Place Sound Barriers Around the AC Unit
While a totally quiet operation is not possible, there are many things you can do to muffle or reduce the noise you experience. A sound blanket can reduce noise by up to 40%.
Barriers such as fences and garden walls can be used to screen noise from neighbours. To be effective, any fences or walls must block the line of sight from the neighbour's window to the air conditioner, be of solid construction and contain no gaps or holes.
Build an Air Conditioner Sound Barrier
Similar rules to building a fence apply. The barrier needs to be tall, wide, airtight, and dense. Use Quiet Quilt™ Outdoor Soundproof Blankets with MLV sewn in and an absorptive face to counteract any reflected sound. They can be hung on their own system or attached to a fence.
The short answer is yes. The blankets are designed to insulate your compressor and prevent the loss of heat. This can also save you money on your energy bill. The blankets also provide a barrier between a hot compressor and any flammable materials that are nearby it.
Which material is best for soundproofing? For airborne noise, like talking and music, materials of high mass are best (acoustic plasterboard, mass loaded vinyl and acoustic mineral wool). For impact noise, such as footsteps, vibration dampening materials like rubber crumb and Tecsound work best.
For year-round noise reduction, plant a mix of evergreens such as arborvitaes, spruces, pines and hollies. To be effective sound barriers, these trees must have foliage that reaches to the ground. “Deciduous plants are also effective for noise abatement, but only when foliage is present.
You can reduce noise from an air conditioner by installing a sound blanket or sound curtain, choosing the location of the unit carefully, surrounding it with a fence, and adding sound absorbing or sound blocking material to the enclosure.
If you can't afford to insulate your walls or ceiling, you can still reduce the noise from your HVAC system by simply covering it with soundproofing materials. You can do this by placing a sound-absorbing material like fiberglass in the ducts or on the unit and covering your vents with foam.
Most people can hear between 0-130 decibels, but the higher the range, the more damage that noise does. Extended exposure to anything above 85 dB can result in permanent damage. 130 is where people suffer extreme hearing loss as well as pain.
Sound absorbing blankets: Thick and porous, these blankets allow sound waves to make their way into the fabric. The fabric then absorbs the noise, much like a sponge absorbs water. These are a great choice if you want to reduce echo and reverb in a noisy warehouse or loft area.
Utilizing anti-vibration mounts or pads under the cooler can further reduce noise by absorbing vibrations before they can spread through the floor or furniture. Maintenance plays a vital role in keeping your air cooler running quietly.
No, eggboxes can't soundproof a room! While many people believe in this myth, egg boxes haven't got sufficient mass to block noise. Egg boxes are 'used' to absorb noise, like the foam you get in music studios. However, they aren't the ideal choice for absorption, either.
To soundproof a room, focus on absorbing sound waves. Having more soft, absorbent materials like foam, carpet, blankets, and acoustic panels will help deaden sound. Making sure that your doors and windows are properly sealed will also help contain noise or keep your room quiet.
Cardboard is not dense enough to block airborne sound, and lacks any special properties that would allow it to reduce structural noise.
While looking for soundproofing solutions for your home or studio, you may have come across styrofoam as a solution. While styrofoam can significantly dampen or cancel out noise when it's paired with denser materials, it doesn't achieve adequate results on its own.
Fibrous materials, encompassing felts, natural fibers like wool and cotton, and synthetic fibers such as polyester, prove highly effective in mitigating the adverse effects of sound.
To act as an effective HVAC sound baffle, you'll want to make sure to build your closet with dense walls and a heavy door. The insulation you use in your HVAC closet must be dense enough to absorb sound waves but also safe to use near the unit. Once it's well insulated, don't forget to seal it all up well.