01429 264 097Noise Level Information
The decibel, sometimes abbreviated dBA, is the unit used to measure the loudness of a sound. The human ear is extraordinarily sensitive, allowing its owner to differentiate between the quietest noises (like brushing fingers on a notepad) and the loudest explosions (or jet planes). To give you an idea of how much louder a jet plane is compared to the quietest audible sound, consider this:
The absolute minimum audible sound, which is very close to silence, is represented by 0 dB on the decibel scale. In terms of how loud something is, a boost of 10 decibels is equivalent to a 10-fold rise.
The standard height at which generators are evaluated and compared in the business is 7 metres. To comply with EEC requirements, all generators must be labelled in LWA, a separate measurement of sound taken from a different distance. A quiet Honda EU20i, for instance, registers 52 dBA at 7 metres on the LWA scale, equivalent to about 88 decibels. All items have LWA markings; however, many fall short of the industry-standard 7-meter threshold.
Above 115 dBA is pain threshold; fast-acting hearing damage in short action is possible.
Some examples of everyday noises, along with their corresponding decibel levels, are as follows:
| dBA | Noise Example |
|---|---|
| 190 | Heavy weapons, 10m behind the weapon (maximum level) |
| 180 | Toy pistol fired close to ear (maximum level) |
| 170 | Slap on the ear, fire cracker explodes on shoulder, small arms at a distance of 50cm (maximum level) |
| 160 | Hammer stroke on brass tubing or steel plate at 1m distance |
| 150 | Hammer stroke in a smithy at 5m distance (maximum level) |
| 130 | Loud hand clapping at 1m distance (maximum level) |
| 120 | Whistle at 1m distance, test run of a jet at 15m distance |
| 115 | Take-off sound of planes at 10m distance |
| 110 | Siren at 10m distance, frequent sound level in discotheques and close to loudspeakers at rock concerts, violin close to the ear of an orchestra musicians (maximum level) |
| 105 | Chain saw at 1 m distance, banging car door at 1m distance (maximum level), racing car at 40m distance, possible level withmusic head phones |
| 100 | Frequent level with music via head phones, jack hammer at 10m distance |
| 95 | Loud crying, hand circular saw at 1m distance |
| 90 | Petrol Lawnmower |
| 85 | 2-stroke chain-saw at 10m distance, loud WC flush at 1m distance |
| 80 | Very loud traffic noise of passing lorries at 7.5m distance, high traffic on an expressway at 25m distance |
| 75 | Passing car at 7.5m distance, un-silenced wood shredder at 10m distance |
| 70 | Level close to a main road by day, quiet hair dryer at 1m distance to ear |
| 65 | Normal Conversation |
| 55 | Low volume of radio or TV at 1 m distance, noisy vacuum cleaner at 10 m distance |
| 50 | Refrigerator at 1m distance, bird twitter outside at 15 m distance |
| 45 | Noise of normal living; talking, or radio in the background |
| 35 | Very quiet room fan at low speed at 1m distance |
| 25 | Sound of breathing at 1m distance |
| 0 | Auditory threshold |
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