Decibel chart for comparison
| Source | Approx. dB |
|---|---|
| Whisper | 30 dB |
| Quiet office | 40 to 50 dB |
| Normal conversation | 60 dB |
| Large HVLS fan, low to mid speed | 50 to 65 dB |
| Small high-speed pedestal fan | 65 to 75 dB |
| Vacuum cleaner | 75 dB |
| OSHA 8-hour exposure limit | 90 dB |
It sounds backwards, but a slow-turning HVLS fan is usually quieter than a small fan at full speed.
Fan noise comes from blade tip speed and motor whine. Not from size.
A 20 foot fan turning at 40 to 60 RPM has far slower blade tips than a 3 foot pedestal fan spinning at several hundred RPM, even while moving vastly more total air. We get into that in our piece on what CFM means.
Where the fan lives decides how much noise matters.
Offices, gyms, restaurants, anywhere people are talking directly underneath it. Those are the rooms where a decibel rating belongs on your spec sheet.
In a warehouse the ambient equipment noise buries it anyway. Facilities with both a quiet zone and a loud high-heat zone commonly spec different fan sizes or speeds for each, which is the right call.
Take a look at the 8-foot HVLS fan, or see how HVLS fans compare to traditional industrial fans on noise and airflow.
For the full picture, including published manufacturer dBA figures, why a sound spec without a stated measurement distance is meaningless, and how the OSHA and NIOSH limits differ, see our guide to quiet industrial fans and HVLS noise levels.
Specifying an HVLS industrial ceiling fan?
Humongous Fan builds the American-made HF Series from 8 to 24 feet in Cleveland, Ohio, with integrated sprinkler shut-off and a NEMA 1 VFD controller. We will walk the specs with you.
Humongous Fan builds American-made HVLS industrial ceiling fans from 8 to 24 feet in Cleveland, Ohio. Request a free quote and we will size one for your building.
