Sound Attenuation with Lunos HRV System
I’m planning on installing a pair of Lunos e2 HRV units in the small house I’m building. The idea was for one of the two to go in the bedroom and one in the living room, to help distribute fresh air throughout the house during the push and pull cycles.
It was brought to my attention that the Lunos unit — beyond all the fancy bits — is fundamentally an always open 6″ hole in the wall. Exterior noises will come through. What I want to know is, practically speaking, how much noise gets through?
The Lunos units do have integrated sound attenuation built in to the tube, on the order of 42dB. There is also an optional outer hood with additional sound attenuation to the tune of 6dB. So it’s not nothing and it is better than just a plain 6″ hole in the wall.
For those of you with Lunos units, though, how much does that matter? If this small house is nearby neighbors with chickens, goats, and dogs and the like, then is installing a unit in a bedroom feasible or will it allow in far too much noise?
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I’d say the amount of noise that passes through is similar to the amount of sound coming through a poor quality vinyl window. If someone was outside it (or animals in your case) you might not be able to hear the words they are saying but you can tell there is someone talking. That being said, there is an acoustic filter that you can get to muffle exterior noise. I just have the standard units, so I can’t speak to that.
Thanks, Levi. Is that "acoustic filter" the optional outer hood I referenced or is there even a third sound attenuation option that I didn't yet see?
Kurt,
I've never been around a Lunos. How loud is the fan?
Honestly, I haven't been around a Lunos unit in person, either! My impression of the sound is entirely based on videos I've watched plus the published specs. Given all that, I'm assuming that the fan will be inaudible on low at 6' to 8' and essentially quiet white noise in medium and high. Ceiling fans run nearly 24x7 in Phoenix and those will always be making more white noise than the Lunos is rated to make.
Worst case, if it does make a quality of noise that is unacceptable at night, my thinking is that it could simply be turned off. But that's precisely why I was asking about the exterior noise -- it would do little good to turn it off (or have an essentially inaudible fan) if noise from outside came through relatively unimpeded!
Yes I think we are discussing the same acoustic filter. I would contact 475 building supply about it. They’re reps have been pretty knowledgeable from what I’ve seen. As for noise from the unit itself, on low I have to get right up next to it to hear it. I live in a city, so the exterior noise coming through the lunos is definitely louder than the unit itself. Even on high, which we’ve only done during covid situations to increase ventilation, it’s not terribly loud.
We got a couple Lunos in our ADU within 100 feet of pigs, goats, a chicken coop and all the other McDonalds critters.
Yes, the Lunos leak some of the critter noice, especially the big pigs but my main concern is the noice level in a bedroom. If I could change my setup I would put the bedroom unit in a closet to minimize the noice. For comparison the Lunos sound are more distinct and noticable than the Mitsubishi mini split we have in the building.