Heat pump outdoor unit outside bedroom, to loud?

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David321

486 posts

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#242179 15-Oct-2018 06:32

Hi all,

I have recently purchased a second hand "Mitsubishi GE50 5.8KW" heat pump and have been looking around my house for a good spot to place the outdoor unit before I get someone in to install it.

The problem I have it that I am really limited for options, the back of my house is all decking, there is no room on one side of the house because the driveway is to narrow, this leaves one little spot right on the front of the house which I am not to keen on as it may be unsightly to have an outdoor unit right on the front of the house, especially with the way the pipes usually bend around into the units.

The other side of the house seems perfect, it is completely out of sight and there is plenty of space, but this is the bedroom side of the house, meaning the unit would be outside of our bedroom and I am worried the noise may keep me awake at night as I am a light sleeper. Most of the people I have had around for quotes on install had not mentioned about potential noise problems except for the last guy I had around for a quote, now I am worried about putting the unit there.

Does anyone here have any info or advice which may be useful on this or have a unit outside of their bedroom? FYI the outdoor unit is supposed to be 56DBA according to google.

_David_

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#2107898 15-Oct-2018 07:14

They're not too bad, and they're generally a consistent noise, though they stop and start. We have one a couple of meters from our bedroom window, you can hear it if you listen but it's not loud at all. If you're a light sleeper it might bother you, but I think most people would be ok with it - assuming insulated walls / properly sealing double glazed windows. It was actually quieter with the old wooden windows and retrofit double glazing than the proper PVC glazing.

Go find a neighbour with one and have a listen. If you're more than 1-2 meters away you typically have to put your hand in front of them to work out if they're going, unless it's really quiet outside.

MikeAqua

7785 posts

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#2107930 15-Oct-2018 08:59

Quiet when new and stay that way if serviced etc. We have one outside our bedroom. Never hear it.

Mike

robjg63

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#2107958 15-Oct-2018 09:41

Probably important to consider how/where the compressor unit will be mounted.

From my (limited) experience the noise/vibration tends to depend a lot on how the vibration gets transferred to the surfaces nearby the unit.

Have a look for "Ground Anti Vibration Dampers" that could make quite a difference.

Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself - A. H. Weiler

David321

486 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2108019 15-Oct-2018 11:12

Thanks for the information so far, I just realized I have missed a crucial piece of information, no wall insulation and single glassed aluminum windows :(

If I did put it outside the bedroom and it was to loud and I wanted to relocate it, would it be expensive? I will have the pipes running under the house and if I had to relocate it then I would just need to turn the pipe under the house to point out the other wall, is there an elbow joint that would be used for the 90 degree bend for when it goes under the house and then bends to run along under the floor? if the elbow join could be loosened then the pipe could just be turned to face the other way to the wall I want all while leaving the vertical pipe which runs up the wall to the indoor unit alone.

If it is one pipe they use or the elbow joins they use can not be loosened to be able to swivel/pivot then I think it will be much harder.

_David_

timmmay

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#2108025 15-Oct-2018 11:23

Relocation is a significant effort as they need to pump all the refrigerant out of the pipes, then relocate the pipes and electrics, then reconnect. I had it done once, I moved a medium heat pump to a different room when I put a large heat pump in the lounge.

You really need to go listen to someone else's heat pump, I think that's the only way you'll decide for yourself what you should do.

Senecio

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#2108044 15-Oct-2018 11:39

What room will the indoor unit be in. How often will you be heating/cooling that space while you're sleeping?

David321

486 posts

Ultimate Geek

#2108134 15-Oct-2018 12:45

The indoor unit will stay where it is, but I was thinking what the cost would be to have the outdoor unit relocated if it is to noisy for outside my bedroom. There will be enough wire and pipe it's just the matter of moving it. I'm am guessing it should be less (maybe just) than the organal install cost as the indoor unit should not need to be touched and all materials will already be there?

_David_

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skewt

750 posts

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#2108138 15-Oct-2018 12:53

I have a GE60 mounted on a deck next to a bedroom,

The occupant of the room told me they never hear it. I have it mounted on rubber feet to help with vibrations

nickb800

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#2108139 15-Oct-2018 12:53

Yes moving may possibly be a bit cheaper than installing, but still involves degassing and regassing which is the expensive bit. I'd be allowing $500-1000 to relocate the outdoor unit - it really is a last resort

Aredwood

3885 posts

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#2108149 15-Oct-2018 13:06

I'm assuming that you will be getting the heatpump installed in the lounge. As 5.8KW would be way way overkill for a bedroom. So if late night noise becomes a problem, just switch it off and keep on using your existing method of bedroom heating.

Also, support the heatpump independently of the house. Far less likely to get induced vibrations compared to bolting it to the side of the house.

As for the cost of relocating the heatpump. It would be mostly Labour costs. As the gas gets recovered into the outdoor unit, pipes disconnected and rerouted to the new location, Pipes reconnected and placed under vacuum, power cables rerouted. Gas valves opened and you are back in business.

Consider if the new location is closer or further away from your switchboard. As the power is normally fed to the outdoor unit. And the indoor unit is powered from the outdoor unit.

No new gas is needed. unless the tech does something wrong and releases the gas (which is also illegal). Or if the new pipe run will be quite a bit longer than the old run.

NZSpides

155 posts

Master Geek

#2108157 15-Oct-2018 13:16

Have you considered getting retrofitted Double glazing fitted in the window?

We did this in our last house and the difference in noise was astonishing. The main reason was that the old seals were shot, but the sound difference was something we instantly noticed.

Go for the places that remove the old glass and not the entire frame, cheaper and quicker.

timmmay

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#2108163 15-Oct-2018 13:24

NZSpides:

Have you considered getting retrofitted Double glazing fitted in the window?

We did this in our last house and the difference in noise was astonishing. The main reason was that the old seals were shot, but the sound difference was something we instantly noticed.

Go for the places that remove the old glass and not the entire frame, cheaper and quicker.

We found that double glazed PVC with complete frame replacement is louder than our old windows. The old windows had inch thick wood frames, glass, and a 3mm thick plastic panel inside the glass which effectively made them double glazed. I think the new glazing is fine, but the thin PVC panels doesn't really block and sound, and there's nothing inside them that blocks sound.

Though in general if all you do is replace a single pane of glass with two panes then it will probably get quieter.

skewt

750 posts

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#2108257 15-Oct-2018 15:22

I recently moved my outdoor unit, disconnect/reconnect/clean total cost was $250
Lucky for me I could use all existing cabling/pipe and just had to redirect it under house

Handsomedan

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#2108269 15-Oct-2018 15:48

Are you able to locate the outdoor unit under the deck?

ours sits under the deck slightly, with the piping going down the wall and through the deck - nice and neat and tidy and we don't see the outdoor unit when outside.

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David321

486 posts

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#2108889 16-Oct-2018 14:58

Thanks for the info people, I have just seen a photo of the unit which has a sticker on it with the correct model number and it says its 69 DBA, but the Mitsubishi website says 56 on the specs of the model, one must be wrong!

Either way I think ill get the unit installed our bedroom and pay for relocation if its to loud.

_David_

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