Abstract

An estimated 10 per cent of the Dutch population is seriously concerned about the health effects of noise around the home. Growing numbers of people are using affordable, home-made sound level meters to measure noise around the home themselves, thereby gaining insights into local noise pollution. These meters are capable of measuring ambient noise over a length of time. In principle, anyone with moderate DIY skills can build the home-made meters from the test described below, as the necessary data, assembly instructions and software are in the public domain.

RIVM supports this development through its Samen Meten (Measure Together) platform. With that in mind, RIVM’s Samen Meten team has teamed up with a number of sound level meter builders to test the quality of seven meter types. The test results showed that the quality of the home-made sound level meters has improved greatly over the last few years, and some of them work very well indeed. However, the test also revealed a few shortcomings. For example, some meters work less well in the rain, and others produce unreliable readings when the ambient noise level is low.

The test involved monitoring the readings of the home-made meters for six months in conditions that resembled practical reality. The readings were compared with the readings of a Class I reference sound level meter, which was positioned next to the home-made meters. The test results will be posted to the RIVM website, so that everyone can get an idea of how these sound level meters work and what their pros and cons are.

This RIVM test shows that simple noise level meters are capable of great results. This means that they can be a valuable tool for both private citizens and local authorities to measure ambient noise.