ᐅ Mechanical ventilation with heat recovery in the utility room is very audible – too loud?

We visited a show home, and the mechanical ventilation system in the utility room was quite loud. The door was not soundproofed. Is it normal to still hear the mechanical ventilation in the hallway and even in the living area? Is there anything that can be done, like lowering the volume, adding sound insulation, or are there different systems, some of which are quieter?

So... it always depends on the device... What else was active in the utility room? Combined heating and ventilation units are quite popular in some show homes – whether this is practical is another question, which can vary in each individual case.
Then there is always the question of what the home builder wants to sell. In one show home in a display village, a mechanical ventilation system without heat recovery was running – set so that it was clearly audible – that builder did not want to install mechanical ventilation. In another, a system was running that you couldn’t hear at all. In a third, there was a heating and ventilation system that was only audible at the highest setting...
The system being installed in our house was at least inaudible outside the utility room in other homes...

Could you please share the model of your device with me, preferably via private message? If possible, also let me know the level at which you cannot hear the system...

I would argue that this is less a matter of the equipment and more about proper and professional installation. Sometimes it comes down to small details, and if the company doing the work is sloppy, the sound can transmit to other resonating surfaces and become more noticeable.

For example, our mechanical ventilation system is mounted on the only sand-lime brick wall in the entire house—and even at the highest setting, it is inaudible unless you are standing right next to it.

Good luck

K1300S

Ours can only be heard at the highest level in the utility room and nowhere else.

We even sleep above our utility room; all the supply and drainage pipes for the upper floor run beneath the screed in the bedroom, and we don’t hear a thing!