The Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute(Arlington, VA) was joined at a recent hearing by the Modular Building Institute, code inspectors, architects, the Association of Building Managers, the Metal Building Institute, Bard Manufacturing, and Marvair, in opposing a proposed code change on classroom noise that is so stringent “it is the equivalent to a soft whisper at five feet,” according to ARI Standards Engineer Michele Darbueau.

The code change proposal was extracted from the draft ANSI (American National Standards Institute) Standard 12.60-200X, which sets background noise levels within the learning space—including air conditioning—at 35 decibels.