Factors Affecting Ventilation and Acoustical Quality in a Sustainably-Designed and in Conventional Buildings — A Pilot Study

This paper discusses a pilot study involving direct monitoring of airflow and acoustical quality in a sustainably-designed and in conventional buildings. The objectives were to measure these environmental aspects, determine the factors affecting them and the relationships between them and key building-design concepts, and consider the implications of the results for ventilation-system design. Selected rooms in buildings with natural and mechanical ventilation, without and with acoustical treatment, were monitored. Measurements were made of airflow rates and acoustical quality. Correlations between these environmental aspects, the types of building and ventilation system, and the building window status were investigated. In rooms with natural ventilation, noise levels were lower; however, the rooms had lower airflow rates. Rooms with mechanical ventilation had higher airflow rates, but noise levels were higher; HVAC noise was a problem if the system was not well designed. In naturally-ventilated buildings, airflow rates and noise levels were low with windows closed, but opening the windows to increase the airflow rate resulted in higher noise levels. The results of the study suggest that the acceptability of indoor environments in buildings depends on the degree of compliance of the design and its implementation with standards and design guidelines, whether the original design is ‘sustainable’ or not.