64 dB(A) is the lowest declaration on the shared standard
Both 64s carry an uncertainty of 2 dB(A). Four Tornado corded uprights follow at 67, and SEBO's commercial pair trails at 76.
| Machine | Type | LpA under EN 60335-2-69 |
|---|
| Tornado Strike (TV190-W10-U) | Cordless upright | 64 dB(A) |
| Kärcher T 11/1 Classic HEPA | Corded canister | 64 dB(A) |
| Tornado CVD 30/1, CVD 38/1, CVD 38/2, CVD 48/2 | Corded upright | 67 dB(A) |
| SEBO 300 and 350 MECHANICAL | Corded upright | 76 dB(A) |
A tie between a battery upright and a corded canister says little about which suits a given floor. For corded uprights alone, Tornado's CVD line leads at 67, and its uncertainty is stated as 1.
The LpA values some makers print "in acc. with EN 60335-2-69" are the only numbers measured the same way across brands. A bare dBA row names no meter position.
LpA is a sound pressure level, the kind of reading a meter takes. KpA is the maker's stated uncertainty: 1 for Tornado's CVD uprights, 2 for Kärcher and the Strike. Put a 64 with an uncertainty of 2 next to a 67 with an uncertainty of 1 and the two ranges nearly touch, so a 3 decibel gap should not carry much weight in a buying decision.
For the canister and the Strike, Kärcher and Tornado also give sound power, LwA: 76 and 77 dB(A). Sound power is a separate quantity, as our sound power explainer sets out, and it never shares a ranking with LpA.
ProTeam, Sanitaire and Nilfisk may well take careful readings. Without a stated basis, comparing those ratings from one maker to the next is guesswork.
Tornado's pages and manuals rarely agree
The manuals declare 67 dB(A) for the corded CVD uprights and 64 for the cordless Strike, both under EN 60335-2-69. Product pages print rounder numbers with no unit.
| Model | Page row or spec sheet |
|---|
| CVD 30/1 and CVD 38/1 | "Sound Level 66" |
| CVD 38/2 and CVD 48/2 | "Sound Level 67" |
| CK 14/1 Pro | 69.9 dB(A) |
| CK LW 13/1 Roam | "Sound Level 75" |
| CK ULW 13/1 | "75/ 78 dB (A)" |
Neither the Roam's manual nor the ULW's prints a noise figure. The CK 14/1 Pro manual repeats 69.9 dB(A) and names no test.
For a corded Tornado, then, the CVD line is the one to pick on noise. It comes 12 or 15 inches wide with one motor, or 15 and 19 with two.
Kärcher's uprights run from 67 to 78 dB(A)
None of the US product pages names a test, and the lowest page figure belongs to the Sensor S2, which Kärcher's other documents contradict.
The Sensor S12, S15 and XP 12, 15 and 18 list 69 on their pages, the Versamatic HEPA 14 69.5 and the HEPA 18 70. The Ranger, at $222, lists 78. For the cordless Sensor Bp 12, the page says "max. 78", a ceiling, while its sheet prints a plain 78.
Then there is the Sensor S2 12 HEPA. Its page says 67 and calls it "perfect for daytime cleaning in noise-sensitive areas". The spec sheet table says 69. The Sensor 2 manual says 76 dB(A) of sound pressure, nine higher than the page, and with three figures for one machine it cannot be placed, so it is left unranked. No Sensation model appears on Kärcher's US list.
How quiet are ProTeam's ProForce and ProGen uprights?
67 dBA for the ProForce 1200XP and 1500XP, 69 for the ProGen 12 and ProGen 15, on a "Decibel (dBA)" row that gives no distance or test.
Those four are ProTeam's whole US upright range, priced from $804.00 for the ProGen 12 to $912.00 for the ProForce 1500XP. By ProTeam's numbers the ProForce pair are the quieter two, and they carry HEPA filters while the ProGens do not.
The ProForce motor is rated lower as well: 924 watts against 1100 for the ProGen, with 96 CFM against 100. ProTeam does not say whether that explains the 2 dBA difference.
Sanitaire's QuietClean uprights stay near 70 dBA
QuietClean models list 68 to 70.6 dBA on Sanitaire's page rows, while its other corded uprights list 77 to 80. The SC9180D is the lowest one in stock.
| Line | Model | Page row | Price or status |
|---|
| MULTI-SURFACE QuietClean | SC9180D | 68 dBA | $449.49 |
| EON QuietClean | SC5500B | 68 dBA | Unavailable |
| TRADITION QuietClean | SC889D | 69 dBA "on low speed" | $324.99 |
| QUICKBOOST cordless | SC7500A | 70 dBA | $627.20 |
| FORCE QuietClean | SC5713D | 69 dBA | Unavailable |
| FORCE QuietClean | SC5745D, SC5815E, SC5845D | 70.6 dBA | Unavailable |
| RESPONSE and TRADITION | SC5900A, SC679K | 78 dBA | |
| Other TRADITION models | | 79 dBA | |
On the SC9180D and SC889D pages, QuietClean means cleaning "at 70 dBA or less". The FORCE SC5845D page lists 70.6 and drops that phrase.
Nilfisk, Advance and Clarke start at 68 dB A
The Advance VU500 12 inch lists 68 dB A on Nilfisk's US site, the lowest in the family. The Clarke CarpetMaster 112 and 115 and the Advance Spectrum 12H list 69. No test is named for any of them.
Several Advance and Clarke uprights on the same site, among them the Spectrum GU12 and GU15 and the CarpetMaster 200 dual motor series, show a "Sound level" row left empty.
The cordless VU200 is listed at "≤76/2" for sound pressure. That reads as a ceiling of 76 with an uncertainty of 2, so it is quoted rather than ranked.
Is a cordless commercial vacuum quieter than a corded one?
For Tornado, yes: the battery Strike declares 64 dB(A) on EN 60335-2-69 and the corded CVD uprights 67. Other brands point the other way.
Sanitaire's cordless QUICKBOOST SC7500A lists 70 dBA, 2 above its corded SC9180D. Kärcher's battery Sensor Bp 12 sheet shows 78, higher than any corded Sensor, and Nilfisk gives its VU200 a ceiling of 76.
Battery power does not guarantee a lower figure. It does remove the cord dragging through doorways, and on a hotel floor at night that can count for as much as a few decibels.
Ceilings, floors and a one-word rating
Some makers print a limit rather than a reading. Powr-Flite's uprights read "≤70 d(B)A" for the Borelli Dual Pro, "≤ 69 Low - 73 High d(B)A" for the Rigel Deluxe, and "≥ 71" and "≥ 79" for the Rigel Pro and Solar. Tennant describes its V-SMU-14 as "As low as 70 dBA". A ceiling or a floor gives no point to rank against.
Hoover's HushTone 15+ shows quiet sold as a brand name. The spec row says "Quiet". According to the manual, the normal switch position runs "with lower decibel noise levels" than boost, and no number follows.
Oreck's commercial XL page gives no noise figure at all.
SEBO's MECHANICAL series declares 76 dB(A)
The 300 and 350 MECHANICAL are the SEBO uprights with a figure on the shared standard: 76 dB(A) of sound pressure under EN 60335-2-69, 9 above Tornado's CVD uprights.
SEBO markets the MECHANICAL series as "commercial-grade". Its DART lists 68 dBA and its AUTOMATIC X models 69, with no basis, so those rank only within SEBO; our SEBO decibel page covers the whole range.
