Indoor Sound and Occupant Outcomes in Mechanically Ventilated Offices: A Threshold Inference Field Study

Kaushik, Amit Kant, Horr, Yusuf, Islam, Rubina and Arif, Mohammed (2026) Indoor Sound and Occupant Outcomes in Mechanically Ventilated Offices: A Threshold Inference Field Study. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment. ISSN 2046-6102 (In Press)

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Abstract

Purpose: To test whether indoor sound shows a non-monotonic dose-response with occupant health and productivity in mechanically ventilated offices, using formal threshold inference. Design/methodology/approach: 365 sensor-survey observations from 42 occupants across 12 mechanically ventilated office zones in Doha, Qatar; confirmatory analyses pre-specified in an internal Pre-Analysis Plan. Segmented logistic regression with occupant-clustered errors, Davies' supremum-Wald existence test, profile-likelihood intervals and Bayesian random-intercept sensitivity. Findings: A composite of noise-pathway symptoms (headache, anxiety, low energy) inflects in the 44 to 52 dB(A) band (Davies' p = 0.038; point estimate 47.75 dB(A)), with a corroborating regime change in the acoustic productivity rating at 49 dB(A). It holds under IEQ adjustment, in 4 of 7 alternative composites and under Bayesian sensitivity; negative controls do not. Research limitations/implications: Findings apply to hot-arid mechanically ventilated offices and are cross-sectional. Exposure is hour-averaged A-weighted level only, so the acoustic mechanism is not identified. An underpowered symptom-class interaction leaves the noise-pathway interpretation resting on component-level negative-control behaviour, and significance depends on clustering by occupant or zone. Practical implications: The band offers preliminary evidence relevant to provisions bearing on over-quiet conditions in WELL v2, BREEAM Hea 05 and ISO 22955:2021, which rest on privacy inference, not symptom data. Acoustic operation is better expressed as a target band than a quieter-is-better rule. Originality/value: First application of Davies' supremum-Wald threshold inference to multi-domain 26 indoor environmental quality field data, giving a transferable pattern for dose-response research.

Item Type:	Article
Sustainable Development Goals:	Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
Keywords:	acoustic comfort, Sound dose-response, indoor environment acoustic comfort, Sound dose-response, indoor environment quality,Threshold inference, office building, occupant comfort
Divisions:	Sustainable Built Environment & Property Research Centre > School of Real Estate and Innovation
Depositing User:	Dr Rubina Islam
Date Deposited:	21 Oct 2026 10:09
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2026 10:09
URI:	https://ube.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/306

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