Installation of air-water heat pump - Does this fit?

I wouldn't bring the sound source into the house. That won't make anything better. How much power is the heat pump supposed to have (heat load calculation)? Are there budget restrictions (the most expensive ones are particularly quiet)? Depending on that, I might be able to make recommendations. Regards Karl

Hello Karl, There is no heat load calculation yet. We are in the final planning stage. The single-family house will be 180 sqm. Of course, there are budget restrictions, but we would be willing to invest more in the topic of air-to-water heat pumps if we could get the problems of efficiency/noise level under control. What would be your recommendations? Thanks + regards

Do you have this device in operation?

No, but it would have been included in our standard package, as our heating technician has had very good experiences with it. However, we are now building with a brine-to-water heat pump.

Of course, you bring the noise source inside. But when I look at the outdoor units of our neighbors, they are not really loud even in winter. Every washing machine is considerably louder. Are you building with a basement? Then you would also have more distance to the unit than if it is in the utility room on the ground floor.

Otherwise, there are also outdoor units installed facing upwards. That should also be better in terms of noise. Friends did it that way. They also had the neighbor's garage wall 4-5 meters away. Allegedly, it is not a problem, but I still wouldn't necessarily want to do it.

Hello Karl, There is no heating load calculation yet. We are in the final planning stage. The single-family house will have 180 sqm. Of course, there are budget restrictions, but we would be willing to invest more in the air-to-water heat pump if we could solve the efficiency/noise problems. What would be your recommendations? Thanks + regards

For the house size, 8-10kW is definitely sufficient. In the premium segment, there is the extremely quiet but bulky Kermi Xchange dynamic and the very quiet Wolf CHA-Monoblock. Also quiet in the mid-range is the Daikin Altherma 3 (I have this Daikin myself). A large construction volume (Kermi) has central design advantages for a quietly running outdoor unit: very large and therefore slow-running fan, large evaporator surface for slower airflow, space for good sound insulation of the compressor, stable (low-vibration) housing. A neighbor has the Kermi, you can practically not hear it. Regards Karl

8 to 10 kW for 180m2... But you are living in the past... Depending on the house standard, rather between 4 and 6 kW is sufficient.... And with a heat pump, oversizing is usually really bad.

No one doubts that there are quiet heat pumps, they exist. Even the inexpensive Mitsubishi devices, whether freestanding or standing against a wall, are absolutely no problem, you don't need a "so-called top class". However, the installation location can cause quite a bit of amplification, and even a quiet heat pump, in which some deep frequency unfortunately builds up, can turn into an extremely annoying noise source. A freestanding air-to-water heat pump is nowadays usually completely unproblematic, but such a pointless location (sorry @TE, but being surrounded by walls is just tough ) is rarely chosen.

8 to 10 kW for 180m2... But you are living in the past... Depending on the house standard, rather between 4 and 6 kW is sufficient... And with a heat pump, oversizing is usually really bad.

I live in the reality of the valid Energy Saving Ordinance 2016! Better insulation standards are of course always possible, but not a matter of course. We will see. On the topic of oversizing: My house needs 5.8 kW according to calculation but has a fully modulating heat pump with 8 kW. Advantage: operation in maximum whisper mode without loss of comfort is possible and thus also less stress on components (lifespan). Thanks to modulation, I still have no short-cycling and an excellent annual performance factor of 4.4. Regards Karl

Of course, you have now picked out the unimportant aspect and ignored the topic of the OP regarding noise disturbance at a specific installation location, but be that as it may

Even with full modulation, the rule is: if possible, the smallest possible model, because they can usually modulate down lower, and what matters is not the maximum output, but the smallest possible modulation level, because this especially ensures high efficiency and little cycling during the transition period (where otherwise heavy cycling occurs). But yes, and here I agree with you, modulating air-to-water heat pumps are at least better than on/off units when oversized.