System Design Guidelines

Rules of Thumb (cont.)

Difference between
sound pressure levels
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10+

dB to add to highest
sound pressure level
3.0
2.5
2.1
1.8
1.5
1.2
1.0
0.8
0.6
0.5
0

Noise Criteria

Graph sound pressure level for each octave band on NC curve.

Highest curve intercepted is NC level of sound source. See
Noise Criteria Curves., page 34.

Sound Power and Sound Power Level

Sound Power (Watts)
25 to 40,000,000
100,000
10,000
1,000
100
10
1
0.1
0.01

Sound
Power
Level dB
195
170
160
150
140
130
120
110
100

0.001

90

0.0001
0.00001

80
70

0.000001

60

0.0000001
0.00000001
0.000000001

50
40
30

32

Source
Shuttle Booster rocket
Jet engine with afterburner
Jet aircraft at takeoff
Turboprop at takeoff
Prop aircraft at takeoff
Loud rock band
Small aircraft engine
Blaring radio
Car at highway speed
Axial ventilating fan (2500
m3h) Voice shouting
Garbage disposal unit
Voiceconversational level
Electronic equipment cooling
fan
Office air diffuser
Small electric clock
Voice - very soft whisper

System Design Guidelines

Sound Pressure and Sound Pressure Level

200.0

Sound
Pressure
Level dB
140

63.0

130

20.0

120

6.3

110

2.0
0.63
0.2
0.063
0.02
0.0063
0.002
0.00063
0.0002
0.00002

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
0

Sound Pressure
(Pascals)

Typical Environment
30m from military aircraft at take-off
Pneumatic chipping and riveting
(operators position)
Passenger Jet takeoff at 100 ft.
Automatic punch press
(operators position)
Automatic lathe shop
Construction sitepneumatic drilling
Computer printout room
Loud radio (in average domestic room)
Restaurant
Conversational speech at 1m
Whispered conversation at 2m
Background in TV recording studios
Normal threshold of hearing

Room Sones dBA Correlation

150
dBA = 33.2 Log10 (sones) + 28, Accuracy 2dBA

Loudness, Sones

100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20

10
9
50

60

70

80

Sound Level dBA

From ASHRAE 1972 Handbook of Fundamentals

33

90

100