Reversing air-source heat pumps - Noise at defrost initiation and a noise reducing strategy

Journal article, 2016

With the increasing use of air source heat pumps, noise disturbance can be a barrier for further market growth and acceptance. Both steady state noise level and noise events influence reported noise disturbance. In this study one of the transient noise events was investigated: the noise initiated when the heat pump shifts to defrost mode. The results show that noise from a heat pump at defrost initiation was strongly dependent on the pressure differences in the system at the time of the shift. A reduced pressure difference resulted in a lower noise level. A control strategy that adds an idling time for the heat pump just before the shift of the 4-way valve is therefore suggested. This will have a small negative effect (<3%) on the heat capacity of the heat pump but the effect upon the COP will be negligible. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd and International Institute of Refrigeration. All rights reserved.