The Ideal Home Show in London has been proudly showing visitors what is being billed as the ‘world’s first quiet house’. Featuring the quietest appliances available such as silent fans, shower pumps, hair dryers, soft close toilet seats and lots more innovative noise pollution decreasing ideas.
The house was created by a not-for-profit company Quiet Mark, to highlight the awareness of noise pollution in the UK. The project is a spin-off of the Noise Abatement Society, launched by Poppy Elliott.
“The Quiet House is like building the ultimate peace pad,” Elliott says. “When we come home, it’s supposed to be our sanctuary, our place to recharge. What’s happened is, we’ve gone on this amazing technological revolution where everything around us is technology but often the compromise in the design is that the sound hasn’t been considered, so you’ve got this massive orchestra at home.”
Major world cities have seen a significant increase in noise companies over the last five years. The soundproofing industry is therefore in a constant state of growth to keep up with demand for sound-reducing appliances and houses. An Ipsos poll in 2007 stated that the third most important factor when purchasing household appliances was noise reduction. It is therefore becoming a priority for property developers to consider acoustic design in new builds, as well as considering the aesthetics.