Loud enough that the published figure needs its distance and its load before it means anything. Decibels are logarithmic, so a difference that looks small on paper is a large difference in perceived noise, and an inverter generator at light load is a different machine from the same one at full output.
Noise is the specification that decides whether a generator can be used where it is needed, and it is published in a form that invites unfair comparison.
Reading the figure
A decibel value means something only with its distance and its load attached. Both are conventions in the industry rather than obligations, so two figures on two listings are not automatically comparable, and a figure with neither is not a measurement at all.
Why the scale misleads
The decibel scale is logarithmic. A modest numerical gap corresponds to a large change in sound energy, and to a clearly audible change in loudness. This is the specification where a couple of points genuinely matters.
What makes inverter generators different
Their engine speed follows the load, so a light load means a slower engine and less noise. A conventional generator holds engine speed to hold the output frequency, so it makes roughly the same noise whatever it is asked to do.
What the manual constrains
Where the machine may run, what clearance it needs around it, and how it must be ventilated. Those instructions exist for exhaust and cooling rather than noise, and they rule out most of the arrangements people improvise to make a generator quieter.
What people ask before they order
Why does the distance change the number so much?
Sound spreads out as it travels, so the level falls steadily with distance. A figure quoted at seven metres and one quoted at one metre describe the same machine with very different numbers.
Does an enclosure help?
Purpose-built enclosed generators are quieter by design. Improvised boxes interfere with cooling and exhaust, which the maker’s manual addresses directly and not permissively.
Last reviewed 16 September 2026