How to plan a quiet open-plan kitchen: what runs when, and how to read the figures

In a closed kitchen, the machines are the cook's problem. In an open-plan room they are everyone's. The fridge hums behind the television, the dishwasher runs a few steps from the dining table, and the hood is on while a guest talks to you across the counter. This page starts from the room. It explains what runs when, which figure on the box to read for each machine, what to check for beeps and chimes, and how to read the different units makers use. Our buying guides then compare the products one category at a time.

We cover noise only, and every figure we quote is the maker's own or a certification body's.

The reference points

There is no official noise figure for a kitchen, a living room or an open-plan room. The reference points that exist are these:

• Everyday sounds. The US National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders puts whispering at 30 dB, a humming refrigerator at 40 dB and normal conversation at 60 to 70 dBA.
• Sones. The Home Ventilating Institute compares 1.0 sone to a refrigerator, 3.0 sones to typical office noise and 4.0 sones to a television at normal volume.
• Loudness. The National Park Service says an increase of 10 dB causes a doubling of perceived loudness. So 40 sounds about twice as loud as 30.
• A bedroom off the same space. If a bedroom opens onto the room, the World Health Organization's community noise guidelines recommend less than 30 dB(A) in bedrooms during the night.

These describe the sound in a room. A maker's figure describes one product, at a distance the maker almost never states. Use the reference points to decide what to aim for, and the maker figures to compare products with each other. For the same points room by room, see how quiet is quiet enough.

What runs when

The fridge, all day and all night. Late in the evening, when everything else is off, it can be the loudest thing in the room. Our guide to the quietest refrigerators for an open-plan kitchen compares each maker's figure only with the same kind of figure, and reads the manuals for the sounds each maker calls normal, how to switch off the ice maker and door alarm, and the ventilation clearances that decide how often the compressor runs in a counter-depth or built-in fit. For the whole category ranked by published figure, see the quietest refrigerators, which also explains why the biggest US brands publish no per-model figure at all.

The dishwasher, after dinner. Our guide to the quietest dishwashers for an open-plan kitchen reads the manuals for the cycle behind each figure, the quiet and night cycles and how much longer they take, delay start, end chimes you can switch off, floor lights, drying fans and doors that open themselves, and panel-ready models. For full-size built-ins at every price, and which figures are a different kind, see the quietest dishwashers.

The range hood, while you cook. It runs exactly when people want to talk. Our guide to the quietest range hoods for an open-plan kitchen uses the makers' own sizing rules to find the airflow your cooktop needs, then reads the sones at the first step that reaches it, and says each time whether that figure is certified or the maker's own. It also covers island hoods, remote and inline blowers, automatic modes that raise the speed on their own, and delayed shutoff. Our main guide to the quietest range hoods ranks on the certified high-speed rating, and explains why the figure on the box is usually the slowest speed.

The garbage disposal, for seconds at a time. It sits in a cabinet that can act like a speaker box. No maker publishes a decibel figure, so our guide to the quietest garbage disposals ranks on what makers do disclose: insulation, sink baffles, anti-vibration mounts and isolation from the drain pipes.

The microwave, in bursts. Its noise is really four noises: the beeps, the door, the hum while it cooks and, on an over-the-range model, the vent fan. Our guide to the quietest microwaves sets out which models can be muted and how, and reads the certified sone ratings for over-the-range fans.

The ice maker, whenever it drops a batch. A plumbed ice maker in a fridge fills with water and drops ice into its bin, and the fridge guide above shows how to switch it off at night. A countertop machine runs its own compressor for hours. Our guide to the quietest countertop ice makers explains why a nugget machine, with its auger running the whole time, tends to be rated louder than a bullet machine, and why some low claims do not add up.

A wine or beverage fridge, under the island. Our guide to the quietest wine fridges explains why a fridge built in under a counter must vent at the front, and why thermoelectric is not automatically quieter.

Why the figure for your setting is the one to read

Makers quote their quietest setting. In an open-plan room, the setting that matters is the one running while people are in it, and that is rarely the quietest.

• The hood. The number on the box usually comes from the slowest speed, and you do not cook on the slowest speed. Read the sones at the step that moves the air your cooktop needs.
• The dishwasher. One figure covers a machine with many cycles, and most makers do not say which. Where a maker names the cycle, or offers a quiet cycle with its own figure, that tells you more.
• The fridge. No maker in our fridge guide says which operating state its figure describes. Treat a published figure as the fridge settled, not the fridge cooling a full load of shopping.

Beeps, chimes and alarms

In a room you also relax in, the loudest moment of the evening can be a signal, not a motor. Before you buy, check the manual for the exact model:

1. The dishwasher's end chime. Can it be switched off? Most in our open-plan guide can, and several show the cycle status on the floor instead.
2. The fridge's door alarm. Can you set the delay, turn the volume down, or switch it off?
3. The microwave's beeps. Some have a mute setting. Some cannot be muted at all, and a few repeat a reminder until you open the door.
4. The hood's delayed shutoff. A long delay clears the air, but it also means the hood is still running when you sit down to eat.

How to read the figures

• dBA. dBA, also written dB(A), is a decibel reading weighted to follow how people hear. Many makers print plain dB. Do not rank a dB figure against a dBA figure. See dBA explained.
• Sound power, in dB(A) re 1 pW. Some makers, such as Miele, print sound power, which describes what the machine emits, not the level at your ear. It looks like a dBA figure and is a different quantity, so our guides never rank it against a plain dBA. See sound power vs sound pressure.
• Sones, for hoods. Range hoods and over-the-range microwave fans are rated in sones. Sones are linear, so 2 sones sounds twice as loud as 1, while decibels are logarithmic. There is no simple, reliable conversion, so we never convert sones to decibels. Compare sones with sones, at the same speed or airflow. See sones vs decibels.
• The distance. Makers almost never state it, and OSHA notes that indoors, sound falls away more slowly than in open space because it reflects off surfaces. That is why small gaps between brands mean little. See why you cannot compare dB ratings across brands.

Use the figures to compare products with each other, within one maker's sheet where you can. Do not use them to predict what a meter would read from your sofa.

A short planning checklist

1. List what runs when. The fridge all night, the dishwasher after dinner, the hood while you cook.
2. Start with the hood. It runs while people talk, and an island cooktop needs more airflow, which means a louder step.
3. Read the figure for your setting. The hood's cooking step, the dishwasher's cycle, the fridge settled.
4. Compare like with like. dBA with dBA, sound power with sound power, sones with sones.
5. Move the noise. A delayed start can run the dishwasher when the room is empty.
6. Switch off the signals. End chimes, door alarms, keypad beeps and ice makers at night.
7. Install to the manual. Level feet, the clearances the maker gives, and nothing touching the cabinet.

We did not measure any of these products. Every figure in our guides is the maker's own or a certification body's, quoted with the setting it describes.