[Drew_V]

Ok, I've read all of the other threads (I think) regarding quieting an HVAC system. My HT is being built in the basement, with the front wall located about 2 feet away from the forced-air heating furnace and blower. When that thing fires up, it's like a jet engine on takeoff! I'm not talking about just "blowing air" noise coming through the ducts, I'm talking about the blower motor itself winding up to about 3000 RPM, along with the natural gas jets. It's loud. I can hear it upstairs on the second floor when I'm laying in bed at night.



So can anything be done? My HT front wall will be a staggered-stud wall with DD/GG and R13 insulation. My hope is to keep out most of that external noise on that side of the HT. Here's a picture of the furnace -- keep in mind that my front wall will be virtually right up against it, with about a 2-foot clearance.

 

[CZ Eddie]

I can't help with how to make it quiet in general. But if your HVAC is more than a couple of years old, then having someone give it a complete cleaning could lower the noise a little. Because as the condensor coils and blower fan get clogged up with gunk, the system has to work harder to maintain temperature. With a multi-speed fan, that could mean a huge difference in volume level.


I just spent the last couple days cleaning my own HVAC coils & fan and it's definitely a little quieter. The previous home owners never maintained the HVAC.

 

[BIGmouthinDC]

I have two Air handlers in my house. The builders original York sounds similar to the Jet taking off you describe. I had to replace the York in the attic and went with a somewhat more efficient Trane. When I've been up there I can hardly tell if the unit is running unless I look for the blinking light. So my advice is hope for the system to go out and replace with a quieter unit. I did slap a bunch of dynamat on the exterior of the York and that made some improvement. I also built a serpentine path for the vents and lined them with Linacoustic.


You can also soundproof the walls with all the known methods.

 

[Drew_V]

Mine is a Rheem furnace. Probably the cheapest furnace the builders could find, I'm sure. I guess I never even realized how loud it was until I started thinking about the HT.


I'll check out the Trane lineup to see if there's something I can find that's suitable.

 

[3fingerbrown]

you could also look at standard isolation techniques in the furnace room, DD + GG, etc. These rooms are very hard to isolate however since they have so many pipes in and out of them...