We just got 2 new Carrier Infinity 24 heat pumps and I don’t think I’ve ever heard them running (except for the fan pushing air through the ducts, but that’s part of a traditional furnace too). It’s an expensive system that is advertised as being particularly quiet, and I think they deliver - I haven’t noticed any change in noise levels. One of them had an issue for a while so we ran the backup gas furnace instead, and I couldn’t tell the difference between the one that was using the heat pump and the one that was using gas.

So it’s possible to get a quiet heat pump, depending on the model.

We have used heat pump for A/C and heat in Florida for, well, I don’t know how long but the house I bought in the early 90s had one, and it was old enough we had to replace it, and the replacement lasted 20 years, so it’s not a new technology.

Yes they make noise, especially when starting up, but as someone else noted, your windows are closed when you run it, it’s not that loud. Not as loud as window units were.

I can’t hear the outside unit running from inside if that’s what you’re wondering

You might be able to reduce the noise with some fencing or plants. Some bushes, placed where they won’t disrupt airflow, will definitely reduce the noise.

My heatpump in my old apartment was much quieter than my new apartment with resistive heating. This one is fucking loud :(

Also, damn my power bills are way more pricy per square foot with resistive. Huge bummer.

Mine isn’t especially loud but my nextdoor neighbor’s is.

Mine is not hearable from the inside and only hearable on the same side of the house, but I guess it depends heavily on the model. I. The summer it only runs for hot water - maybe 4 times a day.

Heatpumps are in par with AC. I’m noise sensitive dye to poor hearing and sometimes turn it off to help me hear better.

At my mom’s place — air-source heat pump, double-paned windows — I can’t hear the thing at all from inside the house, and can only hear it if I go on the side of the house where it’s operating, which doesn’t get a lot of foot traffic. You can hear the fan there.

Generally, I haven’t heard people complaining about it in the US. I have seen some people talk about it recently in the UK, which is in the middle of a push to transition to them, and I’m wondering if that’s because townhouses are more-common there, with houses packed closely together.

I understand that you can get noise-reducing enclosures:

https://www.silent-mode.net/domestic-equipment.html#/

There are also water-source heat pumps. I don’t know how the noise differs, but I’d bet that it’s quieter, because you’re moving water through a pipe rather than a lot of air. However, their installation cost is considerably higher (though their energy efficiency is also higher).

Visited family for new years and slept next to one. It made about as much noise as their fridge. It’s most likely a newer model.

I had a heat pump and you could barely hear it outside. I had to be within 10ft to hear it running. It could be an age thing too. Mine was installed within the past 3 years, so that probably helps too.