Shigeta
W6EXP
While I was researching which fridge I wanted to buy, the sound level was an important consideration since I had considered sleeping in the back of the vehicle near by the fridge. If your intended setup is similar to mine, sound levels are an important part of the decision making process
Unfortunately, I couldn't find even remotely empirical data of real-world sound levels of various fridges. In fact, many manufacturers either refused to give me or did not have this information when I asked. After a lot of searching through rather subjective and ultimately unhelpful information on sound levels, I ended up pulling the trigger on a fridge and took measurements in a repeatable way and I thought I'd share the results and my method of measurements for the community in hopes to both inform and collect more data.
Perhaps this data exists in random threads strewn across the internet or old Facebook posts in a group, but I wanted to create a collection of data that people fridge shoppers can easily search for and reference.
I am certainly not a sound engineer, so if anyone out there has ideas on how these tests can be conducted in a way that will be more helpful, please message me.
If you'd like to see the sound levels gathered so far:
See this Google Sheet. I'll keep this updated as more users post usable measurements.
If you'd like to contribute to the repository of 12v fridge sound levels:
You can post here and/or fill out this Google Form. Responses will be automatically added to the collection of responses.
You'll need the following:
Unfortunately, I couldn't find even remotely empirical data of real-world sound levels of various fridges. In fact, many manufacturers either refused to give me or did not have this information when I asked. After a lot of searching through rather subjective and ultimately unhelpful information on sound levels, I ended up pulling the trigger on a fridge and took measurements in a repeatable way and I thought I'd share the results and my method of measurements for the community in hopes to both inform and collect more data.
Perhaps this data exists in random threads strewn across the internet or old Facebook posts in a group, but I wanted to create a collection of data that people fridge shoppers can easily search for and reference.
I am certainly not a sound engineer, so if anyone out there has ideas on how these tests can be conducted in a way that will be more helpful, please message me.
If you'd like to see the sound levels gathered so far:
See this Google Sheet. I'll keep this updated as more users post usable measurements.
If you'd like to contribute to the repository of 12v fridge sound levels:
You can post here and/or fill out this Google Form. Responses will be automatically added to the collection of responses.
You'll need the following:
- The fridge in a reasonably quiet place with consistent sound levels (I.e. no barking dogs, lawn mowers, music playing, etc.)
- A decibel meter or Android or iPhone with a free decibel meter app
- A tape measure/ruler
- Make sure the fridge compressor is not running or that the fridge is unplugged.
- Important: Place decibel meter or phone mic 12 inches / ~30 centimeters away from the compressor vents—usually found on the side or back of the fridge. Try to keep the microphone out of any direct airflow from a fan, if your fridge is equipped with one. Wind noise will skew results.
- Turn on decibel meter or begin running a decibel meter app to begin seeing sound readings
- Measure the sound level for at least 1 minute and record the highest reading.
(Note: Many meters and decibel apps will record the highest lowest, and average readings) - Plug in the fridge and wait until the compressor turns on. This can be forced by setting the temp lower and/or opening the door so the compressor kicks on
- With the meter/phone in the same location, measure the sound levels for at least 1 minute, this time with the compressor running, again recording the highest sound level
- Measuring the sound level of the fridge while running is useless without the "control" measurement of the environment it is in while the fridge is off. Please include both measurements in your results.
- If something loud happens during the recording, such as a dog barking, a car passing, a door closing, a sneeze, a plane flying overhead etc., it may significantly effect the results. Please make sure the sound levels of the environment are as stable as possible.
- Isolating variables
- For greater accuracy, conduct the test several times and take the average of each result. For example, if I measured the highest sound level while the fridge was running as 20 dB, 24 dB, 22 dB, 26 dB over 4 tests, the average would be 23 dB. The formula for calculating average is to add up the results of each test, then divide the sum by the number of tests run. In my case, 20 + 24 + 22 + 26 / 4 tests = 23.
Last edited: