 In reality, the central vacuum unit is generally installed in the garage, utility closet or basement which means the sound you hear would be minimal at best and if your unit is designed for quiet operation, so much the better. Even systems which do not have motor baffling or sound deadening can see a dramatic reduction in sound with the purchase of an exhaust muffler. All premium Cana-Vac units are designed for quiet operation, the area which you should be more concerned with is at the end of the hose where you vacuum.
It is the accessories you use when you vacuum so choosing a quieter powerhead naturally means quieter operation in the room you are vacuuming.
If you are not using an electric powerhead, the only sound you should hear is the rush of air entering the hose nozzle and maybe the distant whirr of the central unit.
While decibels are a measurement of sound volume, the average human ear cannot perceive a significant difference in volume between 5 decibels. Manufacturers who offer quiet units will generally provide a decibel rating for their units promoting how quiet their units are. In principle, there isn't any problem with this except that there isn't an industry standard by which these claims are substantiated or governed.
In other words, any manufacturer could change their decibel rating by taking a measurement further away from the unit, by venting the unit outdoors, or even changing the size or acoustics of the room. There isn’t any standard.
LAB TEST:
To demonstrate this principle Cana-Vac did a lab test taking decibel ratings at various distances from a central vacuum unit taken in a closed room with a typical 8 foot ceiling:
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6 ft away = 73 - 74 decibels
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9 ft away = 70 - 71 decibels
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12 ft away = 69 - 70 decibels
Notice what happens to these ratings when taken in a small auditorium:
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6 ft away = 67 - 68 decibels
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9 ft away = 64 - 65 decibels
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12 ft away = 63 - 64 decibels
There are a tremendous number of variables which can be used to create the desired sound decibel rating, hence you see a number of manufacturers all claiming to have the quietest unit!
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