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he influence of the position of noise sources in lecture halls and its
impact on the subjectively evaluated speech intelligibility
Rok Prislan1*, Denis Pirnat 2, Mateja Dovjak2
1 InnoRenew CoE, Livade 6a, SI-6310 Izola, Slovenia, rok.prislan@innorenew.eu
2 Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za Gradbeništvo in Geodezijo, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, mateja.dovjak@fgg.uni-lj.si
* Corresponding author
The increasing number of technical equipment and machinery in modern buildings leads to a higher background
noise level to which the users are exposed. It is well known that noise levels can affect speech intelligibility, which
is critical in lecture rooms where information must be conveyed accurately and easily. In this regard, building
regulations include requirements for acceptable background noise levels. However, there are no guidelines for
choosing the position of noise sources in the room, which is the subject of this study. Using an artificial speaker as
the source, the generated sound was recorded in a representative university lecture room. In addition, background
noise was added, and its position and level were varied. Measured speech transmission index (STI) and perceived
speech intelligibility were analysed at two listening positions. The latter was determined by binaural listening
tests (N=80). The results show that while the position of the noise source has no significant influence on the
STI, it can significantly influence the perceived intelligibility. The results are important because they show that
background noise is not a sufficient criterion for the inclusion of noise sources in the built environment and that
the position of noise sources can be optimised in the design phase.
Keywords: equipment noise, speech intelligibility, noise source position
Acknowledgment: The author gratefully acknowledges the European Commission for funding the InnoRenew
project (grant agreement #739574) under the Horizon2020 Widespread-Teaming program and the Republic
of Slovenia (investment funding from the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European
Regional Development Fund). The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Slovenian Research
Agency (research core funding No. P2-0158, Structural engineering and building physics).
17–18 NOVEMBER 2022 I IZOLA, SLOVENIA 29
impact on the subjectively evaluated speech intelligibility
Rok Prislan1*, Denis Pirnat 2, Mateja Dovjak2
1 InnoRenew CoE, Livade 6a, SI-6310 Izola, Slovenia, rok.prislan@innorenew.eu
2 Univerza v Ljubljani, Fakulteta za Gradbeništvo in Geodezijo, Jamova 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenija, mateja.dovjak@fgg.uni-lj.si
* Corresponding author
The increasing number of technical equipment and machinery in modern buildings leads to a higher background
noise level to which the users are exposed. It is well known that noise levels can affect speech intelligibility, which
is critical in lecture rooms where information must be conveyed accurately and easily. In this regard, building
regulations include requirements for acceptable background noise levels. However, there are no guidelines for
choosing the position of noise sources in the room, which is the subject of this study. Using an artificial speaker as
the source, the generated sound was recorded in a representative university lecture room. In addition, background
noise was added, and its position and level were varied. Measured speech transmission index (STI) and perceived
speech intelligibility were analysed at two listening positions. The latter was determined by binaural listening
tests (N=80). The results show that while the position of the noise source has no significant influence on the
STI, it can significantly influence the perceived intelligibility. The results are important because they show that
background noise is not a sufficient criterion for the inclusion of noise sources in the built environment and that
the position of noise sources can be optimised in the design phase.
Keywords: equipment noise, speech intelligibility, noise source position
Acknowledgment: The author gratefully acknowledges the European Commission for funding the InnoRenew
project (grant agreement #739574) under the Horizon2020 Widespread-Teaming program and the Republic
of Slovenia (investment funding from the Republic of Slovenia and the European Union from the European
Regional Development Fund). The authors acknowledge the financial support from the Slovenian Research
Agency (research core funding No. P2-0158, Structural engineering and building physics).
17–18 NOVEMBER 2022 I IZOLA, SLOVENIA 29
