Trane TRG-TRC007-EN User Manual

Page of 82
TRG-TRC007-EN
23
period two
Sound Perception and 
Rating Methods
notes
Room criteria (RC) curves are similar to NC curves in that they are used to 
provide a rating for sound-pressure levels in indoor environments. The major 
difference is that RC curves give an additional indication of sound character. 
As discussed in the previous example, sound spectrums can be unbalanced in 
ways that result in poor acoustical quality. Too much low-frequency sound 
results in a rumble, and too much high-frequency sound produces a hiss. 
RC curves provide a means of identifying these imbalances. An RC rating 
consists of two descriptors. The first descriptor is a number representing the 
speech interference level (SIL) of the sound. The second descriptor is a letter 
denoting the character of the sound as a subjective observer might describe it.
n N identifies a neutral or balanced spectrum
n R indicates a “rumble”
n H represents a “hiss”
n RV denotes perceptible vibration
Calculating an RC value from octave-band sound-pressure data is not quite as 
easy as determining an NC value, but it is still fairly simple. The RC value is 
based on sound-pressure data from the eight octave bands between 31.5 Hz 
and 4,000 Hz. Note that these are different than the octave bands included on 
the NC chart.
Room Criteria (RC) Curves
approximate threshold for 
approximate threshold for 
hearing continuous noise
hearing continuous noise
70
70
50
50
40
40
30
30
20
20
10
10
soun
d pres
su
re,
 d
B ref
 2
soun
d pre
ss
ure,
 d
B ref
 2
m
m
Pa
Pa
80
80
60
60
octave
octave
-
-
band frequency, Hz
band frequency, Hz
31.5
31.5
63
63
125
125
250
250
500
500
1,000
1,000
2,000
2,000
4,000
4,000
RC
RC
-
-
25
25
RC
RC
-
-
30
30
RC
RC
-
-
35
35
RC
RC
-
-
40
40
RC
RC
-
-
45
45
RC
RC
-
-
50
50
A
A
B
B
Figure 28