Make Your Air Conditioning Quieter With Our Tips!

An increasing amount of homes is equipped with an air conditioning facility, consisting of indoor and outdoor units. A luxurous asset to your house in case you want to sit inside during a hot summer. The noise produced by the air conditioning system, however, is not very pleasant for neighbours who are sitting outside. Especially the larger outdoor units may cause of lot of noise pollution.

Do you suffer from contact or airborne noise?
First, you need to determine what kind of noise problem you are dealing with: airborne noise or contact noise. Airborne noise often comes from the front of the unit, the side of the fan. This sound consists of blowout, engine and compressor noise from the unit. Contact noise is experienced as a constant hum and is caused by vibration (resonance) that travels through the surface to which the outdoor air conditioning or heat pump unit is attached. This often occurs with units that are placed on the roof on top of outdated or the wrong type of dampers. In some cases, there are no dampers to begin with.

Insulating contact noise
Most outdoor air conditioning and heat pump units are mounted on top of plastic beams that are mounted right underneath the unit. 'Standard' vibration dampers are often placed between these beams and the unit. These dampers do not sufficiently decouple the unit from lightweight constructions, for example wooden roof constructions. The result is a hum that can be heard throughout the entire house up to the neighbours. In order to reduce this, you can place a concrete tile(s) that is at least as big as the outdoor unit on the roof. This tile adds extra weight to this part of the light roof construction. On the tile you place blocks of Regufoam D300 that you cut to size yourself (about 100 x 100 mm). The unit is placed on top of these blocks. The Regufoam blocks should be placed underneath the corners of the plastic beams. We recommend using Regufoam D300 with article number M0718.

Insulating airborne noise
Outdoor units also emit airborne noise, sounds produced by airflow, engine, and compressor. A complete housing provides the best results. But of course you can also make a housing yourself. Such a housing would consist of three walls and a fourth one that simultaneously functions like a door. Use heavy sheet material, because mass = insulation. Leave the top open to allow for sufficient supply and exhaust of air. The inside should be equipped with absorption material like Akotherm D40 or Merfopol, according to your own preference. Inquire the manufacturer of your unit to find out how much free space your unit needs in order to function properly. This may vary per brand and type.

Ready-made heat pump housing 
If you are not sure whether the above step-by-step plan is suitable for your heat pump or air conditioning unit, first inform the manufacturer of the unit. We are not specialised in air conditioning, but we provide general solutions to general noise problems. Merford, the mother company of Acoustics Shop, can make you a custom-made housing. This housing is completely customised to your brand and type of heat pump. Very handy if you are not so practical yourself.

Questions? 
Do you have any questions about this topic? Please contact us, we will be happy to anwer your questions as soon as possible.