Good Practices on the Control of Noise from Electrical & Mechanical Systems
 

Tackling Existing Problems against Noise Exceedance

 

Air-borne Noise Control

 

Noise generated from electrical & mechanical equipment may cause disturbance to nearby residents.

The noise may be mitigated by blocking the line of sign between the equipment and the receiver. Depending on the required level of noise reduction, noise barriers, partial enclosure and complete enclosure may be considered (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Air-borne Noise Control by Barriers and Enclosures

 

Structure-borne Noise Control

 

Vibration from electrical & mechanical equipment may be transmitted through building structure at points where the chiller is connected to the structure. The situation could be particularly worse when it is rigidly fixed to the structure without proper isolation. The vibration transmitted may activate the building structure to generate noise which causes noise disturbance to residents inside the building.

The vibration may be isolated from the building structure controlled by using vibration isolators (see Figure 2).

In addition, inertia blocks may also be provided between the vibration isolators and some mechanical equipment such as fans and pumps to add rigidity and stability of the system (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Structure-borne Noise Control by Vibration Isolators