Combination of IoT, AI and ANC technology for effective noise reduction in large heat pumps and refrigeration systems.

The use of central heat pumps and cooling systems to supply districts or to feed district heating networks is becoming an increasingly important topic. We are talking about systems with very high air volumes and multi-stage compressors.

When planning such systems, noise protection is a key issue in both purely residential areas and mixed areas. Passive noise measures such as acoustic enclosures, baffles or baffles can be used to control high frequencies. However, the low sound frequencies between 32 and 500 Hz often become an uncertainty factor during planning when it comes to sound emissions during effective operation.

With our latest acoustic enclosures for large projects, we therefore integrate ANC technology directly into our acoustic enclosure design. This allows us to combine passive and active noise protection in our enclosures. The first pilot projects with this combination are now underway.

The major challenge we are already seeing today is the rapid adaptation of ANC counter-noise to the rapidly changing operating conditions of the systems, which continuously change the sound field to be reduced. The correct positioning of the sensors and actuators and the rapid processing of a large amount of data (signals) will be the next milestones in practical operation. The combination of IoT, which is now a standard setup for modern heat pumps and refrigeration systems, and AI is the next stage of development for evaluating sensor data for the predictive control of ANC technology.

In our opinion, the combination of ANC technology and passive noise control is only worthwhile for large systems at the current state of the art. For smaller systems in small residential buildings, it will take some time before the use of ANC technology can be economically justified.