Renewal by Andersen® Windows: How They Reduce Noise

Renewal by Andersen® offers energy saving windows can give you many benefits. By having them installed in your home, they help maintain indoor comfort all year round while reducing your heating or cooling requirements. This, in turn, results in more savings on your energy bill. Also, thanks to the wide variety of beautiful styles these windows are available in, they can easily enhance both your home’s interior and exterior.

Apart from these qualities, it is also worth noting a little-known fact about our replacement windows. They, too, can benefit your ears. In other words, they help reduce the level of sound coming into your home. In today’s post, we’ll discuss how our windows reduce noise transmission. We’ll also touch on other ways noise can be blocked both inside and outside your home.

About Our Noise-Reducing Windows

From casement windows to specialty windows, our replacement units come with the High-Performance™ Low-E4® glass. This glass has special coatings in it that allow it to pass natural light through while blocking off harmful infrared and ultraviolet rays. This low-emissivity (low-E) coating prevents your interior furniture and other valuables from fading. At the same time, it stops heat from escaping during winter and penetrating your indoors during summer.

This same glass, as with the other glass packages that we offer, is also designed to prevent excessive exterior noise from using your windows as a gateway into your home. Renewal by Andersen windows achieve this by pairing an impact-resistant glass with a PVB interlayer. It has a different density than the glass, interfering the sound waves and keeping everything peaceful in your home.

With our windows, you never have to worry about being annoyed by the noise coming from neighbor’s lawn mower, nor from a dog barking loudly outside in the middle of your sleep. Consider window replacement with us to cut down on the levels of these and other sounds that may disturb you at any time of the day.

Sound Transmission Class Rating

To better understand our windows’ ability to reduce noise transmission came to be, it would be worth discussing what is called the Sound Transmission Class (STC) rating. It is an established way to find out how much sound a certain material can stop. Apart from the windows, it is also used for other building materials such as flooring, doors, and walls.

The rating system follows a logarithmic pattern similar to the Richter scale, which is used to measure the magnitude or size of earthquakes. This means each number is significantly higher than the one before. In the context of our energy saving windows, the STC ratings range from 18 to 38. The higher the rating, the more noise prevention.

Ratings also vary depending on the window glazing. A single-pane window, for instance, has a normal STC range of 26 to 28. Dual pane windows, meanwhile, have STC ratings between 26 and 33. Ours feature two glass panes with gas fill in between them. However, thanks to the thickness of our glass options and the gas-filled airspace, our windows are able to reach better STC ratings.

Our casement windows, in fact, have been given an STC rating of 34. This means that the amount of sound that will get through your windows will be noticeably diminished. Truly, replacing your old units with our replacement units can help you achieve not just energy efficiency, but also better home soundproofing.

Noise and How They Can Be Avoided at Home

Remember, however, that installing noise-reducing windows aren’t the only solution to combat noise pollution at home. There are other materials that can be used and methods that can be applied to alleviate this problem and ensure peace and tranquility in your household.

Apart from window replacement, you can perform other home maintenance tasks that can reduce noise. Starting indoors, you can begin by fixing squeaky wooden floor and stairs. They are not much of a bother during active parts of the day, but they can be really annoying. Re-nail any loose planks and reinforce joists to strengthen subflooring support to eliminate squeaks.

Also, check for noisy pipes in your plumbing system. Rattling, chattering, and banging sounds coming from these components sometimes occur every time you turn off a faucet or flush the toilet. Unless you know how to install water hammer arrestors to provide an air cushion for the pipes, it’s best to consult your local plumber for help.

Another way to block noise further is to equip your energy saving windows with soft curtains. It can absorb interior room sounds and minimize outdoor noise, albeit marginally. Available in different sizes and designs, they also provide decorative appeal for your indoors.

Meanwhile, you may consider installing interior doors with a compact core. Interior doors with hollow cores are known to be ineffective at blocking sound. As such, choose particleboard-, composite-, or solid-core doors to keep noise from moving from one room to the next.

During installation, our casement windows are tightly sealed to prevent drafts and, of course, sound. Do the same as soon as you have your new interior doors installed. Adhesive-backed high-density foam tape is usually the easiest and best material to use to prevent noise from sneaking around these fixtures.

At Renewal by Andersen of Eastern NY aims to provide our customers with customizable units that fit perfectly in any home. Expect our products to deliver superior performance with their Fibrex® frame material and Low-E4® glass. With a wide array of exterior colors and interior finishes, it is easy for you to highlight your window’s beauty. We also have the strongest limited warranties so that you can rest assured your new units protect your home and family from the elements.

Control noise in your home today by turning to our window replacement pros. Call (866) 479-1700 or fill out our contact form to request a free, in-home consultation. You may also visit one of our showrooms at our Schenectady and Middletown offices.