Method

Statement
for Sound
Testing
of HVAC
System
BVLGARI
Hotel &
Residence

AJB Hightech LTD.

 Rev. 2

BVLGARI Hotel &

Residence Date 11/13/16

METHOD STATEMENT FOR SOUND TESTING OF HVAC SYSTEM

SECTION - 1 : SCOPE

1.1 AJB Hightech shall perform Sound Testing of all rooms and spaces with maximum noise levels
as indicated in Section 230548 (Vibration and Seismic Controls for HVAC) and Section 230813
(Air and Water Systems Balancing) of the project specification.

1.2 Design Noise Criteria as detailed on tables at pages 5 through 8 of 150510-BHR-WSP-ME-

SPC-004-0 (HVAC Division 23 IFC Specification).

SECTION- 2 : CONDITIONS REQUIRED FOR SOUND TESTING

2.1 BUILDING INTERIOR

2.1.1 Sound measurements in interior acoustical environments of a building cannot be
made unless the rooms, and preferably the entire building, are acoustically
sealed from exterior noise: windows glazed, doors hung complete with
hardware, weather and smoke seals, etc.

2.1.2 A check should be made to determine that all building construction equipment
and activities are either removed from the building or are not operating.

2.1.3 Exterior noise, such as traffic, aircraft, etc., and interior construction noise will
substantially affect the measurements; therefore, sound level measurements shall
be made when these noise sources are not audible or noted as an exception.

2.1.4 The interior surfaces of the spaces must be reason- ably complete: suspended
acoustical ceilings in- stalled and all carpeting in place. These are sound
absorptive surfaces and will have a significant effect on the sound measurements.
On the other hand, work that does not substantially change the acoustical
characteristics of the room, such as painting of walls, installation of vinyl tile,
installation of desks and thinly upholstered chairs need not be completed before
starting sound tests.

2.2 BUILDING EXTERIOR

2.2.1 Sound measurements at the exterior of a building are usually made to determine
whether mechanical/ electrical equipment located at the exterior of the building
or which are discharging noise to the exterior will increase the noise level in the
building or in adjacent buildings.

2.2.2 Before making exterior sound measurements, all construction activities must
stop; noise from construction equipment, hoists, etc., will affect the
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BVLGARI Hotel &

Residence Date 11/13/16

METHOD STATEMENT FOR SOUND TESTING OF HVAC SYSTEM

measurements. If nearby aircraft or vehicle traffic activity increases noise levels
in the vicinity of the building, it may be necessary to make the measurements at
night when such activities are at a minimum in order to accurately measure the
noise output of the building/mechanical/electrical equipment.

2.2.3 Environmental equipment servicing the building should be fully operational.

Cooling towers should be operating with all fans at design speeds and water flow
at normal operating rates. All fans connected to intake or discharge louvers
should be operating with damper settings at design fresh air intake or exterior
discharge. All outdoor unitary equipment should be operating under load,
assuring that the compressor is on and all the condenser fans are operating. In
essence operating conditions should be representative of project design
condition(s) or clearly stated prior to any noise testing to ensure that noise data
reflects a meaningful operating condition for the project

SECTION- 3 : INSTRUMENTS SPECIFICATION

3.1 SOUND LEVEL METER. Shall meet the Type 1 or Type 2 requirements specified in the
most current version of ANSI S1.4 American National Standard Specification for Sound Level
Meters.

3.2 FULL OCTAVE FILTERS. Shall meet the requirements specified in the most current version
of ANSI S1.11 American National Standard Specification for Octave- Band and Fractional-
Octave-Band Analog and Digital Filters.

3.3 ACOUSTIC CALIBRATORS. Shall meet the requirements specified in the most current
version of ANSI S1.40 American National Standard Specification for Acoustical Calibrators.

3.4 ANNUAL CALIBRATION. Sound Level instrumentation annual calibration is required for
both the sound level meter/ real time analyzer and the acoustic sound level calibrator.

3.5 FIELD CALIBRATION. All sound instrumentation shall be field calibrated with an acoustic
calibrator meeting the minimum requirements set forth in 3.1 to 3.3 of this section, at the
beginning and the end of each day of use. Field calibration shall be performed in accordance
with the manufacturer’s procedure for calibration or calibration check of instrumentation and
MUST include both the sound level meter and the matching acoustic sound level calibrator.
SECTION – 4 : SOUND LEVEL METER ORIENTATION
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BVLGARI Hotel &

Residence Date 11/13/16

METHOD STATEMENT FOR SOUND TESTING OF HVAC SYSTEM

4.1 Position sound level instrument to achieve a direct line-of-sight between the sound source and
the sound-level meter.

4.2 Take sound measurements at a height approximately 48 inches (1.2meters) above the floor and
at least 36 inches (1 meter) from a wall, column, or any other large surface capable of altering
the measurements.

4.3 During all measurements sound level meter operator, shall not stand between noise source and
sound level meter or be positioned in such a manner to interfere with sound level
measurements.

4.4 The sound level meter should be on a tripod, although holding the sound level meter, at arm’s
length, is sufficient.

4.5 The sound level meter should be pointed towards the noise source at an angle of 45 degrees
from the vertical.

4.6 Refer to attached mark-up drawings at Section 10 of this method statement for the location of
test.

SECTION – 5 : OTHER SOURCES

Perform sound measurements when other building systems/conditions and exterior sound sources
are at a minimum level and will not influence measurements of equipment being tested. In order to
minimize other sound sources, the following should be implemented:

5.1 Close ALL windows and doors to the space.

5.2 Turn off equipment in the building that might interfere with testing.
5.3 Perform measurements when the space is not occupied, or when the occupant noise levels from
other spaces in the building and outside are at a minimum, or do not affect sound readings.
5.4 Clear the space of temporary sound sources so unrelated disturbances will not be measured.
Turn off all sound sources (personal computers, printers, fax machines, etc.) in the space that
may affect sound readings.
5.5 Measurements should be performed when exterior vibration sources (trains, roadway traffic,
adjacent construction activities, etc.) are at a minimum level.
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BVLGARI Hotel &

Residence Date 11/13/16

METHOD STATEMENT FOR SOUND TESTING OF HVAC SYSTEM

SECTION – 6 : BACKGROUND NOISE

6.1 Take sound measurements with the building systems “OFF” to establish the background levels
and take sound measurements with the building systems operating.

6.2 Calculate the difference between measurements. Apply a correction factor depending on the
difference and adjust measurements.

6.3 In certain situations, it may be impossible to shut down building systems in order to obtain
background sound levels. Under these conditions, background sound levels cannot be
measured. In all situations, the AJB shall contact the appropriate personnel before shutting
down any building systems.

SECTION – 7 : DATA MEASUREMENTS

7.1 NC data shall be dB (Linear), 1/1(Full) octave band, from 31.5 to 8,000 Hz and Fast Time
Constant.

7.2 Overall sound levels in dB(A) Fast or Slow Time Constant.

7.3 Minimum sampling time, per measurement location, when using a Real-Time Analyzer shall be
minute (60-seconds) or sufficient time for sound level sample averaging to stabilize.

7.4 Depending on interference from outside noise sources multiple samples may be required in
order to obtain true and accurate data.

SECTION – 8 : SOUND MEASUREMENTS REPORT

Sound measurements shall be recorded on appropriate test forms, indicating the decibel levels
measured for both background and operating building system readings. Each tested location shall
be recorded on appropriate NC, and/ or overall dB(A) forms. The following information shall also
be recorded:

8.1 Date of test.

8.2 Time of test.
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METHOD STATEMENT FOR SOUND TESTING OF HVAC SYSTEM

8.3 Equipment designation.
8.4 dB level of background noise. Equipment/noise sources causing the background noise shall be
noted.
8.5 dB level of system being measured.
8.6 Indication of measurement locations that exceed design criteria.
8.7 Indoor measurements – location within building including floor level and room number and
location in room.
8.8 Outdoor measurements – location identifier such as location relative to equipment, location
relative to building, location relative to property line.

SECTION – 9 : SAMPLE SOUND TEST REPORT FORM

SECTION – 10 : TEST LOCATIONS