Make a furnace quieter?

[CAMAN]

Hey guys, I recently put my house on the market and have had a few showings. The feedback that I'm getting is the only thing wrong with the place is when the furnace is running it is too loud throughout the entire house. I guess I'm just used to it and it no longer bothers me, but now that it is mentioned I notice it also. It is a 2007 Lenox high efficiency forced air that was installed last year and retrofit to an older house with all the ducting run through the ceiling and one single cold air return at the filter. I should also mention all of the trunk-lines are the round ductwork with plastic adjustable vents in the ceiling.

I plan on getting a couple rolls of insulation and wrapping as much of the ductwork I can reach, but would also like to see if there is anything else I can do. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance!!

[Smoker]

It is going to depend what the noise is from. Is it the furnace itself or is it from the air flow coming out of the registers. If it is from the air flow, make sure all the registers are open, if they are all open you may want to add a couple some place. You could slow the blower down but with the newer furnace you need a certian temp. differance between the supply and the return. Once again it all depends onwhere the noise is from and what can be done to it and what model of furnace it is.Some are quitter than others

[BobT]

Assuming that it is the air flowing through the system, I'd be wondering if the blower speed is too high. I'm not an HVAC expert but from what I've read you can over-drive your system and it serves no advantage any more than not having the blower fast enough. I suspect that a plenum pressure test might be in order. Something to consider perhaps?

[Smoker]

It will all depend on the stack temp also. If temps are to high they need to bring it down and by speeding up the blower is one way to bring it down but then they also need to make sure the duct work can handle it. So many things can make a big differance with the newer furnaces. The best to do would be to have a qulified person take a look at it. It is better to hear the problem than to have it explained to you.

[CAMAN]

It is a mixture of everything, the air going through the ducting, the fan, and the flame, which sounds just as loud as a propane torpedo heater.

All of the vents are wide open and there is a ton of flow coming out, probably to much and turning it down might be an option if its safe and won't damage the unit. Is that a DIY or will I need to call someone in?

I will get the model number when I get back home tomorrow.

[Smoker]

It will depend on the model number and how many heat runs you have and the size of pipe going to each heat run. Some models it is a matter of moving a wire on the motor and some have some switches to move.

[CAMAN]

Alright, I will get you all that info tomorrow. Thanks!

[BobT]

The thing is, just turning down the blower may reduce the efficiency of the system enough to cost you a few bucks. Also, as already mentioned, if the system doesn't control the heat it could possibly be detrimental to the life of the system.

There is special equipment that HVAC techs have at their disposal for making certain your system is functioning at optimum performance. It might be worth the money to have the system checked by a professional not to mention possibly safer.