Noise Exposure in Residential Buildings: An Internet of Things Approach for Enhanced Acoustic Comfort and Occupational Health

Abstract

Noise pollution has a material impact on occupational health and well-being. The most significant effects of environmental noise are associated with speed quality and productivity. Furthermore, some studies also connect environmental noise related to an increase in the arterial pressure. Therefore, the environmental noise is a critical challenge for public health, and sound supervision must be applied inside buildings since people typically spend most of their time indoors. Real-time sound monitoring enables the creation of a significant dataset for the decision-making on possible interventions for enhanced occupational health. This paper presents an Internet of Things approach for real-time sound supervision. The main contribution is to present a cost-effective solution composed by a cyber-physical system for data collection and web software for data visualization. The proposed method is designed using open-source technologies and Wi-Fi communication. The system has been tested inside buildings in a continuous form, and the results show that mean sound values range from 41,9 dBA and 46,7 dBA.