Approved Document O

Approved Document O (ADO) of the Building Regulations was published in 2021 and addresses overheating in residential buildings. The document specifies night-time noise criteria for bedrooms.

The noise levels outside proposed new dwellings need to be considered alongside the overheating risk at the site and the proposed overheating mitigation strategy.

An assessment of the noise implications of overheating involves measuring the night-time noise levels at the development site and preparation of a computer noise model to determine the noise levels that will prevail outside each bedroom. The results determine to what extent the overheating mitigation strategy can rely on windows being open.

In quiet areas with a low risk of overheating, the noise criteria for bedrooms may simply be achieved with windows opened to mitigate ovreheating.

In noisier areas and/or areas where there is a greater risk of overheating (London and some parts of Manchester), there is a higher likelihood that open windows cannot be relied upon to mitigate overheating as the internal noise criteria would be exceeded. In such cases, it is necessary for the project acoustic consultant and sustainability consultant to work collaboratively to determine the overheating strategy.

acoustic design | noise monitoring | noise modelling