my house sounds like a jet engine when hvac turns on

[tiger08]

Originally Posted by PhxBarb

My master bath sounds that way when the heat pump kicks in. The heat pump s right outside that wall and is so much louder than the old one that I replaced last March. I had no idea it would make such a difference but it is really loud. Not the whole house, thank goodness.

Mine also and I attribute it to the new scroll compressors they use in the new units as opposed to the old reciprocating type compressors of yesteryear
Scroll compressors are however more efficient but they do carry a nice vibration and are generally louder.

Some manufacturers do have quieter units than others, depends on level of equipment quality. My bottom line Goodman unit resonates a pretty harsh vibration right down through our bedroom ceiling and walls.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by TiredOfyycCold

Ours is like that too Barb - also a new unit....
I'm going to follow Zippyman's advice and have an energy audit done... and also have them check the noise that the heat pump makes to ensure that the noise is "normal" even though it sounds highly abnormal to me!

Fwiw, they make a "sound blanket" that can be installed over the compressor to muffle it if you are hearing the outdoor unit run. Many times that "sound blanket" is the biggest difference between a "cheap" unit and a more expensive one. The blankets can be added in just a few minutes, and they don't cost much if your unit didnt come with one.. it's perhaps a $30-$40 item that just slips on and secures with velcro..

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by tiger08

Mine also and I attribute it to the new scroll compressors they use in the new units as opposed to the old reciprocating type compressors of yesteryear
Scroll compressors are however more efficient but they do carry a nice vibration and are generally louder.

Some manufacturers do have quieter units than others, depends on level of equipment quality. My bottom line Goodman unit resonates a pretty harsh vibration right down through our bedroom ceiling and walls.

Scrolls are actually quieter than the old designs, but vibration is an issue with all of them.. my new system has a scroll with a sound blanket, but one of the protective grates on the outdoor unit was vibrating & making a fairly loud noise.. i put rubber washers under the screws and it quieted down.. but the low "hum" the unit makes actually seems louder inside the garage than it does standing outside next to it..

[tiger08]

Originally Posted by Zippyman

Scrolls are actually quieter than the old designs, but vibration is an issue with all of them.. my new system has a scroll with a sound blanket, but one of the protective grates on the outdoor unit was vibrating & making a fairly loud noise.. i put rubber washers under the screws and it quieted down.. but the low "hum" the unit makes actually seems louder inside the garage than it does standing outside next to it..

What model do you have? Mine is the cheap GPH model. One problem mine does have, is the outdoor fan is very noisy. The accumulator was also vibrating against the bottom of the unit, fixing that helped a little
Your probably right about recips being louder but to me it is more of a pleasant sound.

I have a smaller GPG gas pack in the garage that I will be replacing my heat pump with, been talking about it for a couple years but had to tighten up the house first, am finally going to install it next weekend.

[TiredOfyycCold]

Thanks Zippyman and Tiger08 - very useful information. Ours is definitely a cheaper Goodman and does NOT have a sound blanket.... will definitely be purchasing this item when we're back in March.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by tiger08

What model do you have? Mine is the cheap GPH model. One problem mine does have, is the outdoor fan is very noisy. The accumulator was also vibrating against the bottom of the unit, fixing that helped a little
Your probably right about recips being louder but to me it is more of a pleasant sound.

I have a smaller GPG gas pack in the garage that I will be replacing my heat pump with, been talking about it for a couple years but had to tighten up the house first, am finally going to install it next weekend.

I have Goodman's fancy unit, (the two-stage 18 seer model), but I've also purchased a couple of the low-end packaged units recently, and they're still very good units. I only bought the fancy one for my primary residence because the government was subsizing the purchase through the tax-credit.

[AZDREAMING123]

TROUBLE IN PARADISE
I live in a 1980's condo in Phoenix, AZ. 1st floor unit. Mostly occupied winter season.
So not used all that much over the years. A/C is working well, cooling well, has been well
maintained, normal AC/ sound. New owner upstairs is complaining about my A/C unit being
too "noisy". The unit is on the roof of a two story building. There are a total of 16 A/C units
on the roof. He demanded that I get a new one. I told him NO. But that I would get it checked
out. And I did. The A/C guy said the base pads were ''gone". Whatever that means. Theft?
Vandalism? A/C guy repaired the base. Which is usually the problem here. Said unit was
running OK. Said sounds normal for a unit of it's age. The unit has been vacant since the
repair 2 weeks ago. Air is turned completely OFF. BUT the guy is still complaining! He even
went to the A/C guy's HOUSE TO complain!!! Yikes!!! Sounds to me like he must be hearing
one, or more, of the of the other A/C units on the roof. OK. What do I do next? Does the city
or a private company come out to measure noise? If so, who do I call? Are there any other
reasons why he would be hearing A/C noise from my A/C or other A/C units? Like maybe needs
more insallation between his unit and the roof? Any help or ideas welcome.

[KurtAZ]

Wow...5 year old thread revival...nice first post!

[DougStark]

Originally Posted by AZgarden

My master bath sounds that way when the heat pump kicks in. The heat pump s right outside that wall and is so much louder than the old one that I replaced last March. I had no idea it would make such a difference but it is really loud. Not the whole house, thank goodness.

Your new HP unit is louder than the old one was? That's very surprising and if it happened to me, I'd be pretty mad at the contractor for pickin a noisy one. Wow.

As for the OP, it's probably air restrictions as already mentioned. My bro's rental apt has tiny return air vents that are loud to the point of annoying. Sorry, man, but it's fixable.