Item: Issue a Noise Criteria (NC) specification for HVAC service to the Theater for use by the mechanical systems designer/contractor. For the convenience of such mechanical systems designer/contractor, the NC specification submittal shall also include maximum allowable HVAC-related decibel (noise) levels at specific frequencies, and maximum recommended face velocities at the terminal devices (i.e., registers and grilles). It's typically the responsibility of Owner's mechanical systems designer/contractor to engineer the HVAC service to meet Designer's NC specification.

[Note: If Owner's HVAC designer/contractor lacks sufficient experience in low-noise applications, Keith Yates Design Group can optionally include in its scope of work the supplying of engineered drawings and specifications for use by Owner's HVAC contractor. See Optional Services.]

Relevance: Unlike music, the most dramatic moments in movies are often the ones quiet enough to hear a pin drop—where the audience holds its breath. The constant low-level drone of heating and air-conditioning systems can smudge the little soundtrack details—the chirping of crickets, rustling of leaves, squeaking of a rusty door hinge etc.—that give movies their texture and believability. The optimum solution is typically (though not always) to engineer a small, separate low-noise HVAC system to serve the venue. This is actually more important in Home Theaters than in commercial cinemas because the background (ambient) noise levels in home settings are often much lower than those found in commercial buildings, meaning there's less street noise, people noise, etc. to mask the rumbling/whooshing/hissing sounds produced by HVAC systems.

Form: Memo to architect, Owner, general contractor and HVAC contractor. (Optionally, engineered, computer-generated drawings.)

Performance-Based Room Design (sm)

Building your own dedicated A/V room?
Wondering how to get your room & A/V gear to work with each other?
Questions about Home Theater or Listening Room acoustic design?
E-mail us!

Copyright (c) 1998-2001 Keith Yates Design Group, Inc. All rights reserved.