1 Measurement of Fan Noise

Sound is perceived and measured as minute pressure fluctuations above and

below the ambient pressure. Noise is in turn any unwanted sound.

1.1 Decibel and Bel

The decibel is a unit of logarithmic scale of power or intensity called the power
level or intensity level. The decibel is defined as one tenth of a bel where one
bel represents a difference in level between two intensities I1 , I0 where one is
ten times greater than the other. 0 dB is defined as the threshold of hearing.

2 Units of the Fan Noise dBA (dBB, dBC)

This is a single number, weighted sound index. It is obtained by subtracting
different values from each of the frequency bands in an attempt to approximate
the response characteristics of the human ear. The resultant values are then
added together to obtain a single number sound level. However, too much
information is lost in this process to allow this one figure to be of any use for
calculation. The “A” weighted scale is used in the industry to compensate for
the fact that the ear is not equally sensitive at all frequencies. When comparing
two separate noise sources, even thought the SPL values may be the same, one
may appear to be noisier if the sound power is centered around a frequency in
which the ear is more sensitive. It is because of this that sound level meters use
the “A” weighting scale.

3 Sound Power Level Lw PWL

The noisiness of a sound source could be expressed in terms of its Sound Power
(Watts). However, the range of values found in practice (from a soft whisper at
0.000000001W to a Saturn rocket at 40,000,000W) make this impractical. Noise
is therefore expressed by its Sound Power Level, a ratio which logarithmically
compares its Sound Power with a reference power, the Picowatt (10−12 Watt).
W
P W L = 10log( ) (1)
Wref
Where W = acoustic power of the source and Wref = an acoustic reference
power which is usually 10−12 Watts or 0 dB. The unit of Sound Power Level
(Lw ) is the Decibel (dB). Table in the figure 1 clearly shows how the logarithmic
scale compresses the unacceptably wide range of possible Sound Power to Sound
Power Levels having a practical range of 30-200dB. Sound Power Level cannot be
measured directly and must be calculated from sound pressure measurements.
Sound Power Level, since it is a measurement of noise unaffected by such factors
as the fan’s distance from the hearer, is used as the basic measurement for
comparing noise levels of fans, as well as noise levels at different operating
points of the same fan.

1
 Figure 1: Decibels and Sound Power Levels of the typical noise sources

Figure 2: Approximate calculation of two noise levels in Decibels

Disadvantage of the Decibel scale is that values cannot be added or sub-

tracted using the normal arithmetic rules. Decibel values must be converted
back into absolute units of power (Watts), when they can be added or sub-
tracted directly before re-converting back into decibels. However, this tedious
process can be avoided by using the following simple but approximate method.
Column 2 of the table shown in figure 2 shows how much must be added to the
higher of two sound power levels to obtain the equivalent combined level, when
the dB difference between the two levels is shown in Column 1.

As an example, if one fan has a sound level of 50dB, and another similar fan
is added, the combined sound level of the two fans will be 53dB. If two more
fans are added, i.e. the sound source is doubled again, the resultant sound level
from all four fans will be 56dB. If the first fan had a sound level of 50dB and

2
another, larger fan with a sound level of 55dB was added, the difference between
the two is 5dB, so 1dB is added to the higher figure, giving a combined level of
56dB.

4 Sound Pressure Level (SPL)

Sound Pressure Level (SPL) which is environmentally dependent, is defined as:
P
SP L = 20log( ) (2)
Pref
where: P = Pressure and Pref is a reference pressure which is usually 20
µPa. Sound Pressure Level (Lp ) is measured on a logarithmic scale and its unit
is the Decibel (dB). Sound power (Lw ) is the cause and sound pressure (Lp ) is
the effect. What we hear is sound pressure but it is caused by the sound power
emitted from the source.

5 Sound Intensity Level

Sound Intensity is the acoustic or sound power (W) per unit area. The SI-
units for Sound Intensity are W/m2 . The dynamic range of human hearing and
sound intensity spans from 10−12 W/m2 to 10-100 W/m2 . The highest sound
intensity possible to hear is 1013 times as loud as the quietest! This span makes
the absolute value of the sound intensity impractical for normal use. A more
convenient way to express the sound intensity is the relative logarithmic scale
with reference to the lowest human hearable sound 10−12 W/m2 . The reference
is the threshold of hearing 10−12 W/m2 and is given the value of 0 dB. The
Sound Intensity Level can be expressed as:

L = 10log(I/Iref ) (3)
where I = sound intensity (W/m2 ) and Iref = 10−12 W/m2 is the reference
sound intensity. The logarithmic sound intensity level scale matches the human
sense of hearing. Doubling the intensity increases the sound level with 3 dB.

6 Noise Decay with Distance

An important consideration when comparing acoustical data is distance from
the source. This will only be a concern when dealing with the SPL because the
sound pressure is dependent on the radius from the source. In the fan industry,
this distance is typically either three feet or one meter. Though this difference
may appear small, its impact on a sound pressure value is significant. The
formula for the SPL is:

SP L = Lw A − 20logr − 0.6 + C (4)

where SPL is “A” weighted Sound Pressure Level, Lw A is “A” weighted
Sound Power Level, r = Radius from noise source in feet and C is Correction
term for temperature and pressure. The sound power level attempts to describe
the acoustic energy emitted from the source. It is also referred to as Noise

3
Power Emission Level (NPEL). This number is essentially independent of the
measurement environment, so it doesn’t require the measurement distance to
be noted. Solving for Lw A:

Lw A = SP L + 20logr + 0.6 − C (5)

Since Lw A is independent of the distance from the source, Lw A (at 3 feet)
= Lw A (at 1 meter). Therefore:

SP Lf t + 20log10 rf t + 0.6 − C = SP Lm + 20log10 rm + 0.6 − C (6)

Where SP Lf t is SPL at 3 feet and SP Lm is SPL at 1 meter (1 meter =
3.281 feet). Canceling out like terms and solving for SPL:

SP Lf t = SP Lm + 20log10 (3.281) − 20log10 (3)

SP Lf t = SP Lm + 10.3201 − 9.5424
SP Lf t = SP Lm + 0.778dB

From this equation it can be seen that the sound pressure level at 1 meter
is 0.8 dB less than it is at 3 feet. .To estimate the effect of distance from
a sound source the rule of thumb calculation is very simple. Sound normally
weakens by 6dB each time the distance from the sound source is doubled. i.e.
a sound level measured as 60dB at 1 meter will be 54dB at 2 meters and 48 at
4 meters. Smaller fan sound levels are sometimes measured at 1m, whereas the
industry standard is becoming standardized at 3m, for comparison purposes.
The difference between 1m and 3m is therefore 9dB. 41dB@3m and 50dB@1m
are in effect the same).
The majority of fan manufacturers indicate the noisiness of their products
by Sound Pressure Levels SPL expressed in dBA (or dBC). These figures refer
to the Sound Pressure Levels which would be experienced by an observer at a
distance of 3m (or occasionally 1m or 3 x fan diameters) from the fan if both
were suspended in an infinitely large and empty volume (technically called Free
Field). To say the least, this is a very unlikely set of conditions and these dB
values must only be used to compare the noisiness of similar types of fan!. The
Sound Power Level of a fan can be compared to the Power Output of a heater in
that both are measure of the energy being fed into the environment surround-
ing them. Neither, however, will tell us the effect that will be experienced by
a human being in that surrounding space. In the case of the heater, the tem-
perature that we feel is dependent on the surroundings. The effects of distance,
volume of space, absorbing and reflecting surfaces, other heat sources, etc., will
combine to determine the resulting Temperature at any point. In a similar way,
the Sound Pressure Level that we hear is determined by the surroundings and
the one must take this into account when specifying noise levels. In practice,
another property of noise, its frequency, is also considered. For fans, two types
of noise related to frequency are important: wide band noise, in which acoustic
energy is continuously distributed over a frequency spectrum; and pure tones,
in which the acoustic energy is concentrated over narrow bands in the frequency
spectrum.

4
 Figure 3: Typical Octave Bands

7 Sound Power, Intensity and Distance to Source

The sound intensity (I) decreases with distance to source. Intensity and distance
can be expressed as:

I = Lw /4πr2 (7)
Where Lw = sound power (Watts) and and r = radius or distance from
source (meters).

7.1 Sound Intensity and Sound Pressure

The connection between Sound Intensity (I) and Sound Pressure can be ex-
pressed as:

I = P 2 /ρc (8)
where P = sound pressure (Pa), ρ = 1.2 kg/m3 = density of air at 20o C and
c = speed of sound (340 m/s).

8 Octave
Noise measurements taken in the audible range have been divided into frequency
bands. The most common frequency bands are called octave bands. An octave is
the interval between two points where the frequency at the second point is twice
the frequency of the first. Alternatively, an octave is the interval between two
tones having a frequency ratio of two. The bands typically used in industrial
environments are the eight bands from 63 Hz to 8000 Hz centre frequencies.
Table in figure 3 gives details of eight typical octave bands.