ᐅ Neighbor’s ventilation system set too high and therefore too noisy?
Created on: 19 Jul 2021 16:43
T
Toja007
Hello dear forum members,
I am reaching out to you with a problem:
Our neighbors have a controlled central ventilation system (probably a Stiebel Eltron 280), which we find "too loud" and, in my opinion, incorrectly adjusted.
It produces about 60 dB(A) sound pressure level at the exhaust outlet, which faces our terrace. On our terrace, about 8m (26 feet) away, it sounds like a constant airplane flying overhead. The air velocity in the 160mm (6.3 inch) duct is 2.6–2.8 m/s (meters per second), which I calculate to be about 200 m³/h (cubic meters per hour) of air volume (see side question below regarding supply air vs. exhaust air).
This occurs between 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m., although hardly anyone is home on weekdays during this time (also on weekends, even with open windows). In the evenings, they reduce the system. This is all happening now in summer (May to September); in autumn/winter, they generally turn the system down!?
Our neighbors refer us to the plumbing company that installed and maintains the system; according to them, the system is correctly set.
House data: approx. 450 m³ (cubic meters),
5 occupants
==> Therefore, I come to a required air exchange rate of about 130–150 m³ per hour (factor 0.3 or 25–30 m³ per person for “normal air”).
Side question: On the weekend, they were airing out for two whole days during the daytime at the highest supply air setting, with an air velocity of 3.6 m/s (meters per second) = 260 m³/h, but on the exhaust side, it was 4.5 m/s = 325 m³/h, with a sound pressure level of 70 dB(A). That is 25% higher. It seems to me that the exhaust air from the rooms is set too high? I once read about a maximum deviation of +5–10%.
What do the experts in this forum think? I have already tried talking to the neighbor and might have an independent plumbing company inspect it. So far, no success...
Kind regards, Toja
I am reaching out to you with a problem:
Our neighbors have a controlled central ventilation system (probably a Stiebel Eltron 280), which we find "too loud" and, in my opinion, incorrectly adjusted.
It produces about 60 dB(A) sound pressure level at the exhaust outlet, which faces our terrace. On our terrace, about 8m (26 feet) away, it sounds like a constant airplane flying overhead. The air velocity in the 160mm (6.3 inch) duct is 2.6–2.8 m/s (meters per second), which I calculate to be about 200 m³/h (cubic meters per hour) of air volume (see side question below regarding supply air vs. exhaust air).
This occurs between 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m., although hardly anyone is home on weekdays during this time (also on weekends, even with open windows). In the evenings, they reduce the system. This is all happening now in summer (May to September); in autumn/winter, they generally turn the system down!?
Our neighbors refer us to the plumbing company that installed and maintains the system; according to them, the system is correctly set.
House data: approx. 450 m³ (cubic meters),
5 occupants
==> Therefore, I come to a required air exchange rate of about 130–150 m³ per hour (factor 0.3 or 25–30 m³ per person for “normal air”).
Side question: On the weekend, they were airing out for two whole days during the daytime at the highest supply air setting, with an air velocity of 3.6 m/s (meters per second) = 260 m³/h, but on the exhaust side, it was 4.5 m/s = 325 m³/h, with a sound pressure level of 70 dB(A). That is 25% higher. It seems to me that the exhaust air from the rooms is set too high? I once read about a maximum deviation of +5–10%.
What do the experts in this forum think? I have already tried talking to the neighbor and might have an independent plumbing company inspect it. So far, no success...
Kind regards, Toja
Schimi179120 Jul 2021 10:55Glad to hear that help was useful ...
OWLer schrieb:
writes me a letter saying I should ventilate but with a lower airflow rate... I’m not sure if I would react as calmly as your neighbor apparently did.That is not stated in the letter...
I would like to know that as well.
I was just sitting on the toilet, and you can’t hear anything except me, and if I’m not doing anything except breathing, it’s 36 dB.
By the way, phone microphones are not really great for this kind of measurement.
So it’s possible that there is actually a higher sound pressure level in some frequency ranges (e.g., below 100 Hz). The phone microphone just doesn’t measure those well, and low frequencies carry further...
I was just sitting on the toilet, and you can’t hear anything except me, and if I’m not doing anything except breathing, it’s 36 dB.
By the way, phone microphones are not really great for this kind of measurement.
So it’s possible that there is actually a higher sound pressure level in some frequency ranges (e.g., below 100 Hz). The phone microphone just doesn’t measure those well, and low frequencies carry further...
halmi schrieb:
I would still be interested to know about any new residential development or housing area in Germany where you can measure 35 dB during the day?Answer for the perfectionists 😉 : on my terrace at 8:59 PM, it’s just under 40 dB(A). At 9:01 PM (when the mechanical ventilation system is off): 35 dB(A). All this with no wind and no cars passing by. Even the birds are quiet sometimes, etc. Yes, those moments do exist.
As mentioned, this was recorded amateurishly using a smartphone.