March 14, 2005—The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) has approved funding totaling $1.1 million for 11 research projects in the areas of indoor air quality, comfort and health, design tools, safety under extraordinary circumstances, environmental quality, seismic and wind restraint design, operating and maintenance, and high risk, innovative and emerging technology, the organization says.
Among them is a study of the how indoor background noise can impact productivity.
Indoor background noise can dramatically impact occupants by causing annoyance, hindering speech communication, impacting sleep and degrading overall occupant comfort and satisfaction, according to principal investigator Lily Wang, Ph.D., University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Heating and ventilating systems are commonly the primary source of that noise, the association says.
Other ASHRAE approved projects includes ones related to smoke management systems; indoor air quality; emerging technologies; and wind restraint design.
ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of 55,000 persons that focuses on education and research related to heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration. For more on the organization, visit its Web site.
