Are Blind Motor Noise Levels Accurate?
As electric blinds and curtains continue to become more popular with the rise of smart homes, quiet operation is desirable for the residential market.
That means motors need to operate quietly so that opening or closing your shading doesn’t disturb anyone in the room.
Decibels
Sound can be measured with a device called a decibel meter. It samples and measures sound, giving a readout.
Sound is measured in units called decibels (dB). The higher the decibel level, the louder the noise. On the decibel scale, the level increase of 10 means that a sound is actually 10 times more intense, or powerful.
For context, here are the dB measurements for some common sounds you might hear regularly:
- Breathing – 10dB
- Fridge humming – 40dB
- Normal conversation – 50-65dB
- Hair dryer – 70dB
- City traffic noise – 80dB
- Farm tractor – 98dB
- Thunderclap – 120dB
- Fireworks – 145dB
So how loud is a blind motor?
Now, this is where it gets tricky. There’s no requirement for a manufacturer to measure the volume of their motor, so this information isn’t available for every motor.
Motors that are marketed as being quiet or near-silent tend to have the decibel level in the brochure or data sheet as it can be a good selling point, but not always.
For example, Somfy’s Sonesse 40 motors are known in the industry as quiet motors and are used often in residential buildings. According to their product data sheet, the Sonesse 40 range is 50dB.
The Nice Era Edge AC motor has a noise level of 35dB. These motors are known to be quiet within the industry, and looking at just these statistics does appear to back that up.
Lutron DC motors are described as being near-silent, by Lutron themselves and by people who have used their motors. According to their specification, their motors are less than 38dB. If you compared that to the Nice motors, you would assume that the Lutron motor is louder. But is this the case in practice?
Similarly, the Gaposa Sileo XS50 motor is often described as one of the quietest blind motors on the market. According to their datasheet, this motor is 42dB. If this is accurate, it would make their motor louder than the Nice motor and the Lutron motor.
So how accurate are these measurements?
Most motor manufacturers will give the decibel level of their motor which can give you an idea of how loud the motor is. The motor dB rating given by the manufacturer is the noise level of the motor itself when it runs.
It provides a handy comparison between motors, but is not really indicative of the actual sound we will experience of an installed blind operating
The actual (or perceived) experience of sound from electric blinds is very subjective. Some of the main factors that affect perceived sound are:
- The environment the blind is fitted within i.e., is it sound absorbing (carpet, soft furnishings, acoustic design) or sound amplifying (hard surfaces, poor acoustics)
- The surface to which the blinds are fitted (e.g., rigidly fixed to a solid wall such as brick or block will deaden sound; fixed to a hollow wall or loosely fixed so that some vibration happens will increase perceived sound)
- The blind itself (are all moving parts silent, or do they contribute to the overall sound of the blind moving; blind fabrics can make a slight sound when rolling and unrolling)
- Ambient sound (i.e., what else is going on / background noise in and around the environment where the blinds are installed)
- how many blinds are installed together (e.g., several blinds in the same room will be more audible than a single blind)
So how do you choose the right motor?
Not every motor will be right for every application. What might be an acceptable noise level for some might be unacceptable for another.
For example, a noisier motor in a commercial setting is generally acceptable, whereas residential settings generally demand near-silence.
To give you an idea of how some of the motors we’ve mentioned compare to each other in the same room, we’ve put together this handy video:
The right noise level for you will depend on your own idea of what is acceptable.
Umbra are experts on motorisation and can advise on the best motor for your project. Whether your main priority is noise, cost, control options or anything else, we can recommend the best motor from one of our partner brands.