Comparing classroom acoustics in green and nongreen schools.

Abstract

Minimal data are available on existing conditions regarding the acoustical environment in public schools throughout the U.S. Furthermore, rarely is there communication between those involved in the design/build process and the professionals who utilize these spaces on a daily basis. The research presented for this paper was conducted in two parts. First, an electronic survey was issued to teachers of public elementary, middle, and high schools in all 50 states in green and nongreen classrooms. This survey gathered results on questions on the present condition of the teachers’ classrooms in terms of background noise levels, noise from adjacent spaces and the outdoors, speech intelligibility, and the level of importance of acoustics for a teacher with regard to other indoor environmental concerns, i.e., thermal comfort, daylighting, and layout of classroom. The second part of this research involved testing of classrooms, both green and nongreen. The testing complied with ANSI S12.60‐2002 for testing procedures for reverberation time, background noise levels, transmission loss, and speech interference level. Finally, the results from both parts were compared for nongreen and green classrooms regarding acoustics and classroom design for potential future applications in the school and architecture communities.