Palm Beach County, FL Noise from Specific Sources: HVAC & Mechanical Noise (2026)

Table 5.E.4.B in ULDC Art. 5.E.4.B.2 sets the number. For a residential receiving property, the Fixed mechanical equipment row reads Any time, 60 dB in the USA column and 60 dB in the RSA column. There is no night discount for this source. The residential All other sources row steps down from 60 dB (55 dB in the RSA column) between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. to 55 dB (50 dB in the RSA column) from 8:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. and 50 dB from 10:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., but fixed mechanical equipment sits on its own row at a flat 60 dB around the clock. On commercial non-residential receiving land, the All sources row sets 70 dB at any time in both columns. Permanent generators have their own 75 dB row and are governed by Art. 5.B.1.A.19.

Art. 5.E.4.B.2.a also fixes how a reading counts. A source violates the limit only if it exceeds the table figure for more than ten percent of a measurement period, and the period cannot be shorter than ten minutes. In a ten-minute period that means a compressor over 60 dB for one minute passes and one over 60 dB for more than one minute fails. Compliance is determined with a Type 2 or equivalent sound level meter on the A-Weighting Scale under American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standards. Readings are taken at or within the boundary of the complaining landowner, within the property lines of the receiving land, so the measurement is made on the neighbor's side of the line, not beside the unit.

The chapter applies to all land in the unincorporated area of Palm Beach County unless exempt under Art. 5.E.1.E, Upgrade Agreement (Art. 5.E.4.A.2). Where this chapter conflicts with another code provision, county ordinance or state law, the more stringent applies (Art. 5.E.4.A.3). The exemption list in Art. 5.E.4.A.5 covers road and rail transportation, airports, government-sanctioned events on public land, crowd noise at sporting events, the Research and Technology Overlay, bona fide agriculture, and temporary portable generators used during utility outages. Ordinary HVAC equipment is not on it.

Installation rules sit next door in Art. 5.B.1.A.20, Mechanical Equipment. Setback exceptions follow Art. 3.D.1.D.5 and height exceptions follow Art. 3.D.1.E.4. New and replacement equipment must be screened on all sides by an opaque barrier, or equivalent landscaping for ground-mounted equipment, to a height at least equal to the highest point of the equipment. Roof-mounted equipment under one foot tall, measured from the roof deck and painted to match the structure, is exempt from that screening.