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Resident warns low-frequency "hum" from battery operations could reach nearby homes
Summary
A resident warned that state noise standards may not detect low-frequency hums (example cited: 35 Hz) from battery charging and discharging cycles at night, urging local standards to account for low-frequency noise.
A resident warned committee members that state noise standards may not capture low-frequency sound from battery operations and that neighbors could hear persistent hums through walls at night.
"I am concerned about low frequency noise... Neighbors are gonna hear right through their wall, you know, 35 hertz hums," said Resident (Speaker 5), describing a scenario where batteries charging and discharging overnight produce a continuous low-frequency noise the speaker said state standards do not detect.
The comment raised a technical gap the committee could address: speakers noted state noise rules might not measure certain low-frequency bands and suggested the town consider whether local noise criteria or testing requirements should cover battery-storage operations. The discussion did not produce a written standard during the recorded meeting.
The speaker also said reliance solely on state standards could leave residents exposed to nuisance-level low-frequency noise that is audible inside homes when ambient noise is low.
