ASHRAE Journal - December 2020 - 52
ENGINEER'S NOTEBOOK
COLUMN
Learning a Vocabulary
For Acoustics
Fundamentals
BY JEFF BOLDT, P.E., HBDP, FELLOW ASHRAE; DAVID WRIGHT
Everyone experiences acoustics. It can be exhilarating for music and is traditionally
recognized as a need for performing arts venues. However, with architectural styles
trending to more open rooms, hard surfaces, expanded daylighting and exposed HVAC
ducts, acoustics design has become more important in the architecture/engineering/
construction (A/E/C) design community. This column will review how acoustical design
has become fundamental for the A/E/C industry and offer a simple vocabulary of basic
acoustic terms. A second column in the January ASHRAE Journal will focus on architectural acoustics with practical application of these principles for your clients.
Acoustics is fundamental for speech intelligibility in
any collaborative or shared environment with any size
room that must sound clear. Acoustic design is also a
basic need for hospitality or multifamily construction
where noisy restaurants and recreation venues with
bass music can annoy patrons, sleepers or neighbors.
Quality acoustic design efforts can provide a " sense of
place " and increase acoustic comfort in the built environment. Design for this can be predicted and planned
early in the design process. For example, a library and
open offices need quiet environments and speech privacy. A loud, reverberant, open classroom needs speech
intelligibility with properly located acoustic materials.
In health-care settings, the patient wants to understand
what their doctor says, but not have the person in the
next exam room also understand it.
Acoustic issues that are not assessed during design can
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become the cause of discomfort and stress. Poor acoustic
design may cause people to stop paying attention or be
distracted. Youth in a learning environment and the
elderly with hearing loss are affected readily. Lack of
acoustic review can allow destructive noise such as noise
from a poorly placed chiller to cause excessive noise at
the property line or inside the building it serves. Poor
acoustical design lowers quality of life, increases stress
or distraction and taxes the ability to learn and listen.
For mechanical engineers, acoustics might seem a
more distant friend or even a foe during their design
process. The study of acoustics considers the subjective
human response to sound, and this can be perplexing. This subjectivity can be vague with a limited or
Jeff Boldt, P.E., is director of innovation and quality, and David Wright is senior
acoustic technical specialist and senior AV designer at IMEG Corporation. Boldt is
SSPC 90.1 mechanical subcommittee chair.
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ASHRAE Journal - December 2020
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASHRAE Journal - December 2020
Contents
ASHRAE Journal - December 2020 - Intro
ASHRAE Journal - December 2020 - CT1
ASHRAE Journal - December 2020 - CT2
ASHRAE Journal - December 2020 - Cover1
ASHRAE Journal - December 2020 - Cover2
ASHRAE Journal - December 2020 - 1
ASHRAE Journal - December 2020 - Contents
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ASHRAE Journal - December 2020 - Cover3
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