ASHRAE Recommended Procedure for Measuring the

HVAC System - Induced Noise in a Room

(Draft #10)
1.

Introduction and Scope

This procedure is recommended by ASHRAE for the measurement of HVAC system-induced

noise in rooms. This procedure is appropriate whenever evaluating non-transient HVAC noise
against a specified noise criterion rating system, such as dBA, NC, RC, or NCB. This document
should not be used as a guide for measuring noise outdoors.
Two methods are presented in this document:
1) Survey Method
Provides a quick but only approximate noise evaluation.
Generally adequate for an initial building commissioning process.
2) Engineering Method
Provides an accurate assessment of the noise level in a room.
Generally sufficient to establish compliance relative to a noise criterion.
To avoid misinterpretation of the results of any noise test conducted according to this procedure,
it is essential that the data be clearly marked as to whether they were obtained using the Survey
or the Engineering method. If the survey method fails to conclusively determine the compliance
of the space with the criterion, then the Engineering method shall be used with the guidance of
an experienced acoustical consultant.
2.

Instrumentation

The measurements shall be made using instrumentation equivalent to an integrating sound level
meter equipped with and an omnidirectional condenser microphone. The instrumentation shall
meet Type 1 specifications for the engineering method as defined in the latest versions of ANSI
S1.4, ANSI S1.11, and ANSI S1.43. If the applicable noise criterion requires frequency analysis,
the instrumentation shall utilize parallel octave or 1/3-octave band filters, where all frequency
bands are processed simultaneously. Instrumentation that utilizes serial filters (where the meter
cycles through the various frequency bands one at a time) is not permitted. The measurement
quantity applied to this standard is the time average equivalent sound pressure level (Leq).
A handheld, Type 1 portable acoustic calibrator shall be used to calibrate the instrumentation
before and after each measurement session. Both the meter (including the microphone) and the
portable acoustic calibrator shall be certified to have been calibrated by an independent testing

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agency that is traceable to the National Bureau of Standards. The calibration date for the
measurement system shall not be more than one year prior to the test date.
3.

Test Conditions

The measurements should, if possible, be conducted with the room vacated by its normal
occupants. If this is not possible, the Test Report shall indicate the occupancy of the room and a
general description of what the occupants were doing during the measurements. In addition, all
non-HVAC related sound-producing equipment (computers, radios, vacuum cleaners, etc.)
should be turned off (if possible) for the duration of the measurements. Noise from outdoor
sources (e.g. aircraft, street traffic, lawn mowers, etc.) should also be minimized by closing
windows and doors and/or scheduling the tests during time periods when these sounds are at a
minimum.
No measurement shall constitute non-compliance of the noise level with respect to a design
criterion (NC, dBA, or other) unless the room is vacated, all non-HVAC related equipment is
turned off, and background ambient noise is demonstrated to be insignificant (as specified in
section 6).
The operating condition of the HVAC equipment or system serving the room during the
measurement shall be determined and reported. If possible, the measurements shall be
conducted with the system operating at full capacity (e.g. during maximum cooling for a VAV
system). Measurements at two or three different operating conditions (e.g., maximum cooling,
maximum heating, full economizer, etc.) are strongly encouraged, but not required. In all cases
the HVAC system shall be operating in a known steady-state condition during the measurements.
If noise measurements are conducted with the system running in an unknown condition, the Test
Report shall clearly state this fact, and the results of the test cannot be used to show compliance
with the project requirements.
4.

Measurement Volume

All measurements shall be made within a Measurement Volume that is defined as all locations
greater than 1 meter from any room boundary (wall, floor, and ceiling), but not greater than 2
meters above the floor. In rooms with multiple floor levels (e.g., a balcony in a theater), each
level shall be considered a separate room. The microphone shall be positioned such that at no
time is it closer than 0.5 meters from any object in the room (e.g., furniture). If possible, all
doors in the room shall be closed during the measurements to minimize the potential for noise
interference from other sources. In small or narrow rooms of width less than 2.5 meters, the
Measurement Volume is defined as all locations more than 0.5 meter from the room boundaries.

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5.

Measurement Procedure

The measurement microphone may be hand-held, mounted on a tripod or fixed to a rotating

boom. A moving microphone tends to provide a sound level more representative of the room
average sound level, compared to a motionless microphone, especially if the background noise
spectrum contains tones. However, extreme caution must be exercised when using a hand-held
moving microphone due to potential for background noise generated by movement of the person
holding the meter. Therefore, the Test Report must clearly state whether the microphone used
was fixed or moving, and whether it was hand-held.
5.1

Measurement Locations

With limited exceptions defined below, noise measurements may be taken at any point or region
within the Measurement Volume. Depending on whether the Survey or Engineering method is
used, measurements may be taken at one or several microphone locations within the
Measurement Volume. The Test Report must define fully the location of each measurement
point. A measurement point is considered valid unless:
1. The point is within 1 meter of an air distribution duct, diffuser or unit air discharge or
inlet
2. The point is within 0.5 meters of any object
3. It is not at potential ear locations for room occupants
5.1.1

Survey Method

For the survey method, noise may be measured at any valid measurement point where one would
typically expect to find the ears of the occupant (e.g., near the seated position in front of the desk
in a private office). If a high limit measurement is desired, the measurement may be obtained at
the valid measurement point closest to the dominant source of HVAC noise in the room. If
desired, more than one measurement point may be measured.
At each measurement point, record the time average (Leq) sound pressure level.
5.5.2

Engineering Method

If the floor area of the room is less than 20 square meters (215 square feet), the Measurement
Volume is characterized by four measurement points as uniformly distributed over the
Measurement Volume as practical.
If the floor area of the Measurement Volume is greater than 20 square meters, the room is
divided into two or more Sub-Volumes. The floor area in each Sub-Volume may be greater than
20 square meters, but not more than 40 square meters. None of the measurement Sub-Volumes
shall overlap.

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Each Sub-Volume is characterized by no less than four separate noise measurements. No

measurement point shall be closer than one meter to another measurement point. If the
measurement volume is so small that one meter microphone spacing cannot be achieved, then
reduce the microphone spacing accordingly, and include the minimum microphone spacing in
the Test Report.
At each measurement point, record the time average (Leq) sound pressure level.
For each Sub-Volume, calculate the space-average noise level. The space-average is defined as:
Lp_ave_SV = 10 log ( ( i 10(Lp_i / 10) ) / N )
Where N is the number of measurement points in the Sub-Volume.
For each Volume, calculate the space-average noise level. The space-average is defined as:
Lp_ave_V = 10 log ( ( i 10(Lp_i / 10) ) / M )
Where M is the number of Sub-Volumes.
Ambient Noise
Background ambient noise is defined as any noise not generated by the HVAC system. The
ambient noise level is measured with all HVAC equipment turned off, using the procedure
defined in Section 5.
Survey Method
For the survey method ambient noise measurements are recommended but not required. The
ambient noise levels should be measured immediately before or after measurements are made
with the HVAC system on, preferably both.
Record the time average ambient (Leq) sound pressure level at each measurement location.
Engineering Method
Background noise measurements are required for the engineering method. The ambient noise
levels should be measured immediately before or after measurements are made with the HVAC
system on, preferably both.
Record the time average ambient (Leq) sound pressure level at each measurement location.
Then, calculate the room average ambient noise level using the procedures defined above. If the
ambient noise level measurement in a given measurement band (either before or after

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measurements with the HVAC system operating) exceeds the HVAC system noise level minus 6
dB, that data point shall be clearly marked in the Test Report as ambient controlled.
6.2

Ambient Noise Correction

The measured noise level with the HVAC system turned on may, in some situations defined
below, be adjusted to artificially remove the effects of ambient noise. Ambient noise correction
is an optional procedure not required by this standard.
The ambient noise correction is made independently on an octave by octave basis. This
correction is not permitted when only one background noise measurement is made. Also, it is
not to be applied if either (one or both) ambient noise level exceeds the HVAC system noise
level minus 6 dB. In that case, the data shall be clearly marked in the Test Report as ambient
controlled.
If the energy average of two independent ambient noise level measurements (obtained before and
after the HVAC system noise measurement) is more than 6 dB below the HVAC noise level in
any octave band, then the ambient adjusted HVAC noise level in that octave band is computed
via the following equation:
Lp_ambient_adjusted = 10 log [10(Lp_hvac/10) 10(Lp_ambient/10)]
where:
Lp_hvac is the sound pressure level with the HVAC system operating, and
Lp_ambient is the energy average ambient sound pressure level with the HVAC system off.
The ambient noise correction shall not be allowed if the difference between the two ambient
noise levels in any frequency band is more than 3 dB. For example, if the measured HVAC
noise level is 45 dB (including ambient noise) and the two measured ambient noise levels are 40
dB and 37 dB, then the energy average ambient noise level is 38.8 dB and the ambient-corrected
HVAC noise level is 43.8 dB.
7.

Criteria Evaluation

The measured average (Leq) HVAC sound pressure level (ambient corrected, if allowed) in each
measurement volume shall be used for evaluation against the desired room criteria.
Measurements which are ambient controlled, as defined in Paragraph 6, are to be clearly
identified.
Ambient controlled levels may not be used to determine non-compliance of the HVAC system
relative to a noise criterion.

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The instantaneous maximum (Lmax) sound pressure level shall not be compared with the
specified criterion, unless that criterion specifically states that the instantaneous maximum sound
pressure level must meet the criterion. If so, the time constant of the rms detector (e.g., fast or
slow response) shall also be specified in the criterion. If the time constant is not specified, the
Lmax criterion is invalid.
In rooms with a Measurement Volume floor area greater than 20 sq. meters, the noise criterion
rating value shall be independently evaluated for each Sub-Volume.
It is recommended that a measurement tolerance of plus or minus 2 dB (in both the overall and
individual frequency band levels) be assumed when test data are used to show compliance with
noise criteria.
8.

Test Report

Engineering Method and Survey Method

The Test Report shall include the following:
1.

Facility location

2.

Definition of whether the Survey of Engineering method was used in the evaluation

3.

Identification (manufacturer, model number, and serial number) of the acoustic

instrumentation used, including rotating boom (if applicable)

4.

Name of the person(s) conducting the measurements

5.

Date and time of day of each measurement

6.

Microphone location for each measurement

7.

Definition of whether the measurement was fixed, hand-held moving, or rotating

microphone. If a rotating microphone was used, the boom radius and orientation shall be
documented.

8.

General description of the room including room name or number, approximate floor area,
approximate room volume, calculated Measurement Volume and Sub-Volumes (if
appropriate)

9.

General description of the surface treatments and the room occupancy

10.

General description of the HVAC system (including operating conditions and room
temperature at the time of the measurements)

11.

Average (Leq) sound pressure levels for each measurement location (before any ambient
noise correction)

12.

Maximum and average sound pressure level for each Measurement Volume or Sub-Volume
(before any ambient noise correction)

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13.

Ambient average (Leq) sound pressure levels for each measurement location (before any
ambient noise correction)

14.

Ambient maximum and average sound pressure level for each Measurement Volume or
Sub-Volume (before any ambient noise correction)

15.

Identification of any locations and measurement bands controlled by ambient noise as

defined in Section 6

16.

Ambient-corrected average (Leq) sound pressure levels for each measurement location

17.

Ambient-corrected maximum and average sound pressure level for each Measurement
Volume or Sub-Volume

18.

Measured noise criteria rating for each Measurement Volume or Sub-Volume.

9.

Measurement Precision and Bias

To be determined via round robin tests.