Noise from commercial activities covers a wide range of sources. Hospitality busineses such as bars, restaurants and night clubs generate noise from people and music, but many other commercial developments require noise assessments, particularly at the planning stage.

A fundamental part of the learning process is the ability for students to be able to hear the teacher/lecturer. Acoustics is therefore an important aspect of the learning environment, whether that is in a school, college or university. The government published a performance document, Building Bulletin 93 (BB93) Acoustic Design of Schools, in 2003 to aid the design and construction of new education buildings.

Noise is often a major consideration for new residential developments.  Planning noise assessments are required for many residential sites to ensure that residential amenity is protected for future residents, and adequate sound insulation between dwellings is an important design requirement, particularly in apartment developments.

Public buildings have a wide range of acoustic requirements.  Many buildings such as schools, healthcare facilities and courts have requirements for low internal noise levels and good sound insulation between rooms.  Other buildings such as auditoria and council chambers have specific internal acoustic requirements for speech and music.