noiseCriteriaRecommendations

R2026b

Get recommended noise criteria levels for indoor spaces

Since R2026b

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    Syntax

    rec = noiseCriteriaRecommendations(criteriaName)
    rec = noiseCriteriaRecommendations(criteriaName,Occupancy=RoomType)

    Description

    rec = noiseCriteriaRecommendations(criteriaName) returns a table with suitable criteria levels for a list of occupancy types provided in the ANSI/ASA S12.2-2019 standard [1].

    example

    rec = noiseCriteriaRecommendations(criteriaName,Occupancy=RoomType) returns the suitable noise criteria levels for a specific occupancy type.

    example

    Examples

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    Open Live Script

    Use noiseCriteriaRecommendations to view recommendations for the noise criteria (NC) metric for a variety of indoor spaces.

    noiseCriteriaRecommendations("NC")
    ans = 35×2 table
                                                      Occupancy                                                      Recommendation
    _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________    ______________

    "Concert halls, opera houses, and recital halls (listening to faint musical sounds)"                                15    18   
    "Small auditoriums (<=500 seats)"                                                                                   25    30   
    "Large auditoriums, large drama theaters, and large churches (for very good speech articulation (>500 seats)"       20    25   
    "TV and broadcast studios (close microphone pickup only)"                                                           15    25   
    "Broadway or live performance theaters"                                                                             20    25   
    "Private residences - Bedrooms"                                                                                     25    30   
    "Private residences - Apartments"                                                                                   30    40   
    "Private residences - Family rooms and living rooms"                                                                30    40   
    "Schools - Lecture and classrooms - core learning space with enclosed volume <566 cu m (<=20,000 cu ft)"            25    30   
    "Schools - Lecture and classrooms - core learning space with enclosed volume >566 cu m (> 20,000 cu ft)"            30    35   
    "Schools - Open-plan classrooms"                                                                                    25    30   
    "Hotels/motels - Individual rooms or suites"                                                                        30    35   
    "Hotels/motels - Meeting/banquet rooms"                                                                             25    35   
    "Hotels/motels - Service support areas"                                                                             40    50   
    "Office buildings - Offices - executive"                                                                            25    35   
    "Office buildings - Offices - small, private"                                                                       35    40   
      ⋮

    Show only the recommendations for libraries.

    noiseCriteriaRecommendations("NC",Occupancy="Libraries")
    ans = 1×2 table
     Occupancy     Recommendation
    ___________    ______________

    "Libraries"       35    40

    Compare the NC recommendations to those for the room criteria (RC) metric.

    noiseCriteriaRecommendations("RC",Occupancy="Libraries")
    ans = 1×2 table
     Occupancy     Recommendation
    ___________    ______________

    "Libraries"       30    40

    Open Live Script

    Load a recording of a room with background noise.

    [audioIn, fs] = audioread("office_kitchen_44p1_20s.wav");

    If possible, enter the calibration factor for the microphone used to make the recording or calculate it using calibrateMicrophone. The microphone in this example has an associated reference recording at 1 kHz with an SPL meter reading of 64 dB.

    [audioRef, fsRef] = audioread("1khz_64db_44p1.wav");
SPLreading = 64;
calibrationFactor = calibrateMicrophone(audioRef,fsRef,SPLreading)
    calibrationFactor = 
2.0836

    Get the noise criteria (NC) level for the room recording using the noiseCriteria function.

    NC = noiseCriteria(audioIn,fs,CalibrationFactor=calibrationFactor)
    NC = 
"NC-45 (500 Hz)"

    Compare the noise criteria level to recommendations for the most appropriate occupancy category for the recording.

    noiseCriteriaRecommendations("NC",Occupancy="Office buildings - Public circulation")
    ans = 1×2 table
                   Occupancy                   Recommendation
    _______________________________________    ______________

    "Office buildings - Public circulation"       40    50

    The NC level for this room is within the recommendation levels.

    Input Arguments

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    Name of noise criteria metric, specified as one of the values listed in this table.

    ValueDescription
    "NC" or "Noise Criteria"Noise criteria metric
    "RNC" or "Room Noise Criteria"Room noise criteria metric
    "RC" or "Room Criteria"Room criteria metric
    "A-weighted"A-weighted metric

    Data Types: char | string

    Occupancy type, specified as a string. Use this argument to return recommendations for specific occupancy types. RoomType must match an entry in the table for metric specified by criteriaName. Some RoomType values do not exist in all metrics.

    Example: "Libraries"

    Data Types: char | string

    Output Arguments

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    Noise rating recommendations for occupancy, returned as a table with variables Occupancy and Recommendation. The recommended levels are defined in the ANSI/ASA S12.2-2019 standard in Tables C.1, C.2, and D.2 [1].

    The Recommendation column contains two numbers. When the recommendation is specified as a range, the lower represents a strict, excellent target, and the higher number is acceptable. When the recommendation is a single value, it is listed twice.

    References

    [1] Acoustical Society of America. Criteria for Evaluating Room Noise. ANSI/ASA S12.2-2019 (R2023). Acoustical Society of America, 2019.

    Version History

    Introduced in R2026b

    See Also

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