ᐅ Sound barrier wall for neighbor’s heat pump

Nordlys schrieb:
You can’t just build them into a wall. [...] That’s what I assume.

If installed indoors along the exterior wall, these louvers could be placed in front, similar to the exhaust vents used in underground parking garages. This way, the units can be enclosed, like trash enclosures. Inside the enclosure, sound diffuser panels like those used in recording studios or similar setups could be installed. Allowing them to "breathe" doesn’t have to mean allowing noise to escape freely.

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I’m going to say something a bit uncomfortable. I’m putting myself in the neighbor’s shoes. They’ve built a house. They were sold this air-source heat pump, and they like it. They’ve probably followed all the regulations. Now there’s just some landscaping and a hedge left to do... then the original poster comes along and complains about the pump. It hums. Like an insect. Now they want to enclose it or move it... are they crazy? The neighbor thinks. I did everything right, and now they’re making a fuss over the noise. Everyone has one of these things around here.

If I owned an air-source heat pump, I’d probably do nothing and just think, neighbor, relax, every single kitchen extractor vent through a wall is louder. People will have to get used to these pumps. By the way, the widely appreciated wood-burning stove isn’t exactly free of disturbance either. A poorly adjusted motion-activated spotlight with a nocturnal cat around can be annoying too... Life isn’t perfectly quiet. Our new neighbor also has one of these devices. It just hums a little... Karsten

I have to speak up. There is already way too much noise everywhere. A constant hum or buzzing is really stressful. We have the coal excavators next door. I know what I’m talking about. Every day, I hope that we manage the energy transition and that those things will finally be shut down.

Any noise that can be avoided should be avoided. I can’t just direct my noise emissions toward my neighbor. Then I have to expect that they will complain. No matter who was there first. If they didn’t anticipate it, they are either foolish or ignorant. In any case, they are now paying their lessons learned.

It doesn’t always mean that someone is being unreasonable. Maybe the damage can be shared.

AndreasPlü schrieb:
"4 m how is that possible?" Well, it can also be 4.5 m (15 feet), but no more, since it's a tightly built area and twice 2.5 m (8 feet) setback distances plus the distance to your own house wall can't be exceeded. Are there legal minimum distance requirements?

First, you need to know where you are located:

Immission guideline value daytime (6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.) Immission guideline value nighttime (10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.)
6.1 Core, village, and mixed-use areas: 60 dB(A) / 45 dB(A)
6.1 General residential areas: 55 dB(A) / 40 dB(A)
6.1 Pure residential areas: 50 dB(A) / 35 dB(A)
6.1 Spa areas, hospitals, and care facilities: 45 dB(A) / 35 dB(A)

The value is measured

at built-up areas 0.5 m (2 inches) outside and in front of the center of the open window of the noise-exposed sensitive room (e.g., bedroom window);

Which model does your neighbor have? There are quite a few differences. Then just look up the data sheet or the name of the unit.

One I know, for example, has 65 dB(A) during the day and 60 dB(A) at night. At a distance of 6.5 m (21 feet) (the measurement would be at 6 m (20 feet)), d

Depending on that, you can make sure your neighbor must at least do the following:

Outdoor units can be equipped with a sound insulation cover or be installed behind a noise barrier.

There is a noise calculator on Wärmepumpe.de.

You can calculate it nicely, for example for the device mentioned above in a pure residential area.

kaho674 schrieb:
I hope every day that we can still achieve the energy transition

This way, we never will. The problem is that in construction (besides financing) there are so many parties involved, all wanting to do as little work as possible. It is easiest to consider each legal and credit entity as an individual "builder." That’s why every homeowner plans their energy setup as if they were on a deserted island. In a batch size of “one housing unit.” All the systems used, no matter what type, share one thing: they never operate in an economically optimal way. But what about connecting a joint combined heat and power plant to six neighbors’ garages, for example? That gets sabotaged at the latest by the three heating contractors and four subsidy advisors who each prefer to make a quick deal with one builder instead of working with all of them as a consortium that first needs to be coordinated.

At least for semi-detached houses, in my opinion it should be mandatory to use only one heating energy system.

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Caspar2020 schrieb:
This can be nicely calculated.

At least 3 dB(A), preferably 6 dB(A), should be deducted from the immission guideline value. No single unit should be allowed to fully utilize the immission guideline values. First come, first served principle.
Otherwise, I find my opinion confirmed. With air source heat pumps designed and installed completely without restrictions, there will be major conflicts in the coming years.