Selecting mechanical equipment with noise levels in the 60 Hz and 125 Hz octave-bands will help to mitigate noise from HVAC systems and the associated costs needed to reach the acceptable background noise levels.
Isolating mechanical equipment and installing low-noise and low-velocity equipment, including fans and boxes, will help project teams meet the HVAC background noise level requirements.
Determine a layout and envelope design that will reduce exterior and interior adjacent noise levels, in order to minimize the need for wall, ceiling, and floor assemblies to have high
Meet with the owner, teachers, or principal to review programmatic uses and layout of individual classrooms and core learning spaces. Doing so will help to inform both the school administrators and the design team of each other’s goals and intentions.
Avoid costly changes to existing plans by addressing the credit requirements early in design. Typical changes often include adding supply silencers or return silencers; duct layout reworking; adding lined ducts or flexible ducts, diffusers, lined sound boots, double gypsum layers; or making classroom location changes. The need to make changes like these late in the game could be minimized or eliminated with early incorporation of acoustical goals.
