Supply Air Vent Sounds Like Airplane Taking Off

Some of the supply air vents in our apartment are really loud when the central A/C or heat kicks on.  Is there anything I can do to dampen the sound from the air velocity coming out of these vents?  It’s really annoying to have to turn up the TV in the living room everytime the air comes on.  One of the offending vents is in the kitchen and is close to the vent in the living room so if I could close off the vent in the kitchen maybe that would help but I don’t know what I could use to plug it up.  Just closing the fins on the vent isn’t enough.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.  Thanks.

dylan621

in Heating and Cooling 12 years and 3 months ago

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biggles | 12 years and 1 month ago

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the AC should be the HI speed on the motor and the heat should run on LO or Med Lo do you see a difference in the seasonal air.commercial trick i use in Manhattan is retrict the return grill with a piece of cardboard to starve the return which will throttle down the supply.do you have one return grill back to the air handler.. slide it 25% check the supply worst grill noise maker as a test..but do’t go more then 50%covering that return…also have all discharge grills open 100%

ellenlourie | 12 years and 2 months ago

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Just decreasing air flow might lead to bigger problem. Like if installed AC system is oversized then just decreasing air flow leads to evaporator coil freeze up, compressor short cycling and subsequent compressor burnout. Yes, call professional.. Now you know.

needmtg | 12 years and 2 months ago

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OP: Note gennady’s snarky tone: only a professional (read:expensive) solution works. Of course, the fact that you may be able to simply solve your problem via a jury-rigged solution is irrelevant. Air movement, unlike steam, is not quite a dark art. Now you know. tw: I guess modern equipment would have adjustable pulleys, makes sense. However, it’s still a service call.

stevecym | 12 years and 3 months ago

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slowing the fan is not expensive.  pullys on some of this equipment are adjustable (sliding, changing the diameter where the belt sits) and the HVAC techs often check the amp load on the motor as part of routine maintenance and adjust the pully size to correct amperage – often this involves slowing the fan, not speeding it (motor speed should remain the same, load on the motor decreases when the pully is adjusted to slow the fan).  that said, see what Gennady says.  Balancing is done by specialized providers – not the HVAC service people.      Steve

ellenlourie | 12 years and 3 months ago

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You ducts are not balanced. Balancing of the ducts done with special equipment by balancing companies. Now you know.

needmtg | 12 years and 3 months ago

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There might be dampers on the ducts (adjustable flaps) which would be the correct way to do it. If you restrict it too much, you might throw off the balance. If there’s simply too much air volume (not uncommon,) slowing the fan would be preferable but expensive. Otoh, I solved  this problem in one duct using crumpled tinfoil (not a problem for heat). Had to experiment quite a bit as noise also increases if the passage is too small.