Mike Creamer of Business Edge revisits his Masterclass series of articles, updating and adding to the information which proved so useful to readers when the series was first published ten years ago. In this reincarnation, the series will cover both air conditioning and refrigeration and serve as an on-going source of technical reference for experienced personnel as well as providing a solid educational grounding for newcomers to our industry.
This month we look at the question of noise and acoustics and their relationship with the refrigeration and air conditioning industry.
Hearing is something we all take for granted, but is one of our main senses for living, communication and in some cases survival. The air fluctuations we recognise and sense as sound play a very important role in all our daily lives, providing us with the ability to communicate effectively, enjoy entertainment and maintain awareness in our environment.
Most common sounds are either, enjoyable, tolerable, non-intrusive and necessary, even calming in some situations. However, excessive, impulsive or tonal sound can be classed as noise and be irritating, debilitating and, in extreme cases, dangerous. An example, I am sure we can all relate to, of both sound and noise in their different guises is loud music. Listening to loud music, in say, a nightclub is enjoyable sound. However, in a nearby residential property, where only part of the music, usually the bass beat, is heard, the same sound manifests itself as an unpleasant noise.
This notion is also true for the sound generated by air conditioning and refrigeration equipment whereby the operation of plant becomes intrusive noise to those living or working nearby. Noise for the most part is the one commercial pollution we can successfully deal with, but the relatively high cost of acoustic treatment has always remained at bar.
One universal definition of noise pollution is unwanted sound. For most of us too much sound or the wrong type of sound is usually referred to as noise, but we are often left without the ability to describe how loud the noise is. The threshold point of when sound becomes a noise is the most difficult area to assess and is often a personal experience and may even change with our mood or state of health.
The academic investigation of sound and its transmission began in the early part of the 20th century and many varying types of assessment criteria have been developed to try and describe various noise types.
One factor which shows the prominence given to sound research and noise is that international standards exist so that a noise measured in the UK would be described identically if the same noise occurred in say China.
The subject of sound is vast and the intention of this article is to focus on the refrigeration and air conditioning aspects of noise and its treatment. One of the descriptions used regularly to describe noise control is a "black art". This is due to the fact that practitioners use what appear to be incomprehensible calculations and judgement, in equal measure, to generate treatments for unwanted sound.
This month we look at the question of noise and acoustics and their relationship with the refrigeration and air conditioning industry.
Hearing is something we all take for granted, but is one of our main senses for living, communication and in some cases survival. The air fluctuations we recognise and sense as sound play a very important role in all our daily lives, providing us with the ability to communicate effectively, enjoy entertainment and maintain awareness in our environment.
Most common sounds are either, enjoyable, tolerable, non-intrusive and necessary, even calming in some situations. However, excessive, impulsive or tonal sound can be classed as noise and be irritating, debilitating and, in extreme cases, dangerous. An example, I am sure we can all relate to, of both sound and noise in their different guises is loud music. Listening to loud music, in say, a nightclub is enjoyable sound. However, in a nearby residential property, where only part of the music, usually the bass beat, is heard, the same sound manifests itself as an unpleasant noise.
This notion is also true for the sound generated by air conditioning and refrigeration equipment whereby the operation of plant becomes intrusive noise to those living or working nearby. Noise for the most part is the one commercial pollution we can successfully deal with, but the relatively high cost of acoustic treatment has always remained at bar.
One universal definition of noise pollution is unwanted sound. For most of us too much sound or the wrong type of sound is usually referred to as noise, but we are often left without the ability to describe how loud the noise is. The threshold point of when sound becomes a noise is the most difficult area to assess and is often a personal experience and may even change with our mood or state of health.
The academic investigation of sound and its transmission began in the early part of the 20th century and many varying types of assessment criteria have been developed to try and describe various noise types.
One factor which shows the prominence given to sound research and noise is that international standards exist so that a noise measured in the UK would be described identically if the same noise occurred in say China.
The subject of sound is vast and the intention of this article is to focus on the refrigeration and air conditioning aspects of noise and its treatment. One of the descriptions used regularly to describe noise control is a "black art". This is due to the fact that practitioners use what appear to be incomprehensible calculations and judgement, in equal measure, to generate treatments for unwanted sound.