A Proposed Metric for Assessing the Potential of Community Annoyance from Wind Turbine Low-Frequency Noise Emissions

Given our initial experience with the low-frequency, impulsive noise emissions from the ~OD-I wind. turbine and their impact on the surroundmg commumty, the ability to assess the potential of in~erior lo~-fr~quency annoyance in homes located near wmd turbme mstallations may be important. Since there are currently no universally accepted metrics or descriptors for. I~w­ frequency community annoyance, v.:e performed. a IH~·lIted program using volunte.ers to ~ee If. we cou!d I?entlfy a method suitable for wmd turbme nOise applications. We electronically simulated three interior environments resulting from low-frequency acoustical loads r~diated from both individual turbines and groups of upwmd and downwind turbines. The written comments of the volunteers exposed to these interior stimuli were correlated with a number of descriptors which have been proposed for predicting low-frequency a~noyance. Th~ ~esu.lts are presented in this paper. We. discuss ~ur modlflca~lons of the highest correlated predictor to mclude the mternal dynamic pressure effects associated with the re~ponse of residential structures to low-frequency acouStic loads. Finally, we outline a proposed proced~re for establ!shing both a low-frequency "figure of ment" for a partlcul~r wind turbine design and, using actual measurements, estimate the potential for annoyance to nearby communities.