How do Sones compare to decibels?

Category: home and garden home appliances
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Conversion. According to Stevens' definition, a loudness of 1 sone is equivalent to 40 phons (a 1 kHz tone at 40 dB SPL). With this exponent, each 10 phon increase (or 10 dB at 1 kHz) produces almost exactly a doubling of the loudness in sones.



Accordingly, how many decibels are in a Sone?

40 decibels

Secondly, how many Sones is a quiet range hood? Sones to Decibels This is roughly the appropriate range of noise level for your range hood. One sone is a whisper or the noise of a quiet refrigerator. Eight sones is equivalent to a normal conversation or background noise. Therefore, the lower the sone value, the quieter the hood.

Also to know is, what is the difference between sones and decibels?

Sones are not decibels or volume, but rather how sound is sensed. Sones are a linear measurement, like inches. Doubling the sone value is equivalent to doubling the loudness (i.e. one to two, two to four is doubling the sound level twice). Your 4-sone fan will be more than four times a noisy as a 0.9 sone fan.

What does 2 Sones sound like?

The thing to consider with sones is that 2 sones is twice as loud as 1 sone, 4 sones is twice as loud as 2 sones and so forth. In exhaust fans choosing a fan with a sound rating at or below 1 sone will be very quiet. 1 to 2 sones will be heard and anything over 2.5 sones will be noticeable.

39 Related Question Answers Found

How loud is 60 decibels?

But any sound that is loud enough and lasts long enough can damage hearing and lead to hearing loss. A sound's loudness is measured in decibels (dB). Normal conversation is about 60 dB, a lawn mower is about 90 dB, and a loud rock concert is about 120 dB.

How loud is 40 decibels?

Comparative Examples of Noise Levels
Noise Source Decibel Level
Quiet suburb, conversation at home. Large electrical transformers at 100 feet. 50
Library, bird calls (44 dB); lowest limit of urban ambient sound 40
Quiet rural area. 30
Whisper, rustling leaves 20

How loud is 110 decibels?

Noise Source Decibel Level comment
Steel mill, auto horn at 1 meter. Turbo-fan aircraft at takeoff power at 200 ft (118 dB). Riveting machine (110 dB); live rock music (108 - 114 dB). 110 Average human pain threshold. 16 times as loud as 70 dB.

How many decibels is a ceiling fan?

The sound level of domestic fans ranges from 30 to 70 db(A) depending on the model (pedestal, floor, ceiling or industrial fans). For that reason big fans in ventilation systems are installed in isolated, unused rooms.

How loud is 78 decibels?


Decibels Explained
Decibel Level Source
70 dB Vacuum cleaner, hair dryer
75 dB Dishwasher
78 dB Washing machine
80 dB Garbage disposal, city traffic noise

Are 1.5 sones loud?

Sound levels are measured in sones. The higher the sone level, the noisier the fan. Spot fans are typically rated at 3 to 4 sones, though some can be quite a bit louder. Fans rated at 1.5 sones are very quiet, and low-capacity fans rated as low as 0.5 to 1 sones are nearly inaudible.

What is the phon scale?

PHON. A unit used to describe the LOUDNESS LEVEL of a given sound or noise. The system is based on EQUAL LOUDNESS CONTOURS, where 0 phons at 1,000 Hz is set at 0 decibels, the THRESHOLD OF HEARING at that frequency (see graph).

What does 1.0 sones sound like?

Sound levels are rated in sones where the lower the rating number, the quieter the fan. Typical economy fans are rated at about 4.0 sones or more while any fan rated 1.0 sones or less is very quiet (1.0 sones is roughly equivalent to a modern refrigerator).

How many dB is a Sone?

Conversion. According to Stevens' definition, a loudness of 1 sone is equivalent to 40 phons (a 1 kHz tone at 40 dB SPL). But phons scale with level in dB, not with loudness, so the sone and phon scales are not proportional.

How many decibels is a bathroom fan?


Of the many replacement models to choose from, we picked the NuTone No. RN110 Ultra Pro Series because the fan can be installed from inside the bathroom. It's not the quietest model available, but at 0.6 sones (about 25 decibels), it's a huge improvement over the old 4-sone (about 60 decibels) fan we're replacing.

How loud is a bel?

One bel is a power ratio of 10:1, and is divided into ten decibels. An increase of three decibels is approximately a doubling of power.

What is a Sones sound rating?

Sone Ratings
The industry standard for measuring the amount of sound a fan makes when it's in use is called sones. The lower the sone rating, the quieter the fan will be. One sone is equivalent to the sound of a quiet refrigerator, so a quiet bathroom fan will be rated at about 1.5 sones or less.

How loud is 1khz?

The unit phon is used to indicate an individual's perception of loudness. By definition, 1 phon is equivalent to 1 deciBel at 1000 Hz (1 kHz).

What are Sones ratings?

A sone is a linear measurement of loudness based on how an average listener senses sound. It is different than decibels and volume, which are most commonly used to measure the intensity of audio. For instance, a bathroom fan with a sone rating of 0.3 is considered to be very quiet.

What is Bel and Phon?


The difference between bel and phon is that bel is a measure of relative power, defined as log are the measured and reference power, while phon is a unit of apparent loudness, equal in number to the intensity in decibels of a 1,000-hertz tone judged to be as loud as the sound being measured.

What is loudness sound?

Loudness is a characteristic of a sound. It refers to how much energy a sound wave posses. More the amplitude, more is the loudness of the sound.

What loudness level in Phons corresponds to a loudness of 0.5 sones?

Level change Volume Loudness Acoustic Power Sound Intensity
−6 dB 0.660 times 0.25
−10 dB 0.5 = half 0.1
−20 dB 0.25 0.01
−30 dB 0.125 0.001