Is the peace and quiet of your home compromised by noisy ductwork? As your furnace heats the ducts, you may be
subjected to popping, banging and a plethora of annoying sounds. There are no easy solutions, but there are measures you can take to mitigate the noise pollution.
There are a number of ways in which your heating system can annoy; if the airflow is too strong, you may experience a whistling noise. If your blower is noisy, your ducting can act as a conduit to carry that sound through your home.
When hot air from the furnace enters the ducts, they expand and, if they are rubbing against the framing, it can cause popping both when the metal expands with heat and when it contracts while cooling. ‘Oil canning’ occurs when there is a pressure difference between the return ducts and supply ducts which causes the duct walls to move in and out.
Solutions for Noisy Ducts
Metal ducting is the perfect conduit for sound waves. You can interrupt the sound waves by installing some insulated flex duct to prevent the transmission of sound waves.
You can insulate your ductwork with fiberglass to muffle sound. You can also install fiberglass duct board instead of metal ducts to reduce noise.
If your ducts are popping against the framing, use rubber pads to separate the framing and the ductwork. Ductwork rubbing against the framing may even cause a noise when someone walks on the floor above and rubber pads will work here as well.
Install the correct size furnace so that your appliance isn’t pushing through more air than your ducting is designed for.
Ask your HVAC technician to install a flexible transition so that you can isolate noise from the furnace rather than transmitting it through the home or use a soft, flexible insulated ducting to decouple the metal duct from your furnace.