Attentive Windows - Noise-controlled Window Ventilation

In urbanized environments traffic noise is an often debated topic which emerges to a serious problem. If windows are opened for ventilation, noise also automatically invades. The technical development, evaluated in this work, provides a solution: A window, which reacts to traffic noise in real-time by self-controlled opening and closing. The current work dealt with the quantification of the added value created by this window with respect to measures of perceived loudness and annoyance. Within a laboratory experiment subjects rated perceived loudness and annoyance of several traffic noises with the window opened, closed or automatically closing. The ratings of loudness and annoyance were the same for the closed and the automatically closing window. In both situations, the traffic noise was rated significantly less loud and annoying as compared to an open window. Moreover we evaluated the efficiency of the automatically closing window in different situations of everyday life.In a relaxed situation (e.g. at home), the traffic was perceived louder and even more annoying compared to the ratings of the same traffic noise in a highly cognitive demanding situation (e.g. at work). In conclusion the automatically closing window provides a considerable overvalue compared to conventional windows.