Dwellings in the Hofstraat in Eindhoven are heavily exposed to rail traffic noise from the track in front of their homes. There has been an increase of occupancy, in particular from freight trains, which has helped increase the exposure to exceed the allowable level in current legislation. The municipality of Eindhoven strives to find a solution to this problem that accommodates the residents’ explicit wish to avoid sound barriers along the track that will block the view at the front side of the houses.
Most houses in the street are built in the 1920’s with thin brick walls and in general poor insulation. The preferred approach is to improve the sound insulation of the roof and façades, improving thermal insulation and reducing energy consumption in the process. The thermal aspects of this project were executed in close cooperation by the Building Physics unit of the TU/e. The aim of this project was to offer residents a comprehensive package of measures to upgrade the house integrally. A matrix of packages were compiled to suggest various degrees of renovation for the different construction types in the street.
Several acoustical and vibrational measurements have been executed at Hofstraat to understand the extent and character of the disturbance. Core of the investigation was finding out the exact paths of sound between track and dwelling, making sure the right measures are taken.
