"The International Electrotechnical Commission (2013) IEC 61672-1:2013 Electroacoustics – Sound Level Meters – Part 1: Specifications are considered to be an equivalent to ANSI S1.4. Project teams outside the U.S. may use measuring equipment which is in line with IEC 61672-1:2013."
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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
For all occupied spaces, meet the following requirements, as applicable, for HVAC background noise, sound isolation, reverberation time, and sound reinforcement and masking.
HVAC Background Noise
Achieve maximum background noise levels from heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems per 2011 ASHRAE Handbook, HVAC Applications, Chapter 48, Table 1; AHRI Standard 885-2008, Table 15; or a local equivalent. Calculate or measure sound levels. For measurements, use a sound level meter that conforms to ANSI S1.4 for type 1 (precision) or type 2 (general purpose) sound measurement instrumentation, or a local equivalent. Comply with design criteria for HVAC noise levels resulting from the sound transmission paths listed in ASHRAE 2011 Applications Handbook, Table 6; or a local equivalent.Sound Isolation
Meet the composite sound transmission class (STCC) ratings listed in Table 1, or local building code, whichever is more stringent.Table 1. Minimum composite sound transmission class ratings for adjacent spaces
Adjacency combinations |
STCC |
|
---|---|---|
Residence (within a multifamily residence), hotel or motel room |
Residence, hotel or motel room |
55 |
Residence, hotel or motel room |
Common hallway, stairway |
50 |
Residence, hotel or motel room |
Retail |
60 |
Retail |
Retail |
50 |
Standard office |
Standard office |
45 |
Executive office |
Executive office |
50 |
Conference room |
Conference room |
50 |
Office, conference room |
Hallway, stairway |
50 |
Mechanical equipment room |
Occupied area |
60 |
Reverberation Time
Meet the reverberation time requirements in Table 3 (adapted from Table 9.1 in the Performance Measurement Protocols for Commercial Buildings1).Table 2. Reverberation time requirements
Room type |
Application |
T60 (sec), at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz |
---|---|---|
Apartment and condominium |
— |
|
Hotel/motel |
Individual room or suite |
|
Meeting or banquet room |
||
Office building |
Executive or private office |
|
Conference room |
||
Teleconference room |
||
Open-plan office without sound masking |
||
Open-plan office with sound masking |
|
|
Courtroom |
Unamplified speech |
|
Amplified speech |
||
Performing arts space |
Drama theaters, concert and recital halls |
Varies by application |
Laboratories |
Testing or research with minimal speech communication |
|
Extensive phone use and speech communication |
||
Church, mosque, synagogue |
General assembly with critical music program |
Varies by application |
Library |
|
|
Indoor stadium, gymnasium |
Gymnasium and natatorium |
|
Large-capacity space with speech amplification |
||
Classroom |
— |
Sound Reinforcement and Masking Systems
Sound Reinforcement For all large conference rooms and auditoriums seating more than 50 persons, evaluate whether sound reinforcement and AV playback capabilities are needed. If needed, the sound reinforcement systems must meet the following criteria:- Achieve a speech transmission index (STI) of at least 0.60 or common intelligibility scale (CIS) rating of at least 0.77 at representative points within the area of coverage to provide acceptable intelligibility.
- Have a minimum sound level of 70 dBA and must
- Maintain sound-level coverage within +/–3 dB at the 2000 Hz octave band throughout the space.
1 Adapted from ASHRAE (2007d), ASA (2008), ANSI (2002), and CEN (2007)
See all forum discussions about this credit »What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »Frequently asked questions
Is it possible to pursue this as an Innovation credit in a Core & Shell project?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Our project has small meeting rooms in an open-office plan. This situation appears to require an STC of 50. However, this level seems to be (unrealistically) high, especially considering the doors in the wall partition. STC 50 with a (closed) wall can be achieved, but even high STC doors won't achieve an STC of more than 45. Would this mean that the credit is not achievable?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Sound transmission requirements for adjacency combinations are listed in Reference Guide Table 1, but not all combinations are included. For example, an STC rating requirement is not provided for conference room and standard/executive office adjacency. Is sound transmission compliance achieved by addressing only project applicable adjacency combinations listed in Table 1?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Are we required to have an acoustical consultant in order to attempt this credit? The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Addenda
"The International Electrotechnical Commission (2013) IEC 61672-1:2013 Electroacoustics – Sound Level Meters – Part 1: Specifications are considered to be an equivalent to ANSI S1.4. Project teams outside the U.S. may use measuring equipment which is in line with IEC 61672-1:2013."
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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
For all occupied spaces, meet the following requirements, as applicable, for HVAC background noise, sound isolation, reverberation time, and sound reinforcement and masking.
HVAC Background Noise
Achieve maximum background noise levels from heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems per 2011 ASHRAE Handbook, HVAC Applications, Chapter 48, Table 1; AHRI Standard 885-2008, Table 15; or a local equivalent. Calculate or measure sound levels. For measurements, use a sound level meter that conforms to ANSI S1.4 for type 1 (precision) or type 2 (general purpose) sound measurement instrumentation, or a local equivalent. Comply with design criteria for HVAC noise levels resulting from the sound transmission paths listed in ASHRAE 2011 Applications Handbook, Table 6; or a local equivalent.Sound Isolation
Meet the composite sound transmission class (STCC) ratings listed in Table 1, or local building code, whichever is more stringent.Table 1. Minimum composite sound transmission class ratings for adjacent spaces
Adjacency combinations |
STCC |
|
---|---|---|
Residence (within a multifamily residence), hotel or motel room |
Residence, hotel or motel room |
55 |
Residence, hotel or motel room |
Common hallway, stairway |
50 |
Residence, hotel or motel room |
Retail |
60 |
Retail |
Retail |
50 |
Standard office |
Standard office |
45 |
Executive office |
Executive office |
50 |
Conference room |
Conference room |
50 |
Office, conference room |
Hallway, stairway |
50 |
Mechanical equipment room |
Occupied area |
60 |
Reverberation Time
Meet the reverberation time requirements in Table 3 (adapted from Table 9.1 in the Performance Measurement Protocols for Commercial Buildings1).Table 2. Reverberation time requirements
Room type |
Application |
T60 (sec), at 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, and 2000 Hz |
---|---|---|
Apartment and condominium |
— |
|
Hotel/motel |
Individual room or suite |
|
Meeting or banquet room |
||
Office building |
Executive or private office |
|
Conference room |
||
Teleconference room |
||
Open-plan office without sound masking |
||
Open-plan office with sound masking |
|
|
Courtroom |
Unamplified speech |
|
Amplified speech |
||
Performing arts space |
Drama theaters, concert and recital halls |
Varies by application |
Laboratories |
Testing or research with minimal speech communication |
|
Extensive phone use and speech communication |
||
Church, mosque, synagogue |
General assembly with critical music program |
Varies by application |
Library |
|
|
Indoor stadium, gymnasium |
Gymnasium and natatorium |
|
Large-capacity space with speech amplification |
||
Classroom |
— |
Sound Reinforcement and Masking Systems
Sound Reinforcement For all large conference rooms and auditoriums seating more than 50 persons, evaluate whether sound reinforcement and AV playback capabilities are needed. If needed, the sound reinforcement systems must meet the following criteria:- Achieve a speech transmission index (STI) of at least 0.60 or common intelligibility scale (CIS) rating of at least 0.77 at representative points within the area of coverage to provide acceptable intelligibility.
- Have a minimum sound level of 70 dBA and must
- Maintain sound-level coverage within +/–3 dB at the 2000 Hz octave band throughout the space.
1 Adapted from ASHRAE (2007d), ASA (2008), ANSI (2002), and CEN (2007)
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:
- Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
- Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
- Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
- Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
- Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
- Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.
Is it possible to pursue this as an Innovation credit in a Core & Shell project?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Our project has small meeting rooms in an open-office plan. This situation appears to require an STC of 50. However, this level seems to be (unrealistically) high, especially considering the doors in the wall partition. STC 50 with a (closed) wall can be achieved, but even high STC doors won't achieve an STC of more than 45. Would this mean that the credit is not achievable?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Sound transmission requirements for adjacency combinations are listed in Reference Guide Table 1, but not all combinations are included. For example, an STC rating requirement is not provided for conference room and standard/executive office adjacency. Is sound transmission compliance achieved by addressing only project applicable adjacency combinations listed in Table 1?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Are we required to have an acoustical consultant in order to attempt this credit? The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
"The International Electrotechnical Commission (2013) IEC 61672-1:2013 Electroacoustics – Sound Level Meters – Part 1: Specifications are considered to be an equivalent to ANSI S1.4. Project teams outside the U.S. may use measuring equipment which is in line with IEC 61672-1:2013."