Vibration / sound isolation matt for air handlers?
In the 2-story house that I am building, we have located the air handlers within the conditioned building envelope for efficiency but that will come at some cost with regard to noise and vibration.
The first floor AHU will be easy, as it is in the sealed and insulated crawl space, sitting on blocks / concrete, etc. and not touching the wood framing. The second floor AHU is in a hall closet and has been designed with a staggered stud wall, cavity insulation & acoustic drywall but I didn’t give any though to the floor until this weekend.
Are there any products that I could use to isolate the AHU from the subfloor like a rubber or foam mat that would be suitable for this use?
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Replies
I'm not sure how much an air handler needs it but I use anti vibration pads that are a mix of cork and rubber beneath a generator that stays outside and beneath my dryer. Cork & Rubber Anti Vibration Pads 6" x 6" (Package of 4) https://a.co/d/cQsfZA2
The slim ducted units that I have installed have been so queit that they don't need any isolation. I'm not sure about the multi position air handlers, my guess is the airflow noise will be louder.
The one to watch is condensate pumps near bedrooms, these are best avoided, gravity drain is your friend.
If you do want to do a something, I've used pices of stall matts (1/2" thick rubber sheet) as simple vibration isolators under heavy equipment. There are specific spring mounts made for larger commercial HVAC units but these are pretty pricey and might not make enough difference to justify the cost.