How quiet AI-powered heat pumps should convince critics, too

Softly pouring rain, a background noise that can be heard frequently these days in the fall. In the future, heat pumps should not be louder at night. Because high heat pumps often become a point of contention between neighbors. As happened recently in Cologne, where residents were woken from their sleep at night. During a site visit, an employee of the Cologne Environment Agency discovered the following: The pump is very loud. The homeowner has been contacted and the process is continuing.

For this reason, many companies now specialize in reducing the noise level of heat pumps. Experts are currently discussing how to do this at the European Heat Pump Summit in Nuremberg. In addition, they also have to restore the image of the heat pump.

Broken image? The pump turned off very loudly

“There have been cases where the neighbor has installed a heat pump, but it has not yet been connected. But the neighbor has already heard about it. In this regard, the subjective and important aspect of heat acceptance should not be underestimated,” says Alwin Friedrichs of the Austrian company Getzner Spring Solutions, which works, from Among others, on the development of quieter heat pumps: “What noise needs to be addressed on a large scale?” Friedrich is convinced that noise reduction in heat pumps has become a “big problem” due to the increasing building density in cities.

Artificial intelligence turns on the heat pump according to the weather report

The heat pump of the future is quiet, and powered by artificial intelligence, or AI for short. The development of heat pumps cannot ignore the prevailing topic in recent years. “There are already control systems in the heat pump sector that can include the weather report in the forecast,” says Veronica Wilke from the Austrian Institute of Technology.

If the home has a photovoltaic system, the heat pump can proactively use solar energy to generate heat. This is then stored in a hot water tank and is available to residents when the sun is not shining, explains Veronica Wilke. Such smart gadgets can ensure energy savings and, above all, a more rational and targeted use of energy.