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| I was researching the "quietness" of various kitchen range hoods and found this great reference:
http://www.captiveaire.com/CATALOGCONTENT/DOCUMENTS/SOUND CONVERSION CHART.pdf dBA = 33.2 * LOG10(Sones) + 28 It also gives you an idea of subjectively how loud things are. For example, 30 dB = a theater, no talking; 40 dB = residential area at night; 50 dB = quiet restaurant inside; 70 dB = busy traffic at 16 ft.; etc. So the Electrolux island hood I was looking at is rated at 73.8 dB, which makes it pretty noisy in my mind, compared to the Futuro Futuro brand many hoods of which are rated at 0.5 - 3.5 sones (up to about 45 dB. Of course correct installation is everything and I wonder if the Futuro rates theirs including their "silent kit". But at least it's more information that makes it easier to compare. |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| Thanks for the info. I always found it odd that vents were rated in sones, not decibels and I never knew how that translated |
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| To me - 8 sones sounds like a jet engine in the kitchen. That's what our last house had and it was horrible. |
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- Posted by robert_sett (My Page) on Tue, Oct 23, 12 at 11:42
| @carossel: you're right, correct installation IS everything. All it takes is one unsealed joint, one run of flexible duct where rigid should have been, one incorrectly aligned mounting bracket, and you've got a range hood that sounds like a Boeing 747 at takeoff. The Futuro sound ratings are for the hoods "as-is", without the silencer. When they're properly installed, they're very quiet. You can also use self-adhesive silicone foam sheets to line the chimney cover, that makes it another 10-20% quieter, for only a few bucks more. @Barryv: the reason hoods are rated in sones is because sones are a *subjective* unit, i.e. this is how loud it will seem *to the human ear*, while decibels are a relative unit without any biological reference. Plus, sones are linear, so you can compare "apples to apples" - 2 sones is exactly twice as loud as 1 sone; meanwhile, with decibels, 60 dB SPL is normal talking volume, 90 dB is a rock concert, and 120 dB = permanent hearing damage. Doesn't seem like a convenient scale to me. That's why sones and decibels don't, strictly speaking, translate. They measure 2 completely different things. Below this post is a link to an in-depth guide to sones, phons, decibels, and much more. Converter utilities too, so you can play around with the units. @racmrc: absolutely. I would not recommend any range hood that produces over 6 sones. Doesn't matter what the power or features are - if you can't stand it being turned on, who cares how many CFM it produces? |
Here is a link that might be useful: Sones-Phons-Decibels explanation & converters
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- Posted by traci_allen (My Page) on Wed, Oct 24, 12 at 17:02
| Robert, thanks for the answer. That's the clearest explanation of what makes sones different that I've gotten out of any forum. |
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