How loud is a decibel?

Whenever you’re shopping for an appliance, it’s likely that you will see the sound level (in decibels) listed in the features. But what does it mean? What is the difference between dB and dB(A)? In our article below we’ll look at what a decibel means in the real world.

What is a decibel?

A decibel is a unit of measurement of sound. It is worked out using a fairly complicated mathematical equation. The usefulness of a decibel number is more obvious when it’s put into context of other things. Every chart will be slightly different, but we like this one from Decibel Pro.

Silent running appliances

Everything in the world makes a certain amount of noise. Rub your hand across your top right now – there is a noise. This means that nothing, especially something with a motor, will run ‘silently’.

In fact, did you know there are special rooms known as ‘anechoic chambers’ that have been specially designed to be truly silent, and people can only spend around 45 minutes in the room before they start to hallucinate.

Many people will shop an appliance that is marked as silent running and then be shocked when they can hear the motor. What silent running really means when it comes to appliances is that they are significantly quieter than alternatives.

Quiet Mark

If you’re truly dedicated to getting the quietest appliance, look out for Quiet Mark Certification.

Quiet Mark awards their certification to the quietest 10-20% of appliances available in their category.

To learn more about Quiet Mark, check out our Quiet Mark article here.