Written By: Brad Campbell | June 21, 2025
Excessive exterior noise is more than just a nuisance — it can have a real impact on employee productivity, concentration, and client experiences in commercial settings.
Whether your building is located on a busy city street, near an airport, beside ongoing construction, or in an industrial zone, mitigating noise pollution is critical to creating a quieter, more focused indoor environment.
One of the most overlooked culprits behind unwanted noise entering a building is its windows. The right noise reduction windows can drastically improve the indoor comfort of any commercial space.
Windows serve as one of the primary barriers between indoor spaces and the outside world. Just like they affect your building’s thermal performance, they also influence how much exterior noise filters inside.
The level of sound transmission through a window depends largely on the number of glass panes and the type of materials used.
For example, single-pane windows, which are still common in many older commercial buildings, offer very little resistance to noise.
On the other hand, double- or triple-pane windows, with additional glass surfaces and space between the panes, are significantly better at blocking sound due to the added insulation and materials.
However, replacing all your commercial windows with brand-new, multi-pane acoustic models can be prohibitively expensive, especially for large buildings. That’s where retrofit glazing solutions come into play.
Retrofitting your windows with the right type of glazing, such as Riot Glass, can reduce many common sources of noise pollution in commercial environments:
If your facility is in a dense urban area or an industrial zone, addressing these sound issues is not just a comfort consideration — it’s a business necessity.
Many commercial property owners assume they need to fully replace their windows to improve noise reduction. Fortunately, that’s not the case.
Riot Glass offers a range of fully retrofittable glazing solutions that can dramatically improve both sound attenuation and physical security — without the cost and disruption of a full window replacement.
A Riot Glass retrofit involves mounting a pane of high-performance laminated security glass or polycarbonate glazing directly into or onto your existing window framing systems using retrofittable framing adapters. This added layer creates a buffer that absorbs and reflects sound waves, reducing the overall volume of noise entering the building.
The retrofit system is installed using low-profile framing that fits seamlessly over your current window system. There’s no need to rip out window frames or disrupt your building’s facade, which makes the process fast, non-invasive, and highly cost-effective.
While Riot Glass products are primarily known for their security benefits, including resisting forced entry, impact, and ballistic threats, they can also serve as powerful noise barriers. The added pane of glazing increases insulation and sound absorption at the window, which directly contributes to better sound attenuation.
Much like the noise barriers you see along highways, RG-Series panels help absorb and dampen sound energy before it can travel through the glass. The result is a quieter, more peaceful interior, even in the midst of loud exterior conditions.
Both laminated glass and polycarbonate glazing used in Riot Glass systems have excellent acoustic properties:
Depending on the thickness and configuration of the system, Riot Glass retrofits can significantly reduce perceived noise levels, creating a more conducive environment for work, communication, and customer interactions.
A Riot Glass retrofit isn’t just about quieting down your building. It delivers a wide range of benefits for commercial property owners and facility managers.
Riot Glass creates a barrier that’s virtually impenetrable by common burglary tools, helping protect against forced entry, burglary, vandalism, smash-and-grab theft, rioting and looting, and even active threats.
The system also offers protection against flying storm debris and accidental impacts, helping you safeguard your assets and people in the event of severe weather or other unforeseen incidents.
By adding a secondary glazing layer to your existing windows, Riot Glass helps reduce solar heat gain and retain conditioned air from HVAC systems. This may lead to lower utility bills and more consistent indoor temperatures.
Since Riot Glass cuts down on both noise and temperature fluctuations, it improves the overall comfort of your commercial space for employees, clients, and visitors alike.
Unlike some acoustic solutions (such as foam barriers or window plugs), Riot Glass retrofits don’t block natural light or alter the appearance of your building. You maintain full visibility, curb appeal, and daylighting benefits while enjoying a quieter interior!
If your business operates in a particularly noisy area, or if you’re simply looking to improve workplace conditions and indoor comfort for your staff, a Riot Glass retrofit may be the ideal solution.
Industries that can benefit from commercial noise reduction windows include:
No matter the industry, quieter indoor environments contribute to better focus, higher productivity, and improved employee and customer satisfaction.
Between the noise reduction, energy efficiency improvements, and added physical security, installing Riot Glass is an upgrade that pays for itself over time.
For commercial buildings especially, this retrofit represents a practical and affordable way to resolve multiple operational concerns with one solution.
Instead of budgeting for full window replacements — or tolerating the ongoing costs of noise-related productivity loss and building inefficiencies — consider the benefits of reinforcing your existing windows with Riot Glass.
Interested in better sound attenuation and a hardened security profile for your commercial building? Contact Riot Glass today for a free consultation!
We’ll work with your glass contractor or facilities team to find the right retrofit solution for your building — delivered and installed anywhere in the country.
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