NOISE LEVEL DATA

The following table presents noise data at octave-band center frequencies for familiar residential, outdoor transportation and building activity noise sources.

	Sound Pressure Level								dBA
Example Source	63 Hz	125 Hz	250 Hz	500 Hz	1000 Hz	2000 Hz	4000 Hz	8000 Hz
Home
Alarm clock at 4 to 9 ft (ringing)	-	46	48	55	62	62	70	80	80
Electric shaver at 1 1/2 ft	59	58	49	62	60	64	60	59	68
Vacuum cleaner at 3 ft	48	66	69	73	79	73	73	72	81
Garbage disposal at 2 ft	64	83	69	56	55	50	50	49	69
Clothes washer at 2 to 3 ft (wash cycle)	59	65	59	59	58	54	50	46	62
Toilet (refilling tank)	50	55	53	54	57	56	57	52	63
Whirlpool, six nozzles (filling tub)	68	65	68	69	71	71	68	65	74
Window air-conditioning unit	64	64	65	56	53	48	44	37	59
Telephone at 4 to 13 ft (ringing)	-	41	44	56	68	73	69	83	83
TV at 10 ft	49	62	64	67	70	68	63	39	74
Stereo (teenager listening level)	60	72	83	82	82	80	75	60	86
Stereo (adult listening level)	56	66	75	72	70	66	64	48	75
Violin at 55 ft (fortissimo)	-	-	91	91	87	83	79	66	92
Normal conversational speech at 3 ft	-	57	62	63	57	48	40	-	63
Outdoors
Birds at 10 ft	-	-	-	-	-	50	52	54	57
Cicadas	-	-	-	-	35	51	54	48	57
Large dog at 50 ft (barking)	-	50	58	68	70	64	52	48	72
Lawn mower at 5 ft	85	87	86	84	81	74	70	72	86
Pistol shot at 250 ft (peak impulse levels)	-	-	-	83	91	99	102	106	106
Surf at 10 to 15 ft (moderate seas)	71	72	70	71	67	64	58	54	78
Wind in trees (10 mi/h)	-	-	-	33	35	37	37	35	43
Transportation
Large trucks at 50 ft (55 mi/h)	83	85	83	85	81	76	72	65	86
Passenger cars at 50 ft (55 MI/h)	72	70	67	66	67	66	59	54	71
Motorcycle at 50 ft (full throttle, without baffle)	95	95	91	91	91	87	87	85	95
Snowmobile at 50 ft	65	82	84	75	78	77	79	69	85
Train at 100 ft (pulling hard)	95	102	94	90	86	87	83	79	94
Train siren at 50 ft	88	90	110	110	107	100	91	78	109
Car horn at 15 ft	-	-	-	92	95	90	80	60	97
Commercial turbofan airplane at 1 mile (from takeoff flight path)	77	82	82	78	70	56	-	-	79
Military helicopter at 500 ft (single engine, medium size)	92	89	83	81	76	72	62	51	80
Interiors
Amplified rock music performance (large arena)	116	117	119	116	118	115	109	102	121
Audiovisual room	85	89	92	90	89	87	85	80	94
Auditorium (applause)	60	68	75	79	85	84	75	65	88
Classroom	60	66	72	77	74	68	60	50	78
Computer equipment room	78	75	73	78	80	78	74	70	84
Dog Kennel	-	-	90	104	106	101	89	79	108
Gymnasium	72	78	84	89	86	80	72	64	90
Kitchen	86	85	79	78	77	72	65	57	81
Laboratory	65	70	73	75	72	69	65	61	77
Library	60	63	66	67	64	58	50	40	68
Mechanical equipment room	87	86	85	84	83	82	80	78	88
Music practice room	90	94	96	96	96	91	91	90	100
Racquetball court	82	85	80	85	83	75	68	62	86
Reception and lobby area	60	66	72	77	74	68	60	50	78
Teleconference	65	74	78	80	79	75	68	60	83

Intermittent or peak noises may exceed the data given in the table by 5 decibels or more, depending on the source or environment. For many practical problems, however, the data can be considered to be typical source levels at the given distance and condition, or average general activity levels for interiors. The data can be used for design purposes if proper consideration is given to especially loud equipment or sources, which may exceed it, unusual site conditions, and any other conditions that deviate from normal. For example, it is prudent to measure transportation noise at proposed building sites near highways, airports, etc., so design data will represent existing noise sources and reflect specific site features. Note also that modern aircraft, trucks and office equipment may not be as loud as the examples in the table.

Note: Sources for noise level data include Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Sound and Vibration, Noise Control Engineering Journal and technical publications of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. National Bureau of Standards.

Reprinted from the 1988 edition of Architectural Acoustics with the kind permission of Author, David Egan