Heat Pump Noise
Discussion
Now its the new year so no negativity and general PH gloom please .
Its a genuine question.
Its cold here maybe 0 degrees and I just walked around the posh houses with the dog before it got dark. I do the same route quite often . Today it was really noticeable , quite audible noise from the heat pumps and for balance I could see some boiler flues working hard too .
What is actually making all the noise ? There is a fan I can here I think , the noisiest I have heard them ever on this walk .
No one is sitting out sunbathing but I expect one neighbour would be able to hear another . I could from a quiet road path.
Are they working harder and doing more today as its so cold. I guess that a yes but what's actually making all the noise ?
Its a genuine question.
Its cold here maybe 0 degrees and I just walked around the posh houses with the dog before it got dark. I do the same route quite often . Today it was really noticeable , quite audible noise from the heat pumps and for balance I could see some boiler flues working hard too .
What is actually making all the noise ? There is a fan I can here I think , the noisiest I have heard them ever on this walk .
No one is sitting out sunbathing but I expect one neighbour would be able to hear another . I could from a quiet road path.
Are they working harder and doing more today as its so cold. I guess that a yes but what's actually making all the noise ?
cliffords said:
What is actually making all the noise ? There is a fan I can here I think , the noisiest I have heard them ever on this walk .
The moving parts are the fan and the compressor. There's probably some noise from the gas in the evaporator too.It's the same basic idea as your fridge or freezer and I'm sure you've heard those working.
I had an Octopus Cozy 6 installed a few months ago and it is louder than expected when the temp drops below about 5-6C.
It's supposed to be max 64dB but I measured it at 67dB, and is just about audible from inside the house.
Another issue is that I have to walk past it to get though the side gate and the icy blast from the fan chills you to the bone. Feels like wind chill factor of about -30C
It's supposed to be max 64dB but I measured it at 67dB, and is just about audible from inside the house.
Another issue is that I have to walk past it to get though the side gate and the icy blast from the fan chills you to the bone. Feels like wind chill factor of about -30C
Through time the fans get dirty and imbalanced, getting noisier as time goes onand the imbalance wears the bearings faster which makes them louder. The rubber compressor bushes see a lot of temperature cycles, so they perish and transmit more vibration and noise.
Traditionally heat pumps have been for wealthy private settings, and commercial settings like pubs or restaurants where the equipment is more likely to be regularly serviced and these issues would get attended to.
The government's strategy of forcing these on everybody means a large proportion of these wont see any maintainance until they stop working, then they will grudgingly see the bare minimum of repair to get them working again.
Like so many of the problems we face now its glaringly obvious the potential downsides but we will march on into stupidity head on anyway.
Traditionally heat pumps have been for wealthy private settings, and commercial settings like pubs or restaurants where the equipment is more likely to be regularly serviced and these issues would get attended to.
The government's strategy of forcing these on everybody means a large proportion of these wont see any maintainance until they stop working, then they will grudgingly see the bare minimum of repair to get them working again.
Like so many of the problems we face now its glaringly obvious the potential downsides but we will march on into stupidity head on anyway.
Volume definitely increases significantly when it’s very cold but it shouldn’t sound any louder than a fan working very hard. Ours is actually sited away from the house as an our plant room is right next to our patio we had a super insulated flow and return pipe trenched in…pipe was about 25 cm in diameter which enclosed the flow and return pipes. So heat pump cannot be heard from house.
cliffords said:
Today it was really noticeable , quite audible noise from the heat pumps and for balance I could see some boiler flues working hard too
Comical isn't it. They have heat pumps to save the planet, but heat pumps aren't much use so they have to crank up the old boiler to stay warm.On the news today they were crowing that solar panels made more electricity than ever last year, because it was very sunny. Thank heavens for climate change eh!
Simpo Two said:
Comical isn't it. They have heat pumps to save the planet, but heat pumps aren't much use so they have to crank up the old boiler to stay warm.
On the news today they were crowing that solar panels made more electricity than ever last year, because it was very sunny. Thank heavens for climate change eh!
The amount is highest because the total installed area of panels has increased, little to nothing to do with climate change. On the news today they were crowing that solar panels made more electricity than ever last year, because it was very sunny. Thank heavens for climate change eh!
Simpo Two said:
Comical isn't it. They have heat pumps to save the planet, but heat pumps aren't much use so they have to crank up the old boiler to stay warm.
I think you've misinterpreted. It reads as though while there are ASHPs making noise with their fans, there are also a number of non ASHP homes, with boilers, equally making noise with their flues. Most will have one or the other, rare to have both. My neighbours boiler wakes me up at half 6 every morning as their hot water tank gets heated up.
Meanwhile my ASHP has been maintaining our home at 20°C all day and night at 65% of it's capacity and quietly too - ish, I can only hear it when a metre away.
gmaz said:
I had an Octopus Cozy 6 installed a few months ago and it is louder than expected when the temp drops below about 5-6C.
It's supposed to be max 64dB but I measured it at 67dB, and is just about audible from inside the house.
Another issue is that I have to walk past it to get though the side gate and the icy blast from the fan chills you to the bone. Feels like wind chill factor of about -30C
An increase in 3db is actually a doubling in sound energy, so thats actually quite an increase (from the point of the mechanical energy being produced to make that noise that is)It's supposed to be max 64dB but I measured it at 67dB, and is just about audible from inside the house.
Another issue is that I have to walk past it to get though the side gate and the icy blast from the fan chills you to the bone. Feels like wind chill factor of about -30C
Edited by Gary C on Friday 2nd January 22:24
chrismoose91 said:
I think you've misinterpreted. It reads as though while there are ASHPs making noise with their fans, there are also a number of non ASHP homes, with boilers, equally making noise with their flues. Most will have one or the other, rare to have both.
My neighbours boiler wakes me up at half 6 every morning as their hot water tank gets heated up.
Meanwhile my ASHP has been maintaining our home at 20°C all day and night at 65% of it's capacity and quietly too - ish, I can only hear it when a metre away.
He said he could see the boiler flues working, not that he could hear them. My neighbours boiler wakes me up at half 6 every morning as their hot water tank gets heated up.
Meanwhile my ASHP has been maintaining our home at 20°C all day and night at 65% of it's capacity and quietly too - ish, I can only hear it when a metre away.
Our house is a mirror of the one next door, and our boiler flues face each other. Ours is inaudible outside, and I can only barely hear theirs when outside. What on earth kind of boiler is it that wakes you up?
hidetheelephants said:
The amount is highest because the total installed area of panels has increased, little to nothing to do with climate change.
Though in addition, more sun = more power. I'm just playing them at their own game; 99 times out of 100 after saying the weather is very hot/cold/wet/dry they will add 'due to climate change'.hidetheelephants said:
I occasionally get woken up by the boiler firing at whatever time that is, probably around 7. It's a victorian building so not the greatest sound isolation.
My boiler is 37 so is noisy inside the house, but not outside.OldGermanHeaps said:
Through time the fans get dirty and imbalanced, getting noisier as time goes onand the imbalance wears the bearings faster which makes them louder. The rubber compressor bushes see a lot of temperature cycles, so they perish and transmit more vibration and noise.
Traditionally heat pumps have been for wealthy private settings, and commercial settings like pubs or restaurants where the equipment is more likely to be regularly serviced and these issues would get attended to.
The government's strategy of forcing these on everybody means a large proportion of these wont see any maintainance until they stop working, then they will grudgingly see the bare minimum of repair to get them working again.
Like so many of the problems we face now its glaringly obvious the potential downsides but we will march on into stupidity head on anyway.
A bizarre argument...you know that gas boilers require servicing as well? And the maintenance costs are pretty much equal to a heat pump.Traditionally heat pumps have been for wealthy private settings, and commercial settings like pubs or restaurants where the equipment is more likely to be regularly serviced and these issues would get attended to.
The government's strategy of forcing these on everybody means a large proportion of these wont see any maintainance until they stop working, then they will grudgingly see the bare minimum of repair to get them working again.
Like so many of the problems we face now its glaringly obvious the potential downsides but we will march on into stupidity head on anyway.
I guess the only difference is that a poorly maintained heat pump will be noisier and might stop heating your house, whereas a gas boiler could kill you.
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