How are pool heat pump decibels measured?
As sound pressure, what you would hear at one spot, and the spot changes with the maker. Madimack measures at 10 feet, and at 3 feet as well for its InverELITE V2. Aquastrong measures at 33 feet and at 3 feet.
A unit measured at 33 feet will look quieter than the same unit measured at 10. The figures here are grouped by distance and never ranked across groups.
Within a group they compare only as far as the makers' methods allow. Madimack prints a range for each model without saying which speed or mode sits at each end, and Aquastrong prints one number per distance without naming a mode.
Central air condensers are rated another way, in sound power under AHRI 270, the unit's total output, and our central air guide covers those. A condenser and a pool heater therefore never share a ranking (sound power vs sound pressure sets out the difference). A mini-split also puts a unit outdoors, and its makers print a separate figure for it.
Madimack prints the fullest tables
Every Madimack figure is taken at 10 feet, from 30.8 to 44.5 dB(A) on the InverELITE V2 84,000 up to 38.8 to 51.1 on the 140,000 BTU InverTITAN. The 84,000's row reads "Sound level at 10ft dB(A)" "30.8 ~ 44.5", and its US manual marks that row LP, sound pressure.
| Madimack model | At 10 ft, dB(A) |
|---|
| InverELITE V2 84,000 | 30.8 to 44.5 |
| InverELITE V2 116,000 | 32.0 to 45.4 |
| InverECO 32,000 | 33.2 to 45.0 |
| InverTITAN 90,000, top discharge | 34.3 to 46.5 |
| InverECO 66,000 | 38.4 to 47.1 |
| InverTITAN 140,000, top discharge | 38.8 to 51.1 |
The InverELITE US manual adds a useful detail. Silence mode limits the unit to 20% to 80% capacity and runs "3dB(A) lower than Boost mode".
Madimack's marketing is less consistent than its tables: the InverELITE V2 page says "as low as 30.8 dB(A)", while the residential listing page says "as low as 45.4", which is the top of the bigger model's range.
Aquastrong's top discharge line is its quietest
Aquastrong's manuals give every model two figures, one at 33 feet and one at 3 feet.
| Aquastrong model | At 33 ft | At 3 ft |
|---|
| HEX022TOP, 24,000 BTU, top discharge | 32 dB(A) | 46 dB(A) |
| HEX035TOP, top discharge | 34 dB(A) | 50 dB(A) |
| HEX140TOP, 140,000 BTU, top discharge | 37 dB(A) | 60 dB(A) |
| HEX012, HEX016 and HEX018, side discharge | 36 to 38 dB(A) | 48 dB(A) |
| HEX022, side discharge | "46 db" | "60 db" |
| HEX100, side discharge | 55 db | 68 db |
The larger side discharge models are far louder by the manuals' own numbers, which are printed as "db" without the A weighting.
Product pages quote the 33 foot figure alone, as "ultra-quiet 32dB" and similar, without saying it was measured 33 feet away. The gap between the two distances also varies, from 10 dB on the HEX016 and HEX018 to 23 on the HEX140TOP, so read both.
No clear winner at 3 feet
Only the InverELITE V2 and Aquastrong's range publish a 3 foot figure. The InverELITE V2 84,000 declares 40.3 to 54.0 dB(A), and Aquastrong's HEX022TOP a single 46 dB(A) with no mode attached. One is a range and the other a lone number, so neither is clearly quieter and we do not pick a winner.
How loud is a Raypak Crosswind pool heat pump?
Raypak's Crosswind page prints "Decibels" "34.9 ~ 45.0 dBA" for the 50-I and 38.2 to 49.3 for the 65-I. Distance is the trouble. The English manual labels the row "Sound pressure 39" (3 m) dBA", and thirty nine inches is one meter, not three. The French edition of the same manual says "à 3 m" but calls the figure "Puissance acoustique", sound power.
We cannot tell which distance is right, so the Crosswind sits outside the groups, flagged.
Its vertical discharge sibling, the Crosswind V, prints "64 dBA" for every size, with no distance, mode or quantity, and its manual prints no figure at all.
The FH235-i manual lists "Noise level 45 dB(A)" without a distance, then says the unit complies with EN ISO 3741, a sound power method, "producing 55 dB noise at 10 feet". The FH270 manual repeats the 55 dB sentence beside its own "Noise level 61 dB(A)". Neither model fits a group.
Hayward's HeatPro VS brochure is titled "Sounds better". It draws a scale from a ticking watch to a lawn mower with no decibel values on it, and the manual prints none either.
Pentair's UltraTemp brochure calls the 120Q "our quietest heat pump ever" with no number. The Gulfstream line, whose old site now redirects to Pentair, carries only "reduce sound levels" wording. Jandy's VersaTemp spec sheet offers "significantly less operational noise".
Rheem sells Crosswind models under its own name; its product pages say "Whisper Quiet" and print no figure, though they link Raypak's manuals. AquaComfort's manual prints none, and EcoSmart's pool heaters are tankless electric units, not heat pumps.
AquaCal is the unresolved case. Retailers quote "as low as 33 dB" for its TropiCal Inverter, but the AquaCal documents they cite now return AquaCal's home page, and we could not read a current AquaCal specification with a figure. It stays out until we can quote AquaCal itself.
Where should you install a pool heat pump to cut noise?
Farther from the house than feels necessary. A few extra feet from windows and property lines pay off: where a maker publishes two distances, the 3 foot figure sits 9.5 to 23 dB above the farther one, and Aquastrong's manual tells owners to position the unit to minimize noise disturbance to neighbors. Placement decides the rest.
