Air-cooled chiller screening noise analysis with preliminary building project information

For Inter-noise 2018, the author submitted a paper proposing techniques to derive reasonable preliminary estimates of building project stationary noise emission levels from sparse but available data that may seem unrelated to noise or vibration such as gross square footage (GSF), expected occupancy, and land use or function. Results from these predictions would be used to support or refine established buffer distances between exposed outdoor heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system noise sources and nearby noise-sensitive receptors, helping planners tasked with ambitious infill or growth goals better fit building projects into complicated campus development puzzles. This paper provides supplemental guidance by linking the same preliminary building project GSF, occupancy, and function information to estimates of cooling load (expressed as refrigeration tonnage) and thus an additional HVAC consideration not discussed in the author's previous study. When such refrigeration relies upon air-cooled condensers installed outdoors on building rooftops or at grade, substantial noise sources are introduced to the environment. Thus, this new study shares data and methodology to help expand the value and utility of the previous work and potentially provide more comprehensive building HVAC noise estimates for use by building developers and planners.