well, London is a big city and not the countryside, therefore some level of noise is to be expected.  Given that the Royal Wharf development doesn't face a main road, one can expect little if any noise from traffic. Also, the London City Airport does have flight time restrictions, so you shouldn't be disturbed at night. 

Happy Investing!

Back to Royal Wharf Landing Page