appendix B

Performance criteria

  The control of noise within a room from mechanical equipment either associated with the building or with an adjoining building/activity. These are defined as Noise Criteria (popular in North America) or Noise Ratings (popular in Europe) and are based on the performance levels across a frequency range. Table 6.3 details the most common rating curves.

  The control of echoes within a room defined as the maximum possible reverberation time in seconds.

  Impact sound insulation from floors above a room, in order to provide adequate control of noise from footfall. This is shown as the Field Impact Insulation Class (FIIC) or the single figure weighted Sound Transmission Level (L’_nT,w), which are popular in North America and Europe respectively.

  Airborne sound insulation performance requirements for a range of room adjacencies by building type. These are presented as laboratory performance standards (STC for North America, and R_w for Europe). To determine on-site performance levels, these values can be adjusted by applying the rules of thumb outlined in Chapter 6 (Section 6.4.3).

  Airborne sound insulation performance requirements for a range of doors dependent on room type. Again these are displayed as laboratory performance levels (STC/R_w).

Table B.1  Recommended acoustic performance levels by room type

Table B.2  Suitable laboratory performance levels for separating partitions within a hotel development – STC/R_w (dB)

* Refer to performance standards detailed in Table 14.4

Table B.3  Suitable laboratory performance levels for separating partitions within an office development – STC/R_w (dB)

Table B.4  Suitable laboratory performance levels for separating partitions within an educational development – STC/R_w (dB)

Table B.5  Suitable laboratory performance levels for separating partitions within a healthcare development – STC/R_w (dB)

Notes:

2  Suitable reverberation levels for these spaces are dependent on room volume and expected musical type. Eq. A.25 (in Appendix A) can be used to determine suitable optimum reverberation times.

3  Appropriate impact insulation levels for domestic rooms are outlined in Chapter 12.

4  Optimum reverberation times for corridor spaces associated with schools can be defined as providing a minimum area of absorbent material as detailed in Table 7.4.

Table B.6  Suitable laboratory performance levels for internal doors – STC/R_w dB