Noise Level Information
The decibel which is normally abbreviated dBA is the unit used to measure the intensity of a sound. The human ear is incredibly sensitive, a person's ears can distinguish between wide ranging sounds such brushing their fingers on a notepad to the loudest explosion or Jet aircraft. To put these differences into perspective a jet aircraft is 1,000,000,000,000 times more louder than the quietest audible sound.
Looking on the decibel scale, the smallest audible sound which is near silence registers at 0 dB. An increase of 10 decibels equates to a 10 fold increase in noise to your ear.
Important Point!
Generators are measured and compared within the industry @ 7 metres.
To comply with EEC regulations all generators have to be marked in LWA this is a different measurement of sound which is taken from a different distance. For an example our quiet Champion 2000 Watt Inverter Generator (82001i-E) is rated at its lowest at 53 dBA @ 7 metres. On the LWA scale this would equate to approx 86-88 decibels. Please beware of this as all products have LWA marked on them, many do not have the industry rated @ 7 metres level.
Here are some common sounds and their decibel ratings:
| Sound Levels Chart | ||
|---|---|---|
| 120 | Pneumatic drill | |
| 110 | Noisy factory | |
| 100 | Inside underground train | |
| 90 | Inside bus | |
| 80 | Average traffic on main road (at kerb) | |
| 70 | Normal Conversation (at 1m) | |
| 60 | Typical business office | |
| 50 | Living room in suburban area | |
| 40 | Library | |
| 30 | Bedroom at night | |
| 20 | Insulated broadcasting studio | |
| 10 | Threshold of hearing | |
| 0 dB | Silence | |
| Note: A 10 dB increase represents a doubling in loudness to the ear. | ||
| More Sound Info | |
|---|---|
| 190 dBA | Heavy weapons, 10 m behind the weapon (maximum level) |
| 180 dBA | Toy pistol fired close to ear (maximum level) |
| 170 dBA | Slap on the ear, fire cracker explodes on shoulder, small arms at a distance of 50 cm (maximum level) |
| 160 dBA | Hammer stroke on brass tubing or steel plate at 1 m distance, airbag deployment very close at a distance of 30 cm (maximum level) |
| 150 dBA | Hammer stroke in a smithy at 5 m distance (maximum level) |
| 130 dBA | Loud hand clapping at 1 m distance (maximum level) |
| 120 dBA | Whistle at 1 m distance, test run of a jet at 15 m distance |
| Threshold of pain, above this fast-acting hearing damage in short action is possible. | |
| 115 dBA | Take-off sound of planes at 10 m distance |
| 110 dBA | Siren at 10 m 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 dBA | Chain saw at 1 m distance, banging car door at 1 m distance (maximum level), racing car at 40 m distance, possible level with music head phones |
| 100 dBA | Frequent level with music via head phones, jack hammer at 10 m distance |
| 95 dBA | Loud crying, hand circular saw at 1 m distance |
| 90 dBA | Petrol Lawnmower |
| 85 dBA | 2-stroke chain-saw at 10 m distance, loud WC flush at 1 m distance |
| 80 dBA | Very loud traffic noise of passing lorries at 7.5 m distance, high traffic on an expressway at 25 m distance |
| 75 dBA | Passing car at 7.5 m distance, un-silenced wood shredder at 10 m distance |
| 70 dBA | Level close to a main road by day, quiet hair dryer at 1 m distance to ear |
| 65 dBA | Normal Conversation |
| 60 dBA | |
| 55 dBA | Low volume of radio or TV at 1 m distance, noisy vacuum cleaner at 10 m distance |
| 50 dBA | Refrigerator at 1 m distance, bird twitter outside at 15 m distance |
| 45 dBA | Noise of normal living; talking, or radio in the background |
| 35 dBA | Very quiet room fan at low speed at 1 m distance |
| 25 dBA | Sound of breathing at 1 m distance |
| 0 dBA | Auditory threshold |