We experience noise—unwanted sound—regularly. We don’t always measure it, but when we do, we do so for a reason. We want to test whether or not the noise we hear meets or exceeds certain criteria. When you measure noise for the purpose of testing whether something meets or exceeds certain criteria, keep in mind the following tips.
5 Tips for Noise Measurements & Testing
Know your location. Note the background noise (called ambient noise), as well as the weather conditions (temperature, humidity, and wind speed).
Know your object. For industrial noise control, it is crucial to know the operating conditions of the equipment being tested. If noise measurements in testing do not correspond to the machine noise in the field, then the measurements do not actually tell you whether equipment will meet or exceed criteria. That’s a problem.
Know your equipment. Make sure you have a recently calibrated sound level meter with a good microphone. Only up to date calibration records demonstrate accurate calibration.
Know the criteria. Be clear about the requirements. For example, do the noise measurements test for the maximum noise level, the average, or an equivalent level? How many measurement locations are specified by the criteria? Where should the measurements be made (the operator’s ear, or the property line, etc.)?
Keep records of the above, including date and time, as well as a short narrative of the event.
The above may seem overly cumbersome, but it can prevent future difficulties.
And if it all seems too complicated, we can help. We have been making noise measurements to test for compliance for almost 30 years—in Houston and around the world.
Fill out this form, or contact us directly, so we can see how we can help you, either by solving your problem ourselves or by directing you to someone we trust who can.
CSTI acoustics
16155 Park Row, Suite 150 Houston, TX 77084-6971
(281) 492-2784 csti@cstiacoustics.com