Data centers are noisy as hell

You do not want to live close to a data center. Having one near your home is like having a lawn mower running in your living room 24/7, as one local resident described it. Residents talked about low-pitched roars interspersed with high-frequency screeches, as the whir of loud fans echoed through the air. A growing body of research shows that the type of chronic noise emitted by data centers is a hidden health threat that increases the risk of hypertension, stroke and heart attacks.

As Zac Amos, writing for HackerNoon, explains:

“Many data centers have on-site generators. Their cooling systems—essential for keeping hardware operational—contain intake and exhaust fans, which are objectionably loud. They produce between 55 and 85 dB typically. The noise is even more noticeable in rural areas where massive, nondescript buildings replace spaces that used to be forests or farmland.”

“Are data centers noisy at night? Most are since they run around the clock. Even if their volume doesn’t increase after hours, their loudness is more noticeable when it gets quiet. People often describe the noise as a buzzing, tinny whining or low-pitched roar. Even 60 dB—the low end of the typical spectrum—sounds like overlapping conversations or background music.”

According to Christopher Tozzi, writing for Data Center Knowledge:

“Hundreds of servers operating in a small space can create noise levels of up to 96 db(A). At the same time, the ancillary equipment that data centers depend on, like the HVAC systems that cool servers or generators that serve as backup power sources, add to the noise. These systems can be especially noisy on the outside of a data center, contributing to noise pollution in the neighborhoods where data centers are located. Data centers have long been noisy places, but they’re becoming even noisier as businesses find ways to pack ever-greater densities of equipment into data centers, and as they expand the power and cooling systems necessary to support that equipment.”

Antonio Olivo, writing for The Washington Post, told a story about Carlos Yanes and his family:

“Carlos Yanes believes he can tell when the world’s internet activity spikes most nights. It’s when he hears the sounds of revving machinery, followed by a whirring peal of exhaust fans that are part of the computer equipment cooling system inside an Amazon Web Services data center about 600 feet from his house. The sound keeps him awake, usually while nursing a headache brought on by the noise, and has largely driven his family out of the upstairs portion of their Great Oaks home, where the sound is loudest.”

With the evil bitcoin data centers, it’s even worse. “Residents of the small town of Granbury, Texas, say bitcoin is more than just a figurative headache,” Andrew Chow wrote for Science Friday. “Soon after a company opened up a bitcoin mine there a couple years ago, locals started experiencing excruciating migraines, hearing loss, nausea, panic attacks, and more. Several people even ended up in the emergency room. The culprit? Noise from the mine’s cooling fans.”