Bhandari and teammates link ventilation and noise and the cognitive performance of university students. They report that “focusing on ceiling fan noise in classrooms, this study investigates the effect of acoustic environment . . . on acoustic comfort, productivity, and engagement. A four-month-long field study was conducted in 11 naturally ventilated classrooms, obtaining 828 responses. . . . BGN [background noise] levels and RT [reverberation time] ranged from 58.2 to 65.3 dBA and 0.7–2.1 s, respectively. A positive correlation was found between acoustic comfort and engagement level and productivity. . . . students with high noise sensitivity reported acoustic discomfort when the BGN exceeded 62.4 dBA, RT was above 1.7 s and SNR [signal-to-noise ratio] was below 3.7 dBA. . . . students were more likely to accept the BGN ≤61 dBA, RT ≤ 0.7 s, and SNR ≥6.5 dBA. This study establishes the relation of BGN, RT, and SNR with acoustic comfort in naturally ventilated classrooms.”
Nikhil Bhandari, Srinivas Tadepalli, and Padmanaban Gopalakrishnan. 2024. “Investigation of Acoustic Comfort, Productivity, and Engagement in Naturally Ventilated University Classrooms: Role of Background Noise and Students’ Noise Sensitivity.” Building and Environment, vol. 249, 111131, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2023.111131