Hospitals and health care facilities have requirements for large volumes of ventilation and strict control of airflow, and the greater the airflow, the greater the potential for noise. Building mechanical services equipment, fans, pumps, cooling, and heating equipment are all sources of high noise levels. When Acoustics By Design works on a new hospital, we typically expend half of our effort on attenuating building mechanical systems noise.
In order to avoid the need for extensive noise and vibration isolating constructions, project designers and engineers should pay careful attention to mechanical room sizes and locations during schematic design. Here are some issues to address early on.