Re: Northern Virginia has had enough with data centers
Even traditional data centers have not been known to be especially considerate about scheduling their -loud- genset tests. Doesn't matter so much in the middle of an industrial zone but when you do it near where people live you're going to make them angry.
Why are gensets loud? Is there a fundamental physics problem or are they all designed for industrial areas where the noise isn't much of a problem? If I wanted a less noisy one, could I get it? How much more would it cost? Are the zoning people smart enough to include noise limits? ... -- These are my opinions. I hate spam.
On Sat, Jun 24, 2023 at 3:02 PM Hal Murray <halmurray+nanog@sonic.net> wrote:
Why are gensets loud?
They're high power internal combustion engines. Explosions are loud.
If I wanted a less noisy one, could I get it?
Yes. If you run the engine at 3600 rpm to get 60 hertz ac power, it's a lot "louder" than if you run it at 1800 or 1200 rpm and use the wire windings to step the frequency up to 60 hertz. This is because high frequency sound at the same decibels is perceived to be louder than low frequency sound.
Are the zoning people smart enough to include noise limits?
It depends. Agricultural and industrial zones don't generally have noise ordinances. When they do, the ordinances tend to be written as decibels rather than perceptual disturbance. Regards, Bill Herrin -- William Herrin bill@herrin.us https://bill.herrin.us/
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