Noise, Ventilation and Overheating in Residential Developments

The aim of this project is to investigate the indoor noise level from external sources that may be acceptable to occupants on a short term basis when the alleviation of overheating is required. This is a collaborative, interdisciplinary proposal exploiting two unique world-class sets of expertise and experimental facilities from the University of Salford: Acoustics from the School of Computing, Science and Engineering, and the Energy House from the School of Built Environment.

There is currently insufficient guidance regarding indoor ambient noise levels that should be achieved in residential developments in the situation where measures are required to control overheating. This lack of guidance is resulting in residential developments with poor indoor environmental conditions where residents are not able to achieve thermal and acoustic comfort at the same time. The problem is exacerbated by the move towards better insulated, more airtight buildings and the need, particularly in urban areas, to consider development on noisier sites. It seems very likely that this is giving rise to unnecessary sleep disturbance and adverse health effects in an increasing population of people.
Therefore there is a need to develop optimal solutions for noise and ventilation in residential developments. A starting and important step to achieve optimisation is to study the human response to and inter-dependence of acoustic and thermal comfort in dwellings. This can be achieved using lab studies on relatively small groups under closely controlled conditions.

This requires determination of three independent factors:
1. Human response will be determined using physiological measurements by techniques such as galvonic skin response, heart rate, and salivary cortisol.
2. Affective transfer, how the subjective rating of the noise stimulus changes due to changes in ventilation, will be determined using questionnaires and interview.
3. Cognitive impact, the negative effect on task performance, attention and memory, will be investigated using techniques previously applied in open-plan office research.

An innovation proposed for development in this work is the novel application of the interactive computer periphery Microsoft Xbox Kinect. Developer kits have recently become available that will allow software to track body and limb movement, facial emotion recognition, eye tracking, head tracking and even heart rate.
EligibilityCandidates must be from the EU and will need a 1st class or high 2:1 honours degree in a relevant subject.

Application where funding can be secured from other sources will be accepted at any time. For further information visit: www.salford.ac.uk/study/postgraduate/fees-and-funding/research-degree-fees-and-funding
Further information and applyingFor further information, please contact Professor David Waddington at [Email Address Removed]

For more information on research within the School of Computing Science & Engineering and to make an application please visit: www.salford.ac.uk/research/sirc/postgraduate-research