Thanks to RemyC, and this article on decibels from wind turbines. For he sends out regular email blast from many different listservs (hope I spelled that right.. lol). This article or report really talks about how to green in a visualy interesting way regarding the sound of wind turbines. People are concerned about all sorts of things regarding going green like: is it safe, it’ll kill birds, etc. This shows the brass tax of how green living is safe, enjoyable and quiet.
This article that talks about their sound of decibels. That is an interesting discussion since people who have never seen one in action don’t know what it even sounds like. GE reports states:
Because wind turbines are such a great source of clean, renewable energy, they’re usually greeted with a great deal of enthusiasm. But some complaints have been made that they can cause too much noise for residents living within a mile of the blades.
So just how noisy are these turbines?
The closest that a wind turbine is typically placed to a home is 300 meters or more. At that distance, a turbine will have a sound pressure level of 43 decibels. To put that in context, the average air conditioner can reach 50 decibels of noise, and most refrigerators run at around 40 decibels.
In addition and at 500 meters (0.3 miles) away, that sound pressure level drops to 38 decibels. In most places, according to Keith Longtin of GE Global Research. So the background noise ranges from 40 to 45 decibels. That’s meaning that a turbine’s noise would be lost amongst it. For the stillest, most rural areas. So Longtin says the background noise is 30 decibels. At that level, finally a turbine located about a mile away wouldn’t be heard.
