On Fri, 23 Jun 2023, Delong.com wrote:
Northern Virginia has about 275 data centers
There’s probably close to that number in the South Bay Area of California as
well.
California is well-known for its state enviromental laws and zoning, so
some of the issues with the 'wild-west' zoning of rural Virginia are
different.
When data centers developers aren't required to add cost in NOVA, they
don't. No water conservation, no air-quality controls, no off-site sound
silencers. Stuff that may be required by California zoning.
I remember when we specified 'hospital-grade' silencers on outdoor
equipment; and the push-back about the 'extra-cost.'
NOVA counties had zoning rules about decibel levels, but not sound
frequencies or duration. The fan noise from the largest data centers in
NOVA/Maryland have been measured up to a couple of miles away.
While the noise level may be less than the legal decibel level, the
24-hour drone (frequency) seems to penetrate standard house and building
construction in NOVA. Its the night-time constant fan droning noises when
people are trying to sleep which cause the most complaints.
As data centers proliferate, neighbors knock the noise
https://wtop.com/local/2022/09/as-data-centers-proliferate-neighbors-knock-the-noise/
Data center cooling fan system noise control - low cost + efficiency gains
https://invc.com/noise-control/data-center-noise-attenuation/
Science of data center noise | VERIFY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JflFFqbZ1X8