Aural environment survey in air-conditioned open-plan offices

In this study, a field survey of the indoor aural environment was carried out in thirty air conditioned open-plan commercial offices in Hong Kong, with over a thousand office workers were interviewed. Subjective responses of the office workers towards their aural environments were collected using questionnaires. Physical noise measurements were performed in an attempt to establish a suitable noise criterion for aural comfort. In addition, the nature of the noise from air conditioning systems is discussed. Results show that the equivalent sound pressure level and noise criterion are better criteria than noise rating when correlated with subjective responses.