Visual impact
The study results show that respondents who could see one or more wind turbines from their dwelling were more likely to notice the sound and to be annoyed by the sound.
An explanation may be that when the view from the dwelling on a wind turbine is blocked the sound may also be (partially) blocked. The sound level will in these cases be lower than calculated (which was for a free sight), so of course the impact is less .
A second explanation may be a cumulative effect: the movement of the rotor attracts attention to the wind turbine and when attention is focused on the turbine one is more likely to also notice its sound.
Wind turbine sound annoyance was associated with a general negative image towards wind turbines, especially the visual impact on the landscape. From the results it is not possible to tell if one causes the other.
To find relations between the factors influencing wind turbine perception by its surrounding residents, the odds ratio test was used. This test calculates the chance with which an effect occurs in the presence or absence of a crucial factor.
For example, the WINDFARMperceptionroject calculated whether the chance of hearing the wind turbine (= the effect) depends on being able to see (= the possible crucial factor) the concerning turbine.
The report shows an odds ratio of 4.16 with a confidence interval of 2.717 – 6.372. The chance one hears a wind turbine is 4.16 times as high when the turbine is visible than when it’s not.
Because not all wind turbines were taken into the study, this value might differ somewhat in the field. Therefore the confidence intervals are calculated. In a field situation the chance of hearing a wind turbine will increase with 2.717 to 6.372 when the turbine is visible.| Last modified: | 05 April 2019 12.09 p.m. |