ᐅ Heat pump produces audible structure-borne noise (with photos of the system)
Created on: 1 Feb 2021 15:16
V
vaderleHello everyone,
We moved into our house last summer (150m² (1,615 sq ft) urban villa made of 16cm (6 inch) aerated concrete prefab elements with ETICS insulation). For hot water production (heating + domestic hot water), we have a Vaillant air-to-water heat pump.
It is the VWL 55/5 AS 230V S2 model with outdoor and indoor units. The fan and compressor are located outside.
On cold days — when the system runs more frequently — we have noticed that the system (when the compressor is on) can be heard in every room (a humming sound). It makes no difference whether doors or windows are open or closed. Therefore, I assume this humming is transmitted through the walls (structure-borne sound).
In the utility room (where the indoor unit is installed) and outside, I have detected the strongest vibrations in the pipes of the refrigeration circuit. All other components appear to produce very little vibration. When touching these pipes, you can feel them vibrating. When the fluid is not flowing or the compressor is off, of course, there is no vibration. Then the house is quiet.
The outdoor unit is mounted on the facade (see photos). It rests on dampers. The mentioned pipes run from inside through the house wall to the outside (see photos). I noticed that the holes where the pipes pass through are simply filled with concrete (see photos). I do not see a separate sleeve or duct to prevent direct contact between the pipes and the concrete. I therefore assume that the vibrations from the pipes are being transmitted directly to the wall.
Would you also consider this the cause?
Finding a solution: I had thought about placing the indoor unit on a mat and wrapping the already white-insulated refrigerant pipes (see photos) again with soundproofing material. Do you think that would help?
Or is the root of the problem the passage of the pipes from inside to outside? I also considered whether placing the outdoor unit on a concrete foundation could help. But as long as these white pipes have direct contact with the concrete elements, the problem will probably persist.
How do you route the refrigerant pipes from inside to outside in your installations?
We moved into our house last summer (150m² (1,615 sq ft) urban villa made of 16cm (6 inch) aerated concrete prefab elements with ETICS insulation). For hot water production (heating + domestic hot water), we have a Vaillant air-to-water heat pump.
It is the VWL 55/5 AS 230V S2 model with outdoor and indoor units. The fan and compressor are located outside.
On cold days — when the system runs more frequently — we have noticed that the system (when the compressor is on) can be heard in every room (a humming sound). It makes no difference whether doors or windows are open or closed. Therefore, I assume this humming is transmitted through the walls (structure-borne sound).
In the utility room (where the indoor unit is installed) and outside, I have detected the strongest vibrations in the pipes of the refrigeration circuit. All other components appear to produce very little vibration. When touching these pipes, you can feel them vibrating. When the fluid is not flowing or the compressor is off, of course, there is no vibration. Then the house is quiet.
The outdoor unit is mounted on the facade (see photos). It rests on dampers. The mentioned pipes run from inside through the house wall to the outside (see photos). I noticed that the holes where the pipes pass through are simply filled with concrete (see photos). I do not see a separate sleeve or duct to prevent direct contact between the pipes and the concrete. I therefore assume that the vibrations from the pipes are being transmitted directly to the wall.
Would you also consider this the cause?
Finding a solution: I had thought about placing the indoor unit on a mat and wrapping the already white-insulated refrigerant pipes (see photos) again with soundproofing material. Do you think that would help?
Or is the root of the problem the passage of the pipes from inside to outside? I also considered whether placing the outdoor unit on a concrete foundation could help. But as long as these white pipes have direct contact with the concrete elements, the problem will probably persist.
How do you route the refrigerant pipes from inside to outside in your installations?
Hello,
My first suspicion would be the bracket of the outdoor unit. If anything vibrates there, it directly transfers to the load-bearing exterior wall. And you can hear that throughout the entire house.
The way the cables are routed is also not correct; it’s not sealed at all. And that strange, loose cable in the picture is hopefully just a temperature sensor you temporarily placed there, right? It doesn’t belong to the heating system?
But generally, since you only moved in during the summer, you should call the heating installer to come back and make corrections!
Best regards,
Andreas
My first suspicion would be the bracket of the outdoor unit. If anything vibrates there, it directly transfers to the load-bearing exterior wall. And you can hear that throughout the entire house.
The way the cables are routed is also not correct; it’s not sealed at all. And that strange, loose cable in the picture is hopefully just a temperature sensor you temporarily placed there, right? It doesn’t belong to the heating system?
But generally, since you only moved in during the summer, you should call the heating installer to come back and make corrections!
Best regards,
Andreas
Even the exterior piping is completely wrong in my opinion. It should hang down like a loop and then go upward to enter the house. This is simply to ensure that rain, condensation, or similar moisture collects at the lowest point and drips off. As it is now, moisture accumulates and flows to the lowest point, practically directly into the wall, which also apparently hasn’t been sealed properly.
Bookstar schrieb:
They really did everything wrong that could be done.Could you please explain in more detail? That doesn’t help me much. What exactly is still wrong?
So far, I understand that the white pipe should actually run from below up into the house to prevent water from entering.
What exactly do you mean by compacting? The insulation is still there after all.
And what about the point that the pipe is in contact with concrete?
It’s not about compacting but sealing. Moisture can travel along the pipe, through the hole in your plaster, reaching your insulation, and possibly even behind the insulation, since no one really knows how big that hole is. Suitable sealing material must definitely be applied into the gap from the outside.
Similar topics