The compressor of my 21 year old refrigerator has been getting louder (motor) over months so I looked up the cost of replacing the compressor and realized that it may be frugal to just buy a new one. Well, 3 weeks ago, a new refrigerator (Whirlpool) was delivered and my old one was hauled away.
Everything is all good...
or so I thought. That is until I realized that the new refrig is "louder" than the old one. The compressor motor makes higher pitch noise. It's not really louder but seems louder because of higher frequency (getting close to mid range where our hearing is more sensitive to). I was like WTF? :icon-rolleyes: So I looked up online to see if there are quieter refrigs available. To my surprise, this is a common problem with recent models of refrig, especially the ones with "Energy Star" rating. There are many people posting online about their new $2k - 3K refrig making this annoying noise even though it says "quiet model". It turns out that the "Energy Star" rating is imposed by the government (EPA) about 5 years ago. Those posters are calling these the "government refrigerator" and they are pissed off especially because this new rating save them only a few bucks a month in electric bill. So, due to the government regulation, refrigs are now more expensive, "louder" and not that much more energy efficient than older ones.
To make long story short, I decided to put some sound absorption panels behind the refrig and see if that helps.
Here's a shot of new refrig compressor motor. It's exposed (for air circulation).
Here's the corner of kitchen where refrig goes, as was.
Here's first trial with acoustic foam which only made slight difference.
Microphone was placed at my HT listening spot.
Then I tried a spare acoustic panel I made a few years ago with Owens Corning 703 fiberglass.
Here are the comparisons of the two materials.
I still wasn't getting the results I wanted so I tried both.
and it got noticeably quieter. Still not silent but for a few bucks spent on the acoustic material, it's now just quiet enough to live with. But that f*%!#^~ government mandate! :angry-cussing:
The lesson here, if your old (older than 5 years) refrigerator breaks down, don't replace it, fix it.
Everything is all good...
or so I thought. That is until I realized that the new refrig is "louder" than the old one. The compressor motor makes higher pitch noise. It's not really louder but seems louder because of higher frequency (getting close to mid range where our hearing is more sensitive to). I was like WTF? :icon-rolleyes: So I looked up online to see if there are quieter refrigs available. To my surprise, this is a common problem with recent models of refrig, especially the ones with "Energy Star" rating. There are many people posting online about their new $2k - 3K refrig making this annoying noise even though it says "quiet model". It turns out that the "Energy Star" rating is imposed by the government (EPA) about 5 years ago. Those posters are calling these the "government refrigerator" and they are pissed off especially because this new rating save them only a few bucks a month in electric bill. So, due to the government regulation, refrigs are now more expensive, "louder" and not that much more energy efficient than older ones.
To make long story short, I decided to put some sound absorption panels behind the refrig and see if that helps.
Here's a shot of new refrig compressor motor. It's exposed (for air circulation).
Here's the corner of kitchen where refrig goes, as was.
Here's first trial with acoustic foam which only made slight difference.
Microphone was placed at my HT listening spot.
Then I tried a spare acoustic panel I made a few years ago with Owens Corning 703 fiberglass.
Here are the comparisons of the two materials.
I still wasn't getting the results I wanted so I tried both.
and it got noticeably quieter. Still not silent but for a few bucks spent on the acoustic material, it's now just quiet enough to live with. But that f*%!#^~ government mandate! :angry-cussing:
The lesson here, if your old (older than 5 years) refrigerator breaks down, don't replace it, fix it.
