The Italian law on building acoustics DPCM 5/12/1997 09/13/2003 The Italian law on building acoustics DPCM 5/12/1997 Angelo Farina 1 Dip. di Ingegneria Industriale – Università di Parma Parco Area delle Scienze 181/A, 43100 Parma – Italy farina@aidasrl.it 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997 AES 115th Convention - New York, NY

D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997: Titled: Specification of acoustical passive performances of buildings 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997: 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997: 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997: Triv 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

D.P.C.M. 5 December 1997: Summary: 5 acoustical requisites for buildings: Facade sound insulation Apparent sound reduction index of internal partitions Normalized tapping noise level Maximum “slow” SPL of discontinuous equipment Leq of equipment in continuous operation 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Facade Sound Insulation 09/13/2003 7 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997 AES 115th Convention - New York, NY

Facade Sound Insulation (2): D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997 – Annex A The Standardized Facade Sound Insulation (D2m,nT), is defined by: D2m = L1,2m – L2 is the SPL difference L1,2m = SPL measured 2m far from the facade, caused by traffic noise, or by a loudspeaker, with an incidence angle of 45°; L2 = average SPL inside the receiving room; T = reverberation time inside the receiving room, in s, (ISO 3382 standard); T0 = reference reverberation time, equal to 0.5s; 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Facade Sound Insulation (3): D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997 – Alnnex A The average SPL in the receiving room, L2, is computed with this formula:   Li are measurmenets performed in a number n of points. n is the integer number just above 1/10 of the room’s volume, in cubic meters. In any case, the minimum value for n is 5. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Facade Sound Insulation (4): D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997 – Annex A NOTES: The ISO 3382-1975 standard (reverberation time) was subsequently updated in 1997 and in 2008; The DPCM does not specify that the volume of the receiving room has to be expressed in cubic meters; The quantity denoted D2m,nT is defined in UNI EN ISO 140-5 as normalized facade insulation (and not “standardized”); The UNI 8270 standard, defining the single-number rating of facade insulation, has been superseded by UNI EN ISO 717/1. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Facade Sound Insulation (5): EN ISO 717-1:1997 standard Single-number rating For getting a single number giving the weighted normalized facade insulation, D2m,nT,w, the following procedure must be followed. The ISO 717 reference spectrum must be moved down, with 1dB steps, over the measured spectrum of D2m,nT. At each step, the sum of unfavorable deviations is computed (an unfavorable deviation occurs when the measured value, at a frequency band, is below the corresponding vale on the reference curve). When the sum of unfavorable deviations becomes smaller than 32, the reference curve is properly positioned. The weighted normalized facade insulation, D2m,nT,w is defined as the value of the reference curve at the frequency of 500 Hz. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Facade Sound Insulation (6): 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Sound insulation of internal partitions 09/13/2003 Sound insulation of internal partitions Attention! Only partitions between two different properties are subjected to the law! 13 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997 AES 115th Convention - New York, NY

Sound insulation of internal partitions (2): D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997 – Allegato A NOTES: The apparent sound reduction index R’ is defined by the EN ISO 140-4:2000 (and NOT by EN ISO 140-5:1996, as incorrectly written in the DPCM). The UNI 8270 standard, defining the single-number rating of facade insulation, has been superseded by UNI EN ISO 717/1. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Sound insulation of internal partitions (3): EN ISO 140-4:2000 standard Sound Insulation, D: Diffrence, in dB, between the spatially and temporally averaged values of the SPL in the two rooms: L1 is the average SPL in the transmitting room; L2 is the average SPL in the receiving room. The apparent sound reduction index, R’ is given by: where: D is the Sound Insulation; S is the area of the wall separating the two rooms; A is the equivalent absorption area of the receiving room. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Tapping Noise (4): EN ISO 140-4:2000 standard The equivalent absorption area of the receiving room, A, is computed as: where: V is the volume of the receiving room, in cubic meters; T is the reverberation time measured inside the receiving room. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Sound insulation of internal partitions (5): 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Tapping Noise 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997 09/13/2003 18 AES 115th Convention - New York, NY

Tapping Noise (2): D.P.C.M. 5/12/1997 – Annex A NOTES: The normalized tapping noise level (L’n), is defined by the UNI EN ISO 140-7:2000 stndard, instead of EN ISO 140-6:1996, as written in the DPCM. The latter is for laboratory measurments, whilst the DPCM is referring to “in situ” measurments. The UNI 8270 standard, defining the single-number rating of normalized tapping noise level, has been superseded by UNI EN ISO 717/2. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Tapping Noise (3): UNI EN ISO 140-7:2000 standard Average tapping noise level, Li: is the average SPL measured inside the receiving room when the standardized tapping machine is operating inside the adjacent room. Normalized tapping noise level, L’n: it is the average tapping noise level corrected by a term taking into account the equivalent absorption area of the receiving room, with reference to a standard absoprtion area A0: where: A0 = 10 m2. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Tapping Noise (4): UNI EN ISO 140-7:2000 standard The equivalent absorption area of the receiving room, A, is computed as: where: V is the volume of the receiving room, in cubic meters; T is the reverberation time measured inside the receiving room. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Tapping Noise (5): 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

HVAC and plumbing noise The measurement is to be performed inside a different room (of a different owner) than the one where the equipment is operating An explanation form the Ministry clarifies that the limit values are those reported in table B. The “general limits” of 35 e 25 dB(A) contained in the descriptive part of the DPCM are just a “lapsus calami” and are valueless. The noise produced by common (condominial) equipment are NOT subjected to the differential limits given by DPCM 14/11/1997 “Determinazione dei valori limite delle sorgenti sonore” 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Tricks (facade insulation): Interrupted gasket: 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Tricks (facade insulation): Continuous gasket: 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Tricks (facade insulation): Bad sealing around the frame of the window: D2m,nT,w = 37 dB 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Tricks (facade insulation): Good sealing around the frame of the window: D2m,nT,w = 41dB 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997

Psychoacoustic effect Complaints for low insulation (R’w = 45 dB) After rebuilding the partition: R’w = 53 dB, But the residents still complain…. 23 November 2012 DPCM 5/12/1997