24 Feb Cancel Noise With Impact Windows For Your Home | Benefits and More

Are Noise Cancelling Hurricane Impact Windows Right for Your Florida Home?

The current windows in your home are one of the most important components of the whole structure. They perform a number of different roles, from protecting your home, your family, and your belongings from adverse weather conditions to potential intruders and burglars. This is why you must consider hurricane impact windows.

Particularly here in Florida. Between the months of June and November, hurricane season can cause many strong winds and storms to batter against properties along the coast and further inland. Hurricane impact windows are designed with multiple layers of glass to withstand the high-speed windows, keeping you and your household warm, dry, comfortable, and safe inside.

Another great benefit of hurricane impact windows that for many is just as important as the protection they offer against storms is their noise cancelling properties.

How Noise Cancelling Hurricane Impact Windows Work

Just as hurricane impact windows are strengthened by the fact that they are made up of multiple layers and specific types of materials, their noise reduction properties are too. The interesting thing is that although many windows are often touted as being noise cancelling, this is something of a contradictory term. While it is possible to reduce the ambient and environmental noise, they don’t cut out all sound.

What you are essentially getting, in most cases, when you invest in noise cancelling windows, are actually noise reduction windows. To understand why this is the case, you need to understand STC, Sound Transmission Class.

Noise Cancelling Vs Noise Reduction

The difference between what is considered noise cancelling, where there is no sound at all, and noise reduction, when it is, as the name suggests, reduced, all comes down to the STC. STC is the scale which measures the ease at which sound, and noise can travel in and out of a window.

The average single pane window and a traditional wooden frame, for example, has an STC somewhere in the high 20s, normally between 26 and 28. While a double glazing window will have an STC rate of between 26 and 32. Which may sound good, until you realize that for a window to qualify as a soundproof window, it needs to have a rating that is at least 45 or higher.

Essentially, when you are buying windows that claim to have noise cancelling properties, even when you invest in hurricane impact windows, you are really getting high quality noise reduction windows. The two terms continue to be used interchangeably though they tend to mean the same thing. Is that really a bad thing, that they can’t cancel out all the noise? Let’s look at some benefits of modern noise cancelling windows.

Noise Cancelling Windows Benefits

When you are looking to buy new windows, there are other things you will probably be thinking about beyond whether or not they can keep outside sounds out or to a bare minimum. However, noise cancelling windows offer some practical benefits that can improve the quality of your life. Let’s look at some that we believe are the most important.

• Increased Focus and Productivity: When you eliminate a lot of the noise outside your home, you can improve your focus and productivity. This is important if, like many people these days, you are working from home or homeschooling children. The sound of workmen, busy roads and traffic can all be reduced with windows with a high enough STC rating, making life a lot bearable and easier.
• Safety and Intruder protection Allows for a Sense of Privacy – if hurricane windows are designed to keep out heavy and fast storms and winds, you can bet they are able to reduce the risk of burglaries and damage to your property. With limited distractions and noise intrusion, there is a sense of privacy that is otherwise filled with noise. If you have a new born baby, this extra layer of privacy can make putting, and keeping, the baby asleep easier. The same is true if you are practicing meditation or yoga and would appreciate more silence to zone into your practice.
• Can Increase Property Value: We know there are certain features and upgrades you can make to your home to see its value increase. Installing Impact Windows and Doors is one of those! Because of the safety and protection it provides, it is a beneficial and sought after feature – especially in South Florida.

Types of Noise That Hurricane Impact Windows Reduce

Following on from the above, we thought it would be useful to note the type of noises your hurricane impact windows are likely to reduce, and maybe even cut out completely. This includes:

• Neighbors – loud music, kids playing in the street, when they have parties or BBQs that run late into the night
• Trains – if you unfortunately happen to live beside one of the busy railway lines in Miami or another city in Florida
• Planes – again, if you are unfortunate enough to live along the flight path from one of the many airports in Florida, hurricane impact windows can help reduce that kind of noise
• Construction – while most drilling, building work and demolition will normally take place during the day, some is often carried out late at night, when the roads are clearer, this can be a real pain. Even daytime construction noises can be an issue if you work night shift and sleep during the day
• Street traffic – who doesn’t find the sound of vehicles, honking and road accidents and near misses disruptive?

Additional Benefits of Hurricane Impact Windows

Although the focus of this post has been on the noise canceling and noise reduction benefits of hurricane impact windows, we know that noise isn’t the only factor you will want to consider when choosing windows. The great thing about hurricane windows is that they offer a number of additional benefits too.

1. Better Sleep at Night: There have been countless pieces written and lots of research conducted that proves an essential part of a healthy life and good mental health is getting enough z’s at night. One thing that can prevent you getting the quality and duration of sleep during twilight hours, is noises from outside. Whether it’s wildlife, if you live in a more rural part of Florida, or the goings on of your urban landscape, such as cars, vehicles and people, these can all keep you awake at night, especially if you are a light sleeper. With high STC rated hurricane impact windows, though, particularly when they are installed in your bedroom, you can benefit from a higher quality of sleep.
2. Reduced Insurance costs – although this is not always a dead cert, many insurance companies will offer reduced prices on their premiums to homes with impact windows
3. Energy Efficiency – impact windows, due to the many layers they are made from, also help with heat retention during the colder months, while reducing the amount of warmth that reaches your home during summer months. They are also designed to protect against UV radiation.

Conclusion

As you can see, if you want to reduce the amount of noise in your home, if you live in a particularly noisy part of Miami or another city here in Florida, hurricane impact windows are a great option.