SoundsField recordingsFrequenciesDecibelsInstrumentsGlossaryToolsLearn
  1. Home
  2. Field recordings
  3. United Kingdom
  4. Lowestoft
  5. Solar farm hum, cooling fans turning off and… – Lowestoft
Field recording · United Kingdom

Solar farm hum, cooling fans turning off and on, crows, rooks

East Suffolk, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom

A 5-minute field recording by Peter Cusack made in Lowestoft, United Kingdom on 27 July 2024, in the afternoon. Soundscape: rivers, streams & waterfalls, birdsong & dawn chorus and forests.

Listen

Solar farm hum, cooling fans turning off and on, crows, rooks
4:30
Spectrogram of Solar farm hum, cooling fans turning off and on, crows, rooks
Spectrogram of the full recording (time left to right, frequency bottom to top), generated by the Internet Archive.

Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.

Recordist's notes

Solar fams are becoming an increasing feature of rural soundscapes. They are not silent. They hum, cooling fans whirr turning 'off' and 'on', and circuit breakers occasionally clack to control currant flows. The sounds are not loud but constantly present when nearby. These recordings are all from an audio stream that ran for 36 hours from a hawthorn hedge (strategically planted to hide the panels from the footpath) close to the perimeter fence. It is next to one of the farm's hubs, which is the source of the humming/whirring sounds and so over exaggerates its loudness. 10 meters away it is much quieter. Wildlife is still to be seen, although late July is not a particualrly active time of year. Rabbits hop amongst the solar panels as do occasional hares. Crows and rooks fly around and small birds pass by. Buzzards and gulls can sometimes be heard overhead. Chediston Hall is a very large farm. It is run on an industrial scale - huge open fields, few hedges, extensive chemical use. Pigs are still reared intensively in sheds in contrast to the many free-range pig farms in the area. It was early to add renewable energy production to its activities. This solar farm went on-stream in 2013. This track is from late afternoon on a beautiful warm and sunny day. A cooling fan turns off, then on. Rooks call; a wood pigeon sings. The occasional dull bangs are bird scarers in distant fields. Closer recordings of the bird scarers can be heard at https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=64960&m=satellite & https://aporee.org/maps/?loc=64959&m=satellite

Written by Peter Cusack on radio aporee ::: maps.

About the place

Lowestoft is a town of about 71,327 people in England, United Kingdom. OttoAnna lists 143 field recordings from here.

Recorded nearby

More by Peter Cusack

More rivers, streams & waterfalls recordings

Sources & credits