Outdoor heat pump very loud - options? Silent mode? Effects?

Hello,

the outdoor unit of our Elco Aerotop Split 07 air-water heat pump is quite loud. The outdoor unit is located very close to the neighbor's property and he is starting to complain. I can understand him because I also find the unit very loud. Other devices in our new housing development are significantly quieter.

Are there any possibilities to reduce the noise of the outdoor unit? It would certainly also be helpful if the outdoor unit did not turn on so often.

I found an option in the manual:

Silent mode (if available): This function limits the performance of the heat pump system to reduce noise generation. WARNING: Activating this function limits the maximum output of your heat pump to about 70%, so it may not provide sufficient heating capacity.

What impact does this have? Is the energy consumption higher, or is the mode bad for the system? Of course, I want to avoid the latter. To compensate for the 30%, I would probably have to increase other parameters? Which ones would those be?

What impact does that have? Is the energy demand higher there, or is the mode bad for the system? The latter I definitely want to avoid. To compensate for the 30%, I would probably have to increase other parameters? Which ones would those be?

The impact is that the heat pump only delivers a maximum of 70% power ;). So it no longer runs at full load. As long as — and this is at least the case during the current winter in the Lower Rhine region — the power is not needed, that is not an issue at all. BUT: Since the heat pump has not had to deliver maximum performance so far (except maybe for hot water production), the effect should be manageable. Why don’t you just try it out? On my heat pump, it’s simply a button on my control panel.

what kind of noises does the heat pump make? Could it be coming from the housing? Often, cladding parts warp in the cold and start to vibrate. According to the datasheet, your Elco should not deliver more than 52dB. That is actually not loud. Where and how is it installed?

Try it with the 70%. Your heat pump is probably running too often and too hard anyway, like almost everyone else's. A limitation most likely won't hurt. And if it gets too cold for you, just turn it off again, and you won't have lost anything by doing so. Then you can see what to do next.

I will give it a try. I just didn’t want to start the mode and mess up other settings. Everything is always connected to each other anyway.

I performed a thermal balancing and disconnected the ERR. Except for the bathroom and bedroom, we have 20 degrees in all rooms. That is currently okay for us, but it definitely should not get cooler. Therefore, the question remains whether I need to raise an ert if I switch to Silent mode.

The noises come only from the fan. There is no metallic sound. The outdoor unit is mounted on the wall and faces the neighbors with the outlet. We went for a walk last night (it was completely quiet) and could clearly hear the unit behind the neighbor’s property from 50 meters away. Since everything here is newly built, there are no significant hedges/fences etc. yet.

Are there any other settings to make the outdoor unit "quieter"? What I find strange is that the unit runs almost all day and all night long. Despite night setback and buffer storage. Hot water should only be heated between 11 am and 3 pm, because of our photovoltaic system.