Noise Emission from Building Integrated Wind Turbines: A Case Study of a Tall Building
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Date
2021
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Abstract
Tall buildings have the ability to produce wind energy, having been exposed to relatively highairflow speeds at a far distance from ground levels. However, with the introduction of windenergy into urban areas, there are many concerns. These include especially environmental noiseimpacts since the wind turbines will be located in dense urban areas where tall buildings aremostly located. Therefore, this increasing use of wind energy in the built environment has ledto the publication of up-to-date regulations that limit noise levels for wind farms in manyEuropean countries. At this point, the following three aspects should be considered for noiseemission: the noise source, the distance from the source, and the sound pressure level of thenoise source. The choice of wind turbines for urban environments should, therefore, becompatible with low noise levels. In addition, careful positioning of turbines is also important(avoid locations where wind conditions are unfavorable, avoid sensitive places, i.e. areas atwhich noise levels must be low). It was necessary to calculate the noise in strong winds becausethe noise from a wind turbine rises with wind velocity. For the measurement of noise emittedfrom the wind turbine, two potential solutions were proposed until now; either it could bemeasured in a wind tunnel or it could be measured in the natural wind outside. However, in theearly design stage, these types of measurement methods are mostly not preferable due to highfinancial requirements and long measurement processes. Hence, in this study, wind turbinenoise is simulated via software. A case study of a tall mixed-use tower is chosen and theenvironmental noise distribution due to the wind turbine located on the roof of the tower issimulated. The results may provide an important guideline for architects looking for anacoustically comfortable way to integrate wind turbines into their buildings in the early designstage.