The effect of the rolling shutter in the perception of the sound insulation

Rolling shutters or blinds are elements placed outside the window. They aim to protect the interior of dwellings from the direct exposure to sunlight. Even though they are not usual in some countries, they are commonly used in Mediterranean countries due to longer exposure to daylight. Acoustic insulation of window elements might be modified due to the shutter position. This research studies the subjective perception of the acoustic insulation of different window elements according to the position of the rolling shutter, by analyzing the correlation between the subjective perception and the usual SRI (Sound Reduction Index). For this purpose, a paired-comparison listening test is carried out for a normal-hearing heterogeneous panel of 120 people in which several window and shutter configurations are considered. The spectral features of each configuration are obtained by averaging several laboratory measurements for each configuration. Sound samples for the test are obtained by filtering the average spectral features of each configuration with typical urban sources of noise. Then, the responses of the participants are compared to the SRI by means of statistical methods.