Loudoun County, VA Noise from Specific Sources: Generator Noise (2026)

Loudoun County Code §654.02(e) lists the sounds the county's 'Excessive Sound in Residential Areas and Dwellings' ordinance does not reach, and subsection (e)(4) covers emergency operations, defined to include audible warning and alarm signals other than vehicle alarms, sirens, loudspeakers, and 'sound produced by power generators during power outages and other emergency situations.' In practice a homeowner or business running a portable or standby generator to keep power on during a Dominion Energy outage is not committing a noise violation under this section, even though generators can run above the levels the rest of §654.02(d) targets for lawn equipment, construction and stereo systems.

The exemption is tied specifically to power outages and emergencies, it does not extend to routine generator testing or backup power used for convenience outside an outage, which would instead be evaluated under the general prohibition in §654.02(c) against sound audible in a neighbor's dwelling with doors and windows closed. The rest of the exemption list in (e) covers agricultural operations, golf-course lawn equipment before 9 p.m., religious bells and chimes, and county-sponsored activities, showing the Board of Supervisors built the exemption scheme around specific, narrow categories rather than a blanket noise carve-out. The provision applies to the unincorporated county; incorporated towns enforce their own noise codes.