Wind Farms may be causing RUMBLING!

I have read many posts about what could be the cause of this low frequency sound. Ideas range from HAARP to planes flying to Libya.

The truth is that many States have erected massive wind farms to help get cleaner energy, however, do not realize the true sound that can be emmitted from these massive fans.

Doctor says wind turbine noise can harm health

The problem, the doctor said, is that would-be wind power developers employ sound engineers who use standard instruments to measure sound levels in the normal range that the human ear detects most easily.

“The devil is in the details,” said the doctor, who for two years has focused on the physics and potential for adverse health effect of the energy emission related to industrial wind turbines.

While the experts work in terms of pure, steady sounds, the doctor said, the turbines emit a complex tone which “is registered as louder than a pure tone, and is more effective in waking you up.”

Using a recording to demonstrate, he said that the turbines emit a pulsing sound, which again can affect the listener more than a steady tone.

Low-frequency sounds seem ominous to people, he said. “As humans we’re evolutionarily wired, and there’s some indication that low-frequency noises indicate threats.”

The noise can also cause structural elements in houses to vibrate, and amplify the effect, Dr. Nissenbaum said.

He showed a photo of a tent in the backyard of a home that sits in the middle of a large wind project in Ontario.

The resident moved into the tent so she could sleep, Dr. Nissenbaum said. That would make no sense, he added, unless being inside the house made the sound worse. He quoted from the resident’s journal: “The house is humming again tonight.” The woman moved away from the project after the wind developer bought her home. Her story was detailed in the Chronicle in December 2009.

People who can’t sleep get sick, Dr. Nissenbaum said, and some people find the throbbing sound of wind turbines particularly annoying — “a plane that never lands.”

I have read countless posts about the noise sounding like a plane that is never landing and sound is coming from the sky. I believe that as some states like California, North and South Dakota expand there wind farms there will be more residual effects.

I am not sure how far wind farms can cumulatively project low frequency sound vibrations but I bet it is farther than any "study" is saying and worse for you than you can imagine

No just no, the scale of vibrating and noise doesnt even fit this, plus did you even realise that the wind farms are not fans? they turn with with the wind hitting them not the other way round.

Well all you have to do is look at the places where the noise was heard and check to see if there are any wind farms around.

I heard it here and there are no wind farms that are remotely near me (NE FL) so I doubt that wind farms is the cause of the rumblings.

Originally posted by roughycannon
No just no, the scale of vibrating and noise doesnt even fit this, plus did you even realise that the wind farms are not fans? they turn with with the wind hitting them not the other way round.

That's like saying a DC motor can't be a generator

Either way it is making noises

I think the Florida noise was too constant to be this. (In a way it reminded me more of the wind noise of the "blizzard of 2011" when I went out to shovel in that mess.) But some other instances where the sound is pulsing (think of each blade sweeping through), then this may be more likely. It should be a research subject at least.

Under most normal weather, the wind farms aren't so bad if even a problem at all. But under the right conditions, you get low-level wind-shear and that's supposedly when the wind farms act up. (And from what I understand, it only affects large turbines without furling mechanisms.) What happens is that the wind hitting the top half of the turning radius of the blades is noticeably faster than the wind hitting the bottom half. So instead of the blades trailing through with constant load as normally intended, through half the arc the blades are pushing through the air and cavitating. (Half the turbine is acting like a fan under that kind of loading condition, and they aren't designed for it.) The resulting turbulence of course causes vibration and noise. And it gets loud.

If I was in the business of building and/or operating wind turbines, I'd also be interested in this. It's likely something that may be engineered around by having each blade pivot individually rather than as a group via some hub mechanism. Put something like a pitot-tube on each blade and then adjust the angle of attack accordingly based on airspeed over the blade. More costly/complex of course, but doing things like this would knock down some of the NIMBY factor.

i have posted in other threads the sound i have been hearing but with tis sounds comes the flashes of light too...how do wind farms explain this...i live sayre,pa bortheastern part and to my knowledge the closest wint turbines are miles and miles away...at least 30 if i remember correctly...how would this sound carry so far? and why would it be as loud as it is...i have had it be loud enough for me tojump out of bed to look out the window cuz it seemed that close...and again the flashes? whaere are they in your theory?

Wind farm blades do make noise they have giant bearings also, but yesterday I was by a river and I heard a loud rumble that was so loud I thought it was a jet fighter, but then it just stopped, then started a few seconds later, then stopped agian, it was a clear blue sky, but there are no wind farms near this spot.
Sound travels a long way underground and can be heard above ground , espescially if the underground has been mined.
There was a big quake in Burma recently only 5kms below the surface, something strange is going on I agree.

I've been near wind farms, and they do emit a creepy sound, to be sure.

But this can not possibly be the cause. They do not rumble, and they are not present in all of the places people have reported hearing the sounds.