Evohome is Noisy - please help me

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  • HenGus
    Automated Home Legend
    • May 2014
    • 1001

    I have just had the original 19 Drayton TRV bodies (16 years old) changed on my heating system to Valencia. 'Are the HR92s any quieter'? - my general answer would be 'no'. What I have noticed is that there are less clunks from some TRVs on initial opening after being closed overnight, and again some of HR92s audibly seem to be doing less work (i.e., not quite as loud in operation as a result of less TRV pin resistance). The difference in noise levels across the system are marginal - but, that said, we do not find the noise to be that intrusive.

    Comment

    • DBMandrake
      Automated Home Legend
      • Sep 2014
      • 2361

      I'm more interested to see whether you notice any improvement in temperature regulation as it's my belief that sticky valves can lead to unnecessary temperature overshoots and undershhoots.

      Comment

      • HenGus
        Automated Home Legend
        • May 2014
        • 1001

        Originally posted by DBMandrake View Post
        I'm more interested to see whether you notice any improvement in temperature regulation as it's my belief that sticky valves can lead to unnecessary temperature overshoots and undershhoots.
        I hadn't thought of that. Bit tricky at the moment as it is 20C in some of my rooms! I shall watch the zone temperatures with interest.

        Comment

        • filbert
          Automated Home Guru
          • Oct 2017
          • 161

          I have just had an Evohome system installed and was surprised by the noise the valves make. I didn't notice any reference to this in the reviews I read.

          We do find the noise intrusive - it's not that it's particularly loud. We occasionally get mice in the roof space, for example, and the noise they make scrabbling around is not loud (I doubt it would register on a noise meter) but it can wake me up in the night. Hopefully, we'll get used to it and not notice it - like the chiming clocks and other noises people have mentioned.

          My first attempt at getting round this is to set the bedroom temperature very low overnight (after all, the heating was off overnight with the last system) so that the valve won't operate. Then, as optimisation is turned on, to tell it that the room is occupied later so that the valve will open around the time the alarm is set to go off. That seems to be more of an art than a science, though.

          Maybe I'll turn off optimisation altogether and then I can can controll when the noise will start - and 'optimise' manually by tweaking the start times.

          Would be nice if the valves had a 'quiet mode' where they opened much more slowxy, which would, I expect make less noise.

          Comment

          • G4RHL
            Automated Home Legend
            • Jan 2015
            • 1580

            If you think these are noisy then you should try other makes! The Evohome TRV is fairly quiet to most others. I have never found it intrusive. You do get used to it and at least when you hear it you know things are happening. Optimisation I would not bother with. I found it did not do anything and it is easier to switch it off and simply set your times to what you prefer. You’ll save on consumption as well!

            Comment

            • HenGus
              Automated Home Legend
              • May 2014
              • 1001

              Originally posted by filbert View Post
              I have just had an Evohome system installed and was surprised by the noise the valves make. I didn't notice any reference to this in the reviews I read.

              We do find the noise intrusive - it's not that it's particularly loud. We occasionally get mice in the roof space, for example, and the noise they make scrabbling around is not loud (I doubt it would register on a noise meter) but it can wake me up in the night. Hopefully, we'll get used to it and not notice it - like the chiming clocks and other noises people have mentioned.

              My first attempt at getting round this is to set the bedroom temperature very low overnight (after all, the heating was off overnight with the last system) so that the valve won't operate. Then, as optimisation is turned on, to tell it that the room is occupied later so that the valve will open around the time the alarm is set to go off. That seems to be more of an art than a science, though.

              Maybe I'll turn off optimisation altogether and then I can can controll when the noise will start - and 'optimise' manually by tweaking the start times.

              Would be nice if the valves had a 'quiet mode' where they opened much more slowxy, which would, I expect make less noise.
              This has been debated at length in the past. The HR92s are amongst the quietest motorised valves on the market. That said, they do whirr and, occasionally, clunk when a valve first opens. The sound is amplified by the radiator.

              As a new user, I suspect that you are sub-consciously listening for the valves. After 3 1/2 years of Evohome, I find that the HR92s are in way obtrusive. I occasionally hear them but I just add that to the list of noises that houses make when people are moving around etc.

              Comment

              • Dan_Robinson
                Automated Home Ninja
                • Jun 2012
                • 347

                Originally posted by filbert View Post
                Then, as optimisation is turned on, to tell it that the room is occupied later so that the valve will open around the time the alarm is set to go off. That seems to be more of an art than a science, though.

                Maybe I'll turn off optimisation altogether and then I can can controll when the noise will start - and 'optimise' manually by tweaking the start times.

                Would be nice if the valves had a 'quiet mode' where they opened much more slowy, which would, I expect make less noise.
                One of the things we drive home on hand over is to not try and think for it when Optimisation is switched on... You'll never get it to operate as you think.
                Kind Regards - Dan Robinson (Jennings Heating Ltd)

                Comment

                • DBMandrake
                  Automated Home Legend
                  • Sep 2014
                  • 2361

                  Originally posted by G4RHL View Post
                  If you think these are noisy then you should try other makes! The Evohome TRV is fairly quiet to most others. I have never found it intrusive. You do get used to it and at least when you hear it you know things are happening. Optimisation I would not bother with. I found it did not do anything and it is easier to switch it off and simply set your times to what you prefer. You’ll save on consumption as well!
                  What I've noticed though is that the level of noise in our house from HR92's varies immensely from one room to another.

                  Some of it is differences in the individual HR92's - mine were bought progressively over nearly two years so come from different batches.... some just make a quiet whirring noise and others make more of a cyclic "grinding" noise (best way to describe it) which sounds like plastic gears with high spots rubbing against each other, and I've also noticed that some turn faster than others - even when tested on the same radiator... So there is definitely some difference in noise between individual HR92's...

                  But the bigger difference is the rooms and the radiators - I have the same TRV valve bodies throughout the house so I don't think that's a significant factor between the rooms, but the radiators and rooms all differ greatly. The one in my hallway, which is bare walls and laminate floor makes a hell of a din when it turns, it echos all the way down the hall way. The one in the bathroom is quite noisy too. If the ones in the bedroom sounded like this I would be pretty annoyed.

                  On the other hand the ones in the kitchen (under a counter top) living room and bedrooms are all very quiet. Even if I'm awake I can barely hear the one in the bedroom from bed, and the one in the living room I don't notice at all unless the TV is turned right down then I can just hear it.

                  A lot of it is room layout and acoustics I think, (especially whether the room is "live" or "dead") and a bit is how the radiator is mounted and whether any mechanical vibration from the HR92 passes to the radiator panel and uses it like a huge sounding board or whether the radiator is decoupled from the HR92's vibrations. Whether the radiator has the "anti-creak" plastic shims fitted between the radiator and wall bracket or they are missing, as they often are, may play a part too as they would probably help damp any radiator panel vibrations if fitted. All the radiators I have replaced have them fitted but all the original ones in the house do not!

                  So I can fully see how some people find them very noisy and other people hardly hear them at all - I have both scenarios in the same house!
                  Last edited by DBMandrake; 6 November 2017, 11:40 AM.

                  Comment

                  • paulockenden
                    Automated Home Legend
                    • Apr 2015
                    • 1719

                    It's certainly true that radiators radiate sound as well as heat.

                    If you have a room where the HR92 is particularly noisy try some experiments to deaden both the rad and the pipework. Things like jamming a tennis ball (or similar) behind the radiator to stop it resonating as much, and try jamming something (a bit of wood, perhaps) behind the pipework leading to the TRV.

                    Comment

                    • Dan_Robinson
                      Automated Home Ninja
                      • Jun 2012
                      • 347

                      Actually they convect heat.

                      A very small proportion is radiated.
                      Kind Regards - Dan Robinson (Jennings Heating Ltd)

                      Comment

                      • DBMandrake
                        Automated Home Legend
                        • Sep 2014
                        • 2361

                        Originally posted by Dan_Robinson View Post
                        Actually they convect heat.

                        A very small proportion is radiated.
                        Uh, that is going to depend greatly on the type of radiator.

                        Modern dual panel radiators with large convecting fins especially type 22's - yes, more heat is put into the room via convection than IR radiation. Older radiators without convecting fins - not so much...

                        Even with a modern convector I'd say its only about 60-70% convection and the rest direct IR radiation. You can work it out roughly by comparing the effective heat output of a convector and non convecting panel of the same dimensions - if they both have the same surface area and surface temperature they must both put the same amount of heat into the room by direct radiation, and the difference is mostly the convective output. (Keeping in mind that the non convector will still convect a little bit)

                        Our living room radiators (3 in a bay window) are old 80's style dual panel's with no convecting fins - so they do convect a little bit through the gaps between the panels, but nothing like a modern convector. Put a baby's cot and an arm chair in front of them, even half a meter away - and both of which have plenty of gap under them to allow convection to continue unhindered, and you sure do notice how much more the radiators struggle to warm the room in very cold conditions. It's a big difference with most of the direct IR lost on that type of radiator.

                        Also blocking off the direct IR radiation by obscuring a radiator can make a room of the same temperature feel cooler due to lack of that direct IR on your face and skin. Same reason 20 degrees in the sun feels much warmer than 20 degrees indoors... The IR radiation warms your skin slightly above what ambient air alone would.
                        Last edited by DBMandrake; 6 November 2017, 05:07 PM.

                        Comment

                        • paulockenden
                          Automated Home Legend
                          • Apr 2015
                          • 1719

                          Originally posted by Dan_Robinson View Post
                          Actually they convect heat.

                          A very small proportion is radiated.
                          Unless you paint them matt black. ;-)

                          Comment

                          • Rameses
                            Industry Expert
                            • Nov 2014
                            • 446

                            Originally posted by filbert View Post
                            I have just had an Evohome system installed and was surprised by the noise the valves make. I didn't notice any reference to this in the reviews I read.

                            We do find the noise intrusive - it's not that it's particularly loud. We occasionally get mice in the roof space, for example, and the noise they make scrabbling around is not loud (I doubt it would register on a noise meter) but it can wake me up in the night. Hopefully, we'll get used to it and not notice it - like the chiming clocks and other noises people have mentioned.

                            My first attempt at getting round this is to set the bedroom temperature very low overnight (after all, the heating was off overnight with the last system) so that the valve won't operate. Then, as optimisation is turned on, to tell it that the room is occupied later so that the valve will open around the time the alarm is set to go off. That seems to be more of an art than a science, though.

                            Maybe I'll turn off optimisation altogether and then I can can controll when the noise will start - and 'optimise' manually by tweaking the start times.

                            Would be nice if the valves had a 'quiet mode' where they opened much more slowxy, which would, I expect make less noise.
                            Wait 7-10 days. The valves are 'overly' active to begin with whilst they learn. After a while they move in smaller increments.
                            Dont turn optimisation off.
                            getconnected.honeywell.com | I work for Honeywell. Any posts I make are purely to help if I can. Any personal views expressed are my own

                            Comment

                            • HenGus
                              Automated Home Legend
                              • May 2014
                              • 1001

                              Originally posted by paulockenden View Post
                              It's certainly true that radiators radiate sound as well as heat.
                              If you have a room where the HR92 is particularly noisy try some experiments to deaden both the rad and the pipework. Things like jamming a tennis ball (or similar) behind the radiator to stop it resonating as much, and try jamming something (a bit of wood, perhaps) behind the pipework leading to the TRV.
                              I am surprised that the Honeywell marketing team hasn’t latched on to the possibility of offering a free box of tennis balls for every 6 HR92s bought. A low tech solution to a high tech problem.

                              Comment

                              • bruce_miranda
                                Automated Home Legend
                                • Jul 2014
                                • 2307

                                Originally posted by Rameses View Post
                                Wait 7-10 days. The valves are 'overly' active to begin with whilst they learn. After a while they move in smaller increments.
                                Dont turn optimisation off.
                                Bring back per room optimisation and we won't, I swear.....

                                Comment

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