本文分为两部分:（1）第一部分，问题。本部分最初以同一标题出版于inNoise Control Engineering，第14卷，第1期，1980年1月至2月。经他们许可，现复制于此。在第2部分，各种设备的建议噪声等级中，回顾了各种相关团体提出的各种设备噪声测试和评级方法。在评估不同提案的效用时，应牢记正文中得出的结论: 对于标签规定，声压级和声功率级之间的任何关系都应基于“空间声源”模型，而不是“声源对反射器”模型。环境保护局（EPA）、国际标准化组织（ISO）和美国国家标准协会（ANSI）的技术委员会目前都在关注家用电器和其他类似设备的噪声输出是否应该用设备的声功率级或声压级来表示它在用户的耳朵上产生，或者两者都产生。 引文:俄亥俄州辛辛那提ASHRAE学报第87卷第2部分研讨会

This paper is divided into two parts, (1) Part 1, the Problem. This part was originally published inNoise Control Engineering, Volume 14, No.1, Jan.- Feb. 1980, under the same title. It is reproduced here with their permission. And in Part 2, Proposed Noise Ratings for Various Kinds of Equipment, a review of the various methods of test and rating for equipment noise that have been proposed by various interested groups. The conclusions reached in the main text should be kept in mind in assessing the utility of the different proposals: for labeling regulations, any relation between sound pressure level and sound power level should be based upon the "sound source out in space" model, rather than the "source against reflector" model.There is a current concern in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and in the Technical Committees of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) as to whether the noise output of household appliances and other similar equipment should be expressed in terms of the sound power level of the device or the sound pressure level which it produces at the user's ears, or both.