Evohome is Noisy - please help me

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  • filbert
    Automated Home Guru
    • Oct 2017
    • 161

    Originally posted by G4RHL View Post
    Sometimes just putting a small piece of wood, pressed against the side of the metal part of the valve with the other end touching the wall may be suffice to stop any resonating. Does not always work but worth a try if the sounds bothers you.
    I've tried all the tips on reducing noise from the valves including a tennis ball behind the radiator and grease in the cogs. It might have reduced it slightly but the valves are still loud enough to function as an effective alarm clock in our bedroom during the heating season.

    Comment

    • JohnOC
      Automated Home Jr Member
      • Aug 2018
      • 25

      I'm seriously considering EvoHome but anticipate that noisy TRVs would be a deal breaker as far as my wife is concerned, so this long thread is an excellent source of information. From what I've read, I can use a single wireless EvoHome TRV without a controller and set the target temp on that to see what the noise is like before investing in the full system?
      Is that correct?

      Comment

      • DBMandrake
        Automated Home Legend
        • Sep 2014
        • 2361

        Yes you can run a single HR92 as a standalone TRV for testing purposes - this is exactly what I did before I bought the rest of the system.

        You would just set the temperature manually with the dial as with a manual TRV. (Except it will be set in degrees C instead of an arbitrary 1-5 scale)

        Keep in mind the difference in noise from one room to another depends on the radiator and acoustics of the room not the HR92 itself, so you would want to test it in multiple rooms where you think noise might be a concern, such as bedrooms.

        Just because it seems quiet in one room doesn't mean it will be elsewhere.

        In our house the (hard floored) hallway HR92 seems quite noisy while ironically the bedroom ones are pretty quiet, and don't wake up either us or our 2 year old son - it's all down to the room acoustics and mechanical properties of the radiators themselves as the HR92's don't differ significantly in noise if you swap them between rooms.
        Last edited by DBMandrake; 15 August 2018, 04:23 PM.

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        • JohnOC
          Automated Home Jr Member
          • Aug 2018
          • 25

          Originally posted by DBMandrake View Post
          Yes you can run a single HR92 as a standalone TRV for testing purposes - this is exactly what I did before I bought the rest of the system.

          You would just set the temperature manually with the dial as with a manual TRV. (Except it will be set in degrees C instead of an arbitrary 1-5 scale)

          Keep in mind the difference in noise from one room to another depends on the radiator and acoustics of the room not the HR92 itself, so you would want to test it in multiple rooms where you think noise might be a concern, such as bedrooms.

          Just because it seems quiet in one room doesn't mean it will be elsewhere.

          In our house the (hard floored) hallway HR92 seems quite noisy while ironically the bedroom ones are pretty quiet, and don't wake up either us or our 2 year old son - it's all down to the room acoustics and mechanical properties of the radiators themselves as the HR92's don't differ significantly in noise if you swap them between rooms.
          Thanks, that's great. It's only the main bedroom I'd be concerned about noise so I'd test it in there.

          Comment

          • Sentry1
            Automated Home Jr Member
            • Oct 2016
            • 43

            Just a quick update on this. Having focused on house renovations, we have not had the funds to make a major change. This has meant that we have kept our Evohome system in place. It is still too noisy and we have not got used to it. We are now simply waiting for a quieter and hopefully cheaper system to come onto the market.

            In order not to wake the kids, we have removed the HR92s from their rooms and replaced them with standard TRVs. We have then kept a HR92 in place in the spare room. When this is activated, the water also circulates through the kids radiators until the standard TRVs close the valves.

            We did have some of the HR92s replaced a long time ago however they are still too loud.

            I am still incredulous that Honeywell think this is acceptable performance at this cost.

            Comment

            • G4RHL
              Automated Home Legend
              • Jan 2015
              • 1580

              Shame but we all have different levels of acceptance and it follows what is OK for one is not for another.

              Four years + of using Evohome and the noise does not bother me. It is unobtrusive. Guests wonder what it may be at first when they first hear a distant whirring but do not find it an issue. There are always other noises abounding in the home - the boiler starting up, the shower pump, expansion and contraction in the structure and at times in the pipes. During the day we accept these, including passing traffic (although we have none).

              One member in this forum I think uses the sound of the valve as an alarm to get up in the morning. You could easily set the start time to just after the children are meant to wake and/or get up. Depending on your property it will soon warm up. I disclose my age I suppose, by saying central heating was a luxury as a child. Heating in bedrooms?! I am up before the heating comes on. My house is 21 years old. Rooms are warm enough within 5 minutes or so. Hence the optimisation setting has always been a waste for me.

              As an experiment I did find that the resonance from the radiator, which is really the loudspeaker for the valve and some radiators are worse than others, can be reduced with a small piece of wood wedged between the valve pipe connection and the wall. It absorbs the resonance.

              Comment

              • paulockenden
                Automated Home Legend
                • Apr 2015
                • 1719

                I think the trouble is that once you've decided a particular noise is obtrusive you become ultra sensitive to it.

                many years ago we lived in a flat, and the bloke downstairs used to play his music really loudly. It was very annoying. Eventually we convinced him to turn it down, but after the initial stuff even when he was playing at perfectly acceptable volumes we'd be pulling our hair out.

                As has been said many times in this thread, yes you can hear HR92s, but only faintly.

                If I'm just on the point of waking up then the bedroom TRV will occasionally wake me. But during normal sleep I won't even notice it.

                Comment

                • oshingler
                  Automated Home Jr Member
                  • Jul 2016
                  • 17

                  I'm still finding them very noisy, but I have to admit that I'm now in my third winter with Evohome and have mostly got used to them. I've removed my convoluted silencing method and left the HR92s in their natural state for aesthetic reasons (and a comment about 'what is that on the wall?'). The noise freaks my visitors out so if Honeywell ever release a premium 'quiet' version then I'll definitely replace all units in the bedrooms.

                  Comment

                  • filbert
                    Automated Home Guru
                    • Oct 2017
                    • 161

                    Originally posted by oshingler View Post
                    ...if Honeywell ever release a premium 'quiet' version then I'll definitely replace all units in the bedrooms.
                    Me too.

                    Some form of sound deadening wrap plus a standalone sensor is on in my plan - I need a table top sensor as the bedroom has sloping ceilings and the only vertical wall space available is right by the door or over the radiator. I recall such a sensor being mentioned but can't track it down at the moment

                    Comment

                    • oshingler
                      Automated Home Jr Member
                      • Jul 2016
                      • 17

                      From my observations I think the noise problem is mainly to do with the type of radiator and how it's fitted to the wall. The motor noise is amplified when attached to the valve. On newer radiators in my house they are quieter, and the same on smaller radiators - it's the older and larger single panel radiators fitted to the cavity walls with un-baffled metal brackets that are the noisiest. Without a large-scale test of different radiator types and wall fixings, it would be very difficult to narrow down the exact cause.

                      Comment

                      • G4RHL
                        Automated Home Legend
                        • Jan 2015
                        • 1580

                        Originally posted by filbert View Post
                        Me too.

                        Some form of sound deadening wrap plus a standalone sensor is on in my plan - I need a table top sensor as the bedroom has sloping ceilings and the only vertical wall space available is right by the door or over the radiator. I recall such a sensor being mentioned but can't track it down at the moment
                        I use a Honeywell T87RF2033 in my lounge. I leave it on a side table.

                        Comment

                        • Sentry1
                          Automated Home Jr Member
                          • Oct 2016
                          • 43

                          Originally posted by oshingler View Post
                          From my observations I think the noise problem is mainly to do with the type of radiator and how it's fitted to the wall. The motor noise is amplified when attached to the valve. On newer radiators in my house they are quieter, and the same on smaller radiators - it's the older and larger single panel radiators fitted to the cavity walls with un-baffled metal brackets that are the noisiest. Without a large-scale test of different radiator types and wall fixings, it would be very difficult to narrow down the exact cause.
                          Just my two-penneth on that point.... We have every type of radiator in our house. Old style panels, newer double panel convectors with the internal fins plus a refurbished, incredibly solid Victorian style radiator in the loft. For us it makes no difference. They are all noisy.

                          Comment

                          • Arrghh!
                            Automated Home Sr Member
                            • Dec 2015
                            • 73

                            There is some resonance through the rad itself but in my tests I could tell a lot of noise is coming from the body of the HR92 itself resonating. The most effective method for me was to cover the HR92 and use an external room thermostat.

                            If the HR92 body was made out of different materials or just with thicker walls I think it would help. If a different type of motor or gearing was used it could help. I don't think much attention was paid to operation noise when it was being designed.

                            Since I made the 'acoustic cover' for my bedroom HR92, I very rarely notice it and it doesn't wake me up like it did when I first installed it, but some of that could just be me getting used to it and regarding it subconsciously as background noise.

                            Comment

                            • DIY2
                              Automated Home Jr Member
                              • Mar 2019
                              • 16

                              I have the same problem with the noise. I have to say Im very disappointed in Honeywell. Some have pointed out that its quieter than other brands -but who cares about that when your getting woken up?
                              Comparing something with something worse is not a great way to decide if something is good. But for those that dont seem to have a problem - well I envy you -if your one of those people that can sleep on a plane as well - then I hate you

                              Im not allowed to put them in the bedroom as the one in the hall wakes us. Thats a BIG issue. Yes you do get more used to them - but not enough, and thats small comfort for visitors who stay over -many of whom get woken by them.

                              What is doubly frustrating is that there is no need for them to be this noisy, they just need to be designed with this more in mind. They dont have to react quickly - minutes would be fine. With that in mind the motors could be designed to run much slower and geared appropriately. This would get rid of most of the noise.
                              I think Honeywell have failed to do their sums correctly when designing these. Remember TRV heads dont make ANY noise, thats the starting point when designing these - obviously they have to produce some noise so the engineers pick a number (or guess) and design to it - they have picked the wrong number.

                              All joking aside, its a good system, but this would be a deal breaker for many people.

                              As a side note there is also a flaw in their thinking in their opentherm implementation. Some boilers (Vokera Unica HE) disable the front panel controls when in opetherm mode (stupid I know but they do). If you buy the Vokera openetherm controller it allows you to set the max DHW temp and Heating temp. Evohome does not. For DHW you get a temp that seems to vary from user to user. in my case water from the tap at 65degrees which is too hot and causes the boiler to fluctuate in temp when running the shower. Also you get the maximum boiler temp for the heating when any valve asks for 100% heat. When different valves open/close this can induce a boiler over-temp lock out - aside from radiators feeling scalding hot.
                              - you may say this is a vokera issue - and i dont have a problem with that -its a crap imlementation, however as a 3rd party system, evohome should be flexible and allow you to set the heating max temp (or max demand %) as a minium.

                              Comment

                              • G4RHL
                                Automated Home Legend
                                • Jan 2015
                                • 1580

                                Originally posted by DIY2 View Post
                                I have the same problem with the noise..
                                I guess there has to be some noise and even if it is reduced there will be some who will find it an issue. However, to be actually woken by the Evohome TRV operating to my mind indicates perhaps some should consider their sleeping habits. I know, I am contentious in saying that, but such is the level the noise these make, to be woken by them would indicate a person is not really asleep and, whilst not aware of it, is perhaps already coming around from such. That being the case, if one needs an alarm use them as such. My bedroom TRV has woken me up. But that is not entirely correct. It comes on at 06:00 and for me to hear it I know I am already surfacing from sleep and in my case it is a welcome intrusion for I normally get up at 05:15 and it means I have overslept! If it came on during the night when deep sleep pervades I certainly would not hear it and such wold be the case for many.

                                If they are an issue in the bedroom there is an easy answer. Adjust the coming on time to one when you know you should be getting up or beginning to surface. It is an easy answer and avoids any intrusion. If one person surfaces earlier than his or her partner then adjust for the sleepiest. If you are getting up before the radiator has come on it is never that cold (I can only speak from living in the North of England) and as you are getting up you can always go to a warmer room for your first coffee. I really do not see this as the big issue some want it to be.

                                Now if you really want noise try the first issue of the LightwaveRF TRVs, they really were horrendous!

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