What should I look for when looking for a quiet room air conditioner?
Asked by
janbb (
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April 13th, 2022
My summertime neighbors are noisy at night and here for the holidays. I’ve finally decided that the solution is a quiet room air conditioner. I have central air but don’t want to turn it on yet. Anything special to look out for?
My bedroom is about 16 by 20.
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I doubt you will find a “quiet” room air conditioner.
The ones that work all have compressors in them and they are loud.
And you still have to open a window to route the hot air exhaust tube out of the building.
Also, stay away from those evaporative coolers, which work by evaporating water to lower the temperature. Not only will it increase humidity in the room, increasing the perceived temperature, they also do not work at all when it is already humid.
@ragingloli I don’t mean totally quiet but more like a white noise machine. I think I can find that.
@janbb
I have been using this one in my room for a year.
At lower settings the noise might be acceptable for you.
I’m assuming that when you say quiet, you mean to block the noise from your neighbors who have no respect for your life. My local Lowes has one on sale right now that might be just perfect for you. It’s an LG and with taxes and everything, it’s around $400. You will probably need a 5,000–6,000 BTU unit that will cool 320 sq ft. I don’t think you can get lower than a 5K BTU and most this year seem to be a minimum of 6K. If you go any larger than the 6K you will freeze because it will be too much for such a small room
I have the LG 8K that cools my whole house. It makes a good bit of noise so it will drown out your neighbors. After a while you will get used to the noise and won’t even pay attention to it. It’s kind of like a demanding child, your mommy ears will learn to tune out. The 5 or 6K shouldn’t make as much noise as the 8K; so unless your ears are terribly sensitive, it should be doable
@ragingloli Oh – I failed to mention that I plan to put it in a window.
@SEKA Yes, I don’t mind a quiet hum which will help drown out the neighbors noise. I just don’t want one like that ones in motels that bang and clang going on and off.
We do not have sliding windows here.
Only these
@janbb This one is nothing like the hotel window units. Actually, my 8K only makes a big noise when the compressor kicks on but it’s no where near that bang, clang that you’re mentioning. I don’t think the smaller units will make as much noise as my larger unit does. My big unit bothered me for maybe the first week & then my brain got used to it and I stopped hearing it when it kicked on. It’s hard to find any window units right now due to the supply chain BS. So, when you find the one you like, buy it. I’ve really been impressed with the LG brand so far. My unit is about 3 years old and I’ve still to learn how long it will last
One great thing about the smaller units is that most will run on the 110 wall socket, so no need to have an electrician out to upgrade your wall socket. Just measure your window opening and don’t go any higher than the 6,000 BTU and you should be ok
Oh, I forgot, the Haier is a good brand as well but they are getting harder to find. Those will last 10 years or better if you can find one. Plus, they used to be cheap but I bet they’re not anymore
How about a fan? A simple inexpensive one can produce white background noise and help you feel cool.
NY Times Wirecutter – The Best Air Conditioner – July 28,2021
“The Midea U MAW08V1QWT is simply the quietest air conditioner we’ve ever tested, but that isn’t the only reason it stands out from the crowd. It also has an inverter compressor, which means it uses almost half as much energy as non-inverter ACs.”
Looking at the picture, I see it’s built like the quiet Kenmore AC I bought circa 2007. Most of the mechanical parts are outside in one box, another box sits inside for outlets and controls, and the window slides down into the narrow “waist” between the two.
I looked at three different sites and the pickings at slim to none. . . so be prepared to take second choice. Do it this weekend before other people start thinking about getting new A/C units.
Elite ARC-122DS Portable Air Conditioner by Whynter top rated by Good Housekeeping. Sits on floor with a hose that goes to a baffle in the window. $500 at Home Depot if they have one in stock.
The noisy part is the compressor. If the compressor is in your room, it will be noisy. Putting it in a window can make it a little quieter (thus the compressor is outside), though you will still hear the loud noise of the compressor kicking in and shutting off. (Since compressors generate a lot of heat and noise, in a central system they’re a separate unit placed outside the house).
@janbb is lucky in that she’s only cooling a small room. Pretty much any compressor shouldn’t be overly noisy on the smaller units.
Go look at them in a store that has them running so you can get and idea of how loud and how quiet they can be. I have a portable AC that works great but it is so loud I can’t even sleep….........and I sleep through tornadoes. It is the Lowe’s house brand (can’t think of it at the moment)
Thanks all. Just bought a GE window unit 5000 BTUs and will hope for the best.
I also bought a new TV which I’ve been dithering about. It as a go for broke decision making day!
Central Air AND a room AC unit. Yep, you are truly a penguin.
@Forever_Free And I sleep on an iceberg!
(I use the central air as sparingly as I can.)
@janbb Get one with a remote also. When you’re sleeping and the room gets cold, it’s nice to make any required changes without having to get up
@janbb you are going to be a cool penguin.
@KRD, she’s already a cool penguin!
As an aside, I’m surprised that some posters are considering a 16 by 20 foot bedroom a small room. I would think it is rather large.
Upstairs second master bedroom is 42 by 20.
^^ One wall is 42’ long? Wow!
Wife’s craft room; sewing, stamping & cards, silversmith & jewelry, glass blowing beads and stone polishing.
My master bedroom is 25×20—500 sq ft and the size I recommended just about freezes me out of there. Many a night I’m adding a quilt because the room is so freakin cold. My 8K BTU cools 1K sq ft so it would probably freeze up in a 320 sq ft room and then it wouldn’t work at all until it thawed out. No need to spend the extra money when you won’t need to. Plus, the difference in the electricity used is huge. Don’t matter how cold a penguin needs to be, the bill at the end of the month between the 2 will be noticeable. At some point you’d be better off running the central air
@SEKA Good information, but @janbb is mostly looking for something to drown out the noise of her noisy neighbors, not really looking to cool her room.
@SEKA Good information. I’m actually looking for both cooling and noise reduction. As I said above, I bought a 5,000 BTU GE this week. Haven’t installed it yet and so far it’s not hot enough to need it. So far the ceiling fan is allowing me to keep the windows closed.
@chyna I realize that and had addressed that in a previous post. I had missed where she said that she had bought one but I did see the one where she said she didn’t see her room as being small. Well, it’s not small unless you’re choosing a window a/c. I learned that lesson the hard way
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