Wind turbines emit audible and inaudible noise, both of them phenomena known to have adverse health effects when people undergo chronic and excessive exposure. Noise pollution is a complex and technical subject, so what we offer here is far from complete. But these resources will get you started thinking about noise and what it could mean to you living as a neighbor to wind turbines.
Wind Farms and Noise
Acoustic Ecology Institute
* Effects of wind direction and position-to-turbine on vibration and noise levels;
* How distance, time of day, and weather conditions affect sound;
* Subjective reports from neighbors, including Cohocton Town Justice Hal Graham.
Infrasound and Wind Turbines
NASA investigation by Dr. Neil Kelley 1979, in response to reports of sleep disturbances and annoyance that increased over time made by residents living near wind farms;
* Discussion of harmonic coupling of acoustic energy to residential structures that causes sounds to seem louder and more annoying inside houses than outside.
Wind Turbine Noise and Human Perception
Noise Measurement Services
To give you an idea of the wide range of factors that can create turbine sound:
“Meteorological conditions, wind turbine spacing and associated wake and turbulence effects, vortex effects, wind shear, turbine synchronicity, tower height, blade length, and power settings all contribute to sound levels heard or perceived at residences. Wind farms are unique sound sources and exhibit special audible characteristics that can be described as modulating sound or as a tonal complex. Current noise prediction models are simplistic, have a high degree of uncertainty, and do not make allowance for these significant variables. Compliance monitoring must therefore include continuous real-time measurement of characteristics such as modulating sound in order to determine the perceptible effects of audible sound and inaudible infrasound.”
If you want to take a deeper dive, here’s an archive of resources on issues ranging from health effects related to noise and infrasound, economics, the environment, and ethics. The collection was compiled by a free-market energy group.
Finally, want to hear for yourself what a wind turbine sounds like?