Lawn Mower Noise

Study presented at NOISE-CON 2017

Noise measurements of 496 lawn mowers were made at 25 feet and at the operator’s ear between 2004 and 2017. In total, more than 2,000 different measurements were made. Several trends in lawn mower noise were observed. 1) Newer electric lawn mowers are significantly quieter and perform better than the older ones. 2) Newer gas powered walk mowers may be a decibel quieter. 3) Ride-on mower noise levels are pretty much unchanged and dependent on the size of the engine. 4) Compared to EPA noise measurements of mowers from 1973, very little progress has been made quieting mowers. Read the full study here.