Sound pressure level

Sound pressure level is the sound level at a particular point, usually given in dB or dB(A), after the source sound, distance, reflecting surfaces and barriers have affected what reaches that position.

Sound pressure level is a logarithmic measure of sound pressure at a given point in space. In home energy documents it most often appears in heat pump noise calculations, where MCS 020 uses the manufacturer's A-weighted sound power level, directivity, distance and barrier corrections to calculate the dB(A) level at defined assessment positions. It is different from sound power level, which belongs to the source.