Correlation Between Measured Man-Made Noise Levels and the Density of Habitation

The results of the man-made noise measurement campaign, organized by the Dutch society of radio amateurs, VERON, are compared with geographical data like the number of residential livings inside a circular area around the measurement location limited by a chosen distance. For each frequency band, correlation factors are derived as a function of the distance. It is shown that a strong correlation exists between the measured man-made noise floor and the density of habitation. This result proves that in this campaign, measured noise floor levels are mainly the result of accumulation of noise power from a large number of small sources spread in the houses, instead of being caused by a single, or a few, strong sources. The correlation is maximal at distances up to 200–300 m from the measurement location. Beyond that range, the correlation decreases, indicating that mainly sources in a range up to 300 m are relevant in determining the noise floor. This conclusion is supported by the observation that the slope of regression lines increasingly deviates from a theoretically derived slope at ranges over 300 m.