Characterizing the level of acoustic energy radiated from a machine is an important task for manufacturers of consumer goods. Several measurement methods and standards exist for measuring the sound power level of an acoustic source. The main differentiator between sound power measurement techniques is the type of environment in which the measurement is made. 

Sound intensity measurements are now routinely used in the determination of the sound power of operating machinery in situ. Other applications of this measurement technique include visualization of sound fields, identification and rank ordering of partial sources, determination of transmission losses of panels and partition, determination of the radiation efficiency of vibrating surfaces and measurement of sound absorption of materials etc.