The art and science of noise

By Sarah Eynon.

As we continue to live open plan lives, noisy kitchen appliances can be an issue. You don’t want a crucial plot twist in your favourite drama to be drowned out by your extractor or your concentration ruined by the hum of your dishwasher.

All appliances are tested to IEC 60704 in a hemi-anechoic chamber to eliminate external noise and wall reflections, using calibrated microphones and acoustic software at standard distances. However decibels can be confusing as they are measured logarithmically, meaning that 10 decibels are ten times louder than zero, 20 decibels are one hundred times louder and 30 decibels are one thousand times louder and so on.

To make decibels more relatable they are compared to every day noises:

10 Decibels - normal breathing

20 Decibels - leaves rustling on a tree

30 decibels - whispering nearby

40 decibels - birds chirping

50 decibels - rainfall

60 decibels - normal conversation

70 decibels - average TV level

80 decibels - city traffic

90 decibels - a tube train approaching

100 decibels - night club / live gig

When looking up decibel ratings on appliances it is worth noting that on extractors the rating may well be for the highest or boost setting. the lowest setting will be considerably lower and used throughout the cooking period and beyond will alleviate the need for high noise levels.

Applying a Quiet Mark

The other information worth looking out for on appliances is a Quiet Mark https://findyourquiet.co.uk/.Quiet Mark are a UK organization who ‘technically assesses and certifies the quietest solutions to unwanted noise’. They take testing beyond just decibels as a noise can have the same decibel rating with different levels of shrillness, for instance fingers drumming on a table versus fingers drumming on a biscuit tin. The same noise level, one much more annoying than the other.

Quiet Mark have tested numerous appliances over many years and champion technology which reduces noise in all areas of our lives. They are acknowledged by retailers such as John Lewis and of course here at Alistair Fleming we keep up to date on Quiet Mark findings as well as the latest noise reducing technologies from our favourite brands. 

Noise is just one of the many components of our design process, kept to a minimum to make your living space as relaxed and comfortable as possible.