« previous next »
Pages: [1]

Author Topic: Furnace Noise  (Read 1324 times)

Chester32141

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 642
Furnace Noise
« on: January 15, 2011, 10:00:07 AM »
Hey y'all ... does anyone know if a gas furnace is noisier than an electric ?

The floorplan has it mounted inside the house and I don't have the option of changing it's location ... thanks ...  :cool:

John
Report to moderator   Logged
"The best argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter...... "

Photos
CBs Hawg Sauce

AmbulanceDriver

  • Junior Rocketeer
  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 5,944
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #1 on: January 15, 2011, 10:06:27 AM »
It will probably be a little louder due to the burners, and also possibly an igniter mechanism, but I don't think the difference would be that large...
Report to moderator   Logged
Are you a cook, or a RIFLEMAN?  Find out at Appleseed!

http://www.appleseedinfo.org

"For some many people, attempting to process a logical line of thought brings up the blue screen of death." -Blakenzy

Brad Johnson

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 18,143
  • Witty, charming, handsome, and completely insane.
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #2 on: January 15, 2011, 10:10:24 AM »
It is, but not by much.  It also depends on where it's mounted in the home.

The main difference will be the sound of the draft inducer and burners.  Better units have some sound deadening in the cabinets to keep this to a minimum.  Also, the more buried the unit is in the home, the lower the levels of burner and inducer noise.

From what I've seen the "annoying" part of most HVAC noise is rumbling amplified by poor bracing and hollow wall sections, and can effect both both electric and gas units.  If the builder puts in ample bracing/support for the unit (studded directly to the floor, preferably) and properly insulates the walls around the mechanical closet you will probably never notice the difference.   

Also, if the unit is in an interior closet and uses a return plenum and an underslung main manifold, make ABSOLUTELY sure they seal all the gaps inside the manifold.  A lot of builders don't and the unit ends up drawing a significant amount of air down through the walls from the attic.  Five bucks work of silicone sealer and an hour's time can easily make a 5-10% difference in your utility bills.

Hopefully 280plus will show up give you the Heap Big Help treatment.

Brad
« Last Edit: January 15, 2011, 10:16:15 AM by Brad Johnson »
Report to moderator   Logged
It's all about the pancakes, people.
"And he thought cops wouldn't chase... a STOLEN DONUT TRUCK???? That would be like Willie Nelson ignoring a pickup full of weed."
-HankB

geronimotwo

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,796
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #3 on: January 15, 2011, 10:50:58 AM »
in our 10 yo gas unit(in the basement) we hear a small amount of noise at startup,but when the fan starts, it is louder than the burners.
Report to moderator   Logged
make the world idiot proof.....and you will have a world full of idiots. -g2

Grandpa Shooter

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 2,079
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #4 on: January 15, 2011, 11:46:25 AM »
When a gas furnace starts up I hear the click of the valve opening, then the burners starting up.  When the switch makes its connection and the blower starts I am wide awake.  The duct work starts to expand and does its tick, tick, pop until the furnace stops.  Then the duct work starts to cool down and it goes pop, tick, tick..... Just about the time I fall asleep again I hear the click of the gas valve opening...................................... :facepalm:


I don't like any fan driven central heat for that reason.
Report to moderator   Logged

Tallpine

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 23,172
  • Grumpy Old Grandpa
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #5 on: January 15, 2011, 01:18:02 PM »
The way ours works is that we wake up cold, and go shivering down the stairs to add wood to the woodstove, or restart the fire if it has gone too long.
Report to moderator   Logged
Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward toward the light; but the laden traveller may never reach the end of it.  - Ursula Le Guin

280plus

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 19,131
  • Ever get that sinking feeling?
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #6 on: January 15, 2011, 02:16:13 PM »
Depends on the furnace. If it does not have an induced draft blower for the fireside you should only hear the click of the gas valve that GS loves. Then, after a minute or so the indoor blower should start and circulate the wamr air. That would be the noisiest part as describe above in several posts. If the furnace DOES have an induced draft blower to provide air to the fire then you may very well hear it come on, gas valve click after a minute and then indoor blower a minute after that. These "minutes" being anywhere for 30 seconds to 2 minutes or so. Usually these units are fairly quiet. best choice is to go try and listen if possible. As noted, stuff is a lot noisier at night when everything is quiet and you're trying to go to sleep. ;)
Report to moderator   Logged
Avoid cliches like the plague!

Jim147

  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 7,610
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #7 on: January 15, 2011, 02:33:40 PM »
As everyone has said, the blower will be the noisy part no mater which unit you go with.

It will be made much worse if the duct wok is undersized and then add in a two stage or ECM blower motor trying to make up for the excess static pressure and it could sound like a jet taking off.

Hopefully your HVAC contractor knows his stuff and this won't be a problem

jim
Report to moderator   Logged
Sometimes we carry more weight then we owe.
And sometimes goes on and on and on.

BAH-WEEP-GRAAAGHNAH WHEEP NI-NI BONG

CNYCacher

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 4,438
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #8 on: January 15, 2011, 03:27:23 PM »
If your furnace is as old as mine, you hear a click as the gas valve opens, followed by a floor-raising "WHOOOMP!!!" as 4 square feet of burners touch off.  This drowns out the sound of the blowtorch-like pilot valve.  About 10 minutes later the fan kicks in.  That gives the approx 2000-ton cast iron heat exchanger enough time to heat up to about 78 degrees or so.
Report to moderator   Logged
On two occasions, I have been asked [by members of Parliament], "Pray, Mr. Babbage, if you put into the machine wrong figures, will the right answers come out?" I am not able to rightly apprehend the kind of confusion of ideas that could provoke such a question.
Charles Babbage

Chester32141

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 642
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #9 on: January 15, 2011, 04:10:06 PM »
I currently have an older oil furnace in my present house ... it is located in a closet inside the living space of the house ... when it kicks on it's loud and distracting ... in the house we're building, a gas furnace comes w/ gas hot water on demand which is supposed to give a substantial savings over electric ... I hope to cut my energy costs wherever possible w/ the new place ...  :cool:
Report to moderator   Logged
"The best argument against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter...... "

Photos
CBs Hawg Sauce

geronimotwo

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,796
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #10 on: January 16, 2011, 08:54:38 AM »
Quote from: Grandpa Shooter on January 15, 2011, 11:46:25 AM
When a gas furnace starts up I hear the click of the valve opening, then the burners starting up.  When the switch makes its connection and the blower starts I am wide awake.  The duct work starts to expand and does its tick, tick, pop until the furnace stops.  Then the duct work starts to cool down and it goes pop, tick, tick..... Just about the time I fall asleep again I hear the click of the gas valve opening...................................... :facepalm:


I don't like any fan driven central heat for that reason.

on ours, the tick tick tick is the actual flue vent not the ductwork.  if i had gone with a better quality b-vent (double walled vent), it would have been less noisy.
Report to moderator   Logged
make the world idiot proof.....and you will have a world full of idiots. -g2

280plus

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 19,131
  • Ever get that sinking feeling?
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #11 on: January 16, 2011, 10:03:29 AM »
What? I can't hear you over all the ticking...  =D
Report to moderator   Logged
Avoid cliches like the plague!

Tuco

  • Fastest non-sequitur in the West.
  • friends
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,135
  • If you miss you had better miss very well
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #12 on: January 16, 2011, 09:14:25 PM »
A variable speed blower will makes things much quieter.
Report to moderator   Logged
7-11 was a part time job.

sanglant

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,475
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #13 on: January 16, 2011, 10:06:48 PM »
not that i know anything about HVAC systems, but would boxing the furnace in(well mostly) and filling the walls surrounding it with either fiberglass (or if heat is a problem ceramic wool) insulation help cut the sound level? ???

oh and remember, the ceramic wool is much nastier then fiberglass to inhale. [tinfoil]

the audio forums used to have specs for building a wall out of 2 half finished walls with fiberglass running sideways keeping the studs separated for sound isolation. looks effective.

think drywall, studs, insulation, studs drywall. studs attached to the ceiling and floor.
Report to moderator   Logged

280plus

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 19,131
  • Ever get that sinking feeling?
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #14 on: January 16, 2011, 10:16:43 PM »
Probably but you need to have the proper amunt of air getting in there for the fire.On the older ones anyways. Think the candle burning under a jar experiment we all did at one time or another.
Report to moderator   Logged
Avoid cliches like the plague!

sanglant

  • friend
  • Senior Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 3,475
Re: Furnace Noise
« Reply #15 on: January 17, 2011, 02:46:59 PM »
aye, that's what the (well mostly) is for. ;) and a few [extra filters/a thicker filter] might tone the moving air noise down somemore.  [ar15]
Report to moderator   Logged
Pages: [1]
« previous next »