Noise ordinances affect the amount of noise that can be produced on your property; when violated, you may be subject to fines and other penalties.
Reducing noise levels is the best way to avoid noise ordinance violations. In this article, we’ll explore how noise ordinances work, how noise levels are measured, how you can evaluate noise levels at your own property (and how to evaluate the noise generated by your devices), how loud noises can damage hearing, and how you can mitigate the amount of noise being generated.
Property Noise Levels and Noise Ordinances
Noise ordinance laws can be quite complex. They exist in order to restrict the amount of noise that can be made in different areas (residential, commercial, industrial) and at different times of day (daytime and nighttime). Noise ordinances can also regulate the output of a device (in decibels), as well as input (how much sound a listener can hear).
The complexity of these regulations makes it essential for OEMs, property owners, and business owners to carefully evaluate noise ordinances in their markets. OEMs will have to verify the maximum allowable outputs for devices in each area they want to sell in, while property owners and business owners will have to ensure that none of the activities they conduct will violate noise ordinances.
Things become even more complex when you consider how noise travels. The noise generated by a factory might be appropriate for an industrial area, but when it crosses the property line into a residential community, a noise complaint may arise.
The Noise-Measuring Process
When evaluating a noise disturbance, law enforcement will use one of four different methods:
- Subjective Emission: The official will decide, subjectively, whether or not a sound source is making too much noise.
- Subjective Immission: The official will decide, subjectively, whether or not the level of sound being received by a listener is acceptable.
- Objective Emission: The official will measure sound output from a device using sound-measuring devices.
- Objective Immission: The official will measure the sound being received at a location using a sound-measuring device.
Typically, law enforcement will use a decibel meter with a condenser microphone to get an accurate reading for objective emission and immission. The noise measuring process depends on the noise ordinances in a specific area and can vary widely from place to place.
Evaluating Noise Levels
For business owners and property owners
As a business or property owner, you should carefully consider noise levels when installing machinery and HVAC units or when using heavy machinery, power tools, and other devices that can create excessive noise.
To evaluate noise levels, you should consider both the interior noise level and the noise level beyond your property line. Constant noise exposure can result in hearing loss and an uncomfortable work environment for employees, while excessive sound levels that go beyond your property line can lead to noise ordinance violations.
We recommend using a decibel meter to read the noise level on your property line and beyond your property line. You cannot, of course, evaluate noise levels perfectly away from the noise source—the average sound level will increase because of the noise your neighbors will make.
Where possible, find a time to generate the typical noise that would be made at your property without as much noise from your neighbors—in industrial zones, weekends can be a good time for this, while holidays can work well for commercial zones.
Reducing or eliminating background noise isn’t always possible. To eliminate background noise from your calculations, take two readings with your decibel meter—one with the sounds you’re trying to measure on and the other with the sounds you’re trying to measure off. Subtract the second reading from the first, and you’ll get a more accurate idea of how much noise is being generated by your business activities.
Ideally, you’ll employ several different techniques to measure noise levels, including noise surveys, measuring employee noise exposure, and more. The CCOHS has an excellent document on measuring noise in workplaces; we highly recommend reading it.
For OEMs
OEMs want to provide machinery, tools, and other devices that are already noise-suppressed to help consumers comply with local regulations. Noise mitigation tools like acoustic baffles and turbine silencers can be integrated directly into your products in order to help your customers keep noise levels down.
How Loud Is Too Loud?
From a legal standpoint, “too loud” varies significantly from place to place; in addition, what’s too loud at night might not be considered too loud in the daytime. Some jurisdictions have noise ordinances for emissions from a single device, while others are primarily concerned with how overall noise moves over property lines.
While we can’t accurately describe how loud is too loud for every jurisdiction in North America, we can give you insights into how many decibels can cause hearing loss. Typically, sounds that reach at least 70 dB can start damaging hearing over time. The decibel scale is logarithmic, which means that 80 dB is substantially louder than 70 dB.
The CDC has an excellent description of which sound sources are safe and which are not. We also recommend reading about the health effects of high levels of noise exposure.
Noise Control Solutions With VAW Systems
VAW Systems creates noise control solutions for property owners, business owners, and OEMs looking to reduce the noise level of their products, businesses, and properties. We offer a wide array of noise mitigation products designed to limit the amount of noise generated by your activities.
These products are completely customizable and can fit into virtually any space or machinery. They can absorb and redirect sound to reduce ground-level noise emissions, perfect for noise-sensitive environments. From industrial silencers to commercial HVAC noise control, we have a custom solution for all your noise mitigation needs.