We are planning our 40+ single-family house with a ground source heat pump and a ventilation system with heat recovery.
Some time ago, we visited a show home from a company that starts with "Finger" and ends with "Haus" (I'm not sure if the name can be mentioned). This show home also had a ground source heat pump with a ventilation system equipped. The air ducts for it were located on the floor, both on the ground floor and the upper floor. We already noticed the relatively loud noise from the ventilation downstairs, but when we were upstairs in a closed meeting room, it was really disturbingly loud.
I can’t quite describe it properly; it sounded like metal blowing air. Really hard to explain, but it was definitely noticeable and unpleasant.
On another occasion, we visited a show home by a company with "Streif Haus" in the name, but no extra suffix at the end. Here, however, there was a ground source heat pump with integrated ventilation. We absolutely couldn’t hear anything, not even with the door closed and my head (almost) right at the air outlet on the wall.
Actually, we have never heard the air in any of the houses; it was only noticeable in the first house mentioned.
Since we are considering the same system principle, albeit with different brands, I’m now a bit worried that it might be the same with us, and then this system would be turned off 100%, permanently! That’s simply not an option, not only when sleeping but in general.
Are there general things to consider in advance to reduce the "noise"?
Is the brand decisive?
Are the ducts included with the brand of the ventilation system, or do they generally come from somewhere else, so that one can be lucky or unlucky depending on what the builder installs?
I would appreciate your answers…
Best regards Dany250
Some time ago, we visited a show home from a company that starts with "Finger" and ends with "Haus" (I'm not sure if the name can be mentioned). This show home also had a ground source heat pump with a ventilation system equipped. The air ducts for it were located on the floor, both on the ground floor and the upper floor. We already noticed the relatively loud noise from the ventilation downstairs, but when we were upstairs in a closed meeting room, it was really disturbingly loud.
I can’t quite describe it properly; it sounded like metal blowing air. Really hard to explain, but it was definitely noticeable and unpleasant.
On another occasion, we visited a show home by a company with "Streif Haus" in the name, but no extra suffix at the end. Here, however, there was a ground source heat pump with integrated ventilation. We absolutely couldn’t hear anything, not even with the door closed and my head (almost) right at the air outlet on the wall.
Actually, we have never heard the air in any of the houses; it was only noticeable in the first house mentioned.
Since we are considering the same system principle, albeit with different brands, I’m now a bit worried that it might be the same with us, and then this system would be turned off 100%, permanently! That’s simply not an option, not only when sleeping but in general.
Are there general things to consider in advance to reduce the "noise"?
Is the brand decisive?
Are the ducts included with the brand of the ventilation system, or do they generally come from somewhere else, so that one can be lucky or unlucky depending on what the builder installs?
I would appreciate your answers…
Best regards Dany250
Dany250 schrieb:
I will definitely ask the home builder during the next meeting how their planning process usually works. Then I’ll update here, and maybe eventually (at least for me, since it’s my thread) this will turn into something useful that ties everything together. Tolentino schrieb:
What you can definitely do is at least mention that the noise level should be low, and consider for yourself what standard temperatures you want in the different rooms. Combining both sounds like a good plan. You should state at the beginning what is important to you about the house and make sure it is documented.
Tolentino schrieb:
@ypg is actually female, by the way. That’s right 🙂
Because you only find out afterward how loud your appliances are, keep the bedroom and children’s room away from the utility room. Our utility room is located between the bathroom and the guest toilet; no one sleeps directly next to the appliances. This approach has proven effective.
@Tolentino
Thank you very much for the great post! I will do that—mention the noise level (I had actually brought it up before) and specify the desired temperatures (I wasn’t aware I needed to state that in advance :oops 🙂. In winter, our living areas usually stay around 23-24°C (73-75°F), except for the bedroom. I’m curious if the air-to-water heat pump will manage that as well!? I’ll just say “24°C (75°F) all year round, please.” 🙂
Did you also build with a prefab house manufacturer? How were you able to name a “preferred” heating contractor there?
@ypg
Sorry, that wasn’t meant in a bad or insulting way at all 🙂. I see all genders and races as equals; there are foolish people in every group!
@Nida35a
Fortunately, that’s not an issue for us. Our utility room is in the basement, and we sleep upstairs, so thankfully there is a whole floor in between. 🙂
Thank you very much for the great post! I will do that—mention the noise level (I had actually brought it up before) and specify the desired temperatures (I wasn’t aware I needed to state that in advance :oops 🙂. In winter, our living areas usually stay around 23-24°C (73-75°F), except for the bedroom. I’m curious if the air-to-water heat pump will manage that as well!? I’ll just say “24°C (75°F) all year round, please.” 🙂
Did you also build with a prefab house manufacturer? How were you able to name a “preferred” heating contractor there?
@ypg
Sorry, that wasn’t meant in a bad or insulting way at all 🙂. I see all genders and races as equals; there are foolish people in every group!
@Nida35a
Fortunately, that’s not an issue for us. Our utility room is in the basement, and we sleep upstairs, so thankfully there is a whole floor in between. 🙂
often overlooked:
mostly, the "noise" comes from structure-borne sound,
meaning the vibrations from the fans are mechanically transmitted to the ventilation duct system.
It is better/quieter if the fan unit is decoupled from the ducts,
so it is not rigidly connected to them.
Here, the central fan unit stands on the floor with rubber feet. The connection to the air duct inlet is then made using flexible aluminum ducts.
This way, you only hear a slight airflow noise in the living area at maximum speed, and the motors are not audible at all.
mostly, the "noise" comes from structure-borne sound,
meaning the vibrations from the fans are mechanically transmitted to the ventilation duct system.
It is better/quieter if the fan unit is decoupled from the ducts,
so it is not rigidly connected to them.
Here, the central fan unit stands on the floor with rubber feet. The connection to the air duct inlet is then made using flexible aluminum ducts.
This way, you only hear a slight airflow noise in the living area at maximum speed, and the motors are not audible at all.
Dany250 schrieb:
I see all genders and races on the same podium, dumb people come in every kind! You got me there 😉
I’m not offended... on a mobile phone, you can miss things that are obvious on a PC. Besides, you’re new here 🙂
Dany250 schrieb:
I didn’t realize I had to mention that in advance :oops 🙂, we usually keep our living areas at 23-24°C (73-75°F) during winter (except the bedroom). I’m curious if the air-to-water heat pump will be able to handle that!? I’ll just say “24°C (75°F) all year round,” then 🙂. It’s not necessary, but in that case, the heating system is typically designed for 20°C (68°F), which most people find too cool in living spaces. That doesn’t mean higher temperatures aren’t possible, but to achieve them, the system must operate with a higher supply water temperature, which reduces efficiency.
If you specify a higher desired temperature from the start, this increases the heating load for the room. A skilled heating installer will usually try to compensate for this by using a closer pipe spacing for the underfloor heating. With a requested temperature of 24°C (75°F), that’s already quite high and will likely still require a higher supply temperature, but it depends on many factors.
No, I didn’t use a prefab house builder but a local planner with fixed subcontractors (general contractor). Removing the heating, plumbing, and ventilation work wasn’t my choice but a necessity, since the general contractor’s standard subcontractor no longer wanted to do the work and the general contractor couldn’t provide an in-house replacement.
I wouldn’t recommend intentionally managing subcontracting yourself unless you have solid expertise and reliable companies lined up. And I honestly can’t imagine a prefab house builder doing that at all. Have you already signed the contract?
Similar topics