Sound insulation for PAC - suggestions? Is performance affected?

[Garald]

In the end, we'll go for a Mitsubishi Zubadan Silence producing 60dB - the least noisy unit we could find (well, we could have gone a notch lower by going for a lower-powered unit

 

Of course the documentation states that, 1m away, the noise is only 46dB, but the courtyard is small, regulations are strict, and, even if we meet them, I'd rather not annoy the neighbors. So, I'll have to put money aside to get some sort of soundproofing enclosure, if needed. Not looking for anything dramatic - 10dB would be more than enough, and already 5dB  or 6dB would be something.

 

Questions:

1. What sort of arrangement do people recommend here?

   My architect mentioned https://solflex.eu/fr/

        - but unfortunately the Mitsubishi's outside unit (1020 x 1050 x 480 mm) is one cm too thick to fit into the boxes in their reasonably priced range; the ones that would fit are nasty metal boxes starting at

€ 3.118,80

 

2. I imagine *any* sort of soundproofing enclosure harms performance to some extent, whatever the ad copy says - air flow is bound to be affected somewhat. How can one estimate how much performance is lost?

 

 

[nod]

Are HPs really so noisy I worked on a site of 120 home back in 2008 Most houses set in lines HPs next to each patio door

I can’t remember noice being an issue 

[Garald]

1 hour ago, nod said:

Are HPs really so noisy I worked on a site of 120 home back in 2008 Most houses set in lines HPs next to each patio door

I can’t remember noice being an issue 

 

Well, Mitsubishis are the quietest of the lot, but there's a strong cultural perception in France that heat pumps are noisy, and that increases the probability of complaints by neighbors.

 

The rule is that you are not allowed to surpass ambient noise by more than 5dB during the day or 3dB during the night, "valeurs auxquelles s’ajoute un terme correctif en fonction de la durée (article R. 1336-7 du code de la santé publique)". Now, *what* counts as ambient noise, that's another matter. Of course a Mitsubishi will be quieter than the noise coming from the adjacent elementary school during recess (it's indistinct enough that it's not unpleasant, actually), let alone the occasional helicopter, but...