Placing a heat pump indoors.

[sbcdo1960]

I have a Pentair Ultratemp heat pump.
It works well enough, but its noisy...and happens to be near our patio where most of the social interactions occur at our pool.
I'm considering moving it into my garage, to reduce the noise on the pool deck.
I believe there will be plenty of air circulation inside the garage, but also know that the cool air discharge may lower the ambient temps in the garage, rendering the heat pump less efficient.
Any comments on this plan?

 

[JamesW]

That generally cannot be done because you are just recycling the same air and trying to pull more heat out.

You would need to provide enough fresh air to match the heater's fan output.

You would probably need to duct the fan exhaust to the outside while providing a lot of fresh air.

 

[zimdogg]

Could you put up a privacy fence around it to at least keep the noise contained?

 

[jmastron]

Heat pump water heaters are often put in garages and do cool the space, but that's to heat 60-80 gallons. I doubt most pool heaters are designed to be ducted -- you'd need to provide both supply and exhaust air somehow. I believe pool heat pumps are typically even more BTUs than house central AC/heat pumps, which would never be in a garage.

Agree that a fence/wall might mute some of the noise -- or make it acceptable enough to be moved to the other side of he house/garage?

 

[Kaylee34]

Ummm..... really bad idea. How is it noisy? If it's the fan, a wall of some kind is going to be your best bet. Just make sure you can keep the correct clearance.

 

[sbcdo1960]

That generally cannot be done because you are just recycling the same air and trying to pull more heat out.

You would need to provide enough fresh air to match the heater's fan output.

You would probably need to duct the fan exhaust to the outside while providing a lot of fresh air.

Makes sense. Admittedly, I've never really appreciated the amount of air being sucked into the unit, but I'm well aware of the vast amounts of cool air being vented from the top of the unit. I'm sure it wouldn't take long to recirculate, even in my 2-car garage.

 

[sbcdo1960]

Could you put up a privacy fence around it to at least keep the noise contained?

I have a 6 foot vinyl fence around it now.

 

[sbcdo1960]

Ummm..... really bad idea. How is it noisy? If it's the fan, a wall of some kind is going to be your best bet. Just make sure you can keep the correct clearance.

Its like having an attic fan running ten feet away; even worse when the compressor kicks on. Privacy fence barely contains the noise. But I believe its not a good idea to place it inside, otherwise the installation manual would've offered that as an option.

 

[sbcdo1960]

Could you put up a privacy fence around it to at least keep the noise contained?

Already did that. The situation isn't horrible. Currently I use the heat pump if the noise isn't a concern, and switch to gas heater if company is over.

 

[sbcdo1960]

Heat pump water heaters are often put in garages and do cool the space, but that's to heat 60-80 gallons. I doubt most pool heaters are designed to be ducted -- you'd need to provide both supply and exhaust air somehow. I believe pool heat pumps are typically even more BTUs than house central AC/heat pumps, which would never be in a garage.

Agree that a fence/wall might mute some of the noise -- or make it acceptable enough to be moved to the other side of he house/garage?

Awesome info, thanks.
Maybe I could move it around the corner of the garage...it wouldn't be as neighbor friendly, but I doubt they'd even notice.

 

[mknauss]

There are lots of outdoor sound absorbing products. Depends on what you want to spend. Quilted blankets that hang on the fence (the heat pump side) are most prevalent.

 

[JamesW]

You can do a Geothermal Heat Pump.

 

[Kaylee34]

Its like having an attic fan running ten feet away; even worse when the compressor kicks on. Privacy fence barely contains the noise. But I believe its not a good idea to place it inside, otherwise the installation manual would've offered that as an option.

Yeah, not much to do about the fan noise but move the unit.

You have a 6 foot vinyl privacy fence around it now. If you're up for the maintenance, some ivy or similar to grow on the fence will help with the noise. It might sound odd but it does work. The plants will buffer the noise. It works better if you can remove every other slat and really weave it in there once it's growing.