[squirt]

I'm looking for recommendations on air conditioners that are whisper quiet...The reason is too much noise from the compressor from my current ac is distracting while listening to music on my speakers so i'm looking into getting a unit which is as silent as possible...
Thanks

 

[Nick Dangerous]

In Hawaii?!? Why not just open the window and let the tropical birds and ocean spray in? GOD what I would do to live in Hawaii... it's scary to imagine.

I have the same problem at my place. Noisy air conditioners. This WILL ABSOLUTELY SUCK during the next Head-Fi meeting. I'm thinking about wrapping them in sound insulation foam... although this probably wouldn't work.

 

[squirt]

Nick, its kind of a catch-22 situation...if i open the windows too much noise will leak out from the room and i would hate to bother the neighbors with my music and also i live next to a kindergarden and them kids sure can pump out some watts in the noise dept during play time so that would be a problem for me...so the best choice is to seal up my room as best as possible and run an ac but the ac causes its own noise problem and a sealed up room can get mighty uncomfortable real quick in the hawaiian heat without an ac running...of course i could just go back to listening to music using only headphones which would solve many a problem but dang i love listening to music on my speakers more so than any headphone including my K1000...my current ac is not all that terribly niosy particularly when compared to my previous one which was plain LOUD but it still obsures sutble details in the music a bit more than i would like...
Call me Mr. Spoiled Rotten in Paradise

 

[Nick Dangerous]

Oh... to suffer with such "problems" as you...

 

[gloco]

A co worker of mine recently purchased a panasonic ac and loves it, he came in on Monday with a smile on his face raving about how quiet it was. I think it was a 7,000 btu unit, nothing too big. I personally have a monster of a ac in the living room, 10,000 btu's, its freaking huge and pretty quiet, its also a panasonic, so maybe you should look into their ac's.

 

[Anders]

I lived some months in Ann Arbor during the summer. I had two air conditioners, one in each room. I didn't like the noise and also thought it's a waste to have them on when not at home (environmental concern). Usually I came home in the late afternoon, took off my shirt and set the ac's on max with the no vent setting. I could usually turn them off after 30 minutes, and need an additional dose after two hours.
Only my two cents, will obviously not work when it is so hot that you need them on all the time.

 

[squirt]

I did a close inspection on where exactly the noise from my ac was emanating from and i discovered something i guess i should have known...much of the noise was not coming through the front section that protrudes into the room...instead much of the higher freq buzzing from the compressor is actually leaking in from the outside through the vinyl accordion curtains on either side of the ac that's used to seal excess space between the ac and the window...so today i cut two sections of 3/4 inch plywood to cover over the curtains and also stuffed towels between the plywood and curtains to further reduce noise leaks...the result was about a 30 - 40% reduction in the annoying buzzing noise and as an added bonus this also noticeably reduced the amount of noise leaking out of my room...

My unit is an older Panasonic model but according to Consumer Reports the newer Panasonic's in the 8000 Btu size like mine rate excellent in low noise as do Sharp's so I may get the newer versions not only for the low noise but they're a bit more efficient too...in any case I'll surly cover the accordion curtains good...

Now i have to figure out a way to sneak the kids at the Kindergarden some valium to keep them quiet

 

[dcg]

Here's another question for all you ac experts - I just moved into a new apartment, and I need to keep the damn ac on all the time to keep the place relatively cool. The apartment is about 800 square feet. I have no idea how many btus the unit is, it's about a foot high by 2 feet wide (if that helps). It's got a low setting anfd a high setting, and can be adjusted from 1-10 on each. I keep it on the highest level of the low setting, 24 hours a day. Obviously I'm not looking for any specifics here, but am I in for a rude awakening when my electricity bill comes?

 

[timoteus]

Quote:

Originally posted by dcg Here's another question for all you ac experts - I just moved into a new apartment, and I need to keep the damn ac on all the time to keep the place relatively cool. The apartment is about 800 square feet. I have no idea how many btus the unit is, it's about a foot high by 2 feet wide (if that helps). It's got a low setting anfd a high setting, and can be adjusted from 1-10 on each. I keep it on the highest level of the low setting, 24 hours a day. Obviously I'm not looking for any specifics here, but am I in for a rude awakening when my electricity bill comes?

Look on the sticker on the AC unit. Amps X Volts = Watts. So a 115 volt, 5.9 amp unit would use about 650 watts. Once you figure that you can even go a step further and look on an old electric bill to see what your kilowatthour charge is in your area to figure out how much it would cost to run it per hour or day.

The btu figure alone won't help you much. A newer efficient 12,000 btu unit might use less electricity than an older 8,000 btu unit.

A windowmount unit doesn't cost too much to run unless it's an older inefficient 240 volt unit.

 

[dcg]

Thanks for the explanation timoteus. I couldn't find a sticker on the thing anywhere, but it is a relatively small window mount unit. The thing to do would probably be to call the electric company and ask what the bill was for the apt. this time last year. I'll give it a shot.

 

[N@Z]

In general, there are 2 types of modern domestic ACs.
1. RAC or more commonly known as the window unit &
2. Split Unit type.

The former is 1 single unit of varying sizes depending on the btu (volume of air handling capability). Generally noisier the higher the btu due to the size of the motor. Rotary motors are quieter. The noise or rather vibration that you hear is due to the compressor's motor in operation. Causing all other loose adjacent fittings to follow suit in some cases!

The latter is split into 2 (hence the name), an internal wall/ceiling mounted blower & an external compressor/motor. This is 9 times out of 10 quieter and more efficient than RACs. But they cost more & may have slight installation problems depending on the location of your room.

There is a simple btu formula if you want to calculate for your room's size. If anyone is interested, I will post it here L8r.

 

[dcg]

Quote:

Originally posted by N@Z There is a simple btu formula if you want to calculate for your room's size. If anyone is interested, I will post it here L8r.

I'd sure like to know, because my current a/c isn't getting the job done.

 

[N@Z]

This is a general rule of thumb formula used for quick calculations of normal sized rooms only:
(the exact is rather intensive & takes into account how many windows doors etc, so I won't go into that as it's not my field of expertise! Plus it is more for larger rooms.)


" btu = volume x factor "


volume = length x width x height (in feet)

factor = 8 (say)
It's generally between 5 ~ 10 depending on how 'hot' the room is (i.e. exposure to sun, number of windows/doors, number of people etc.) A factor of 8 is used as it is better for the unit to be more powerful rather than underpowered.

Example, room size:
Length - 12 feet
width - 10 feet
height - 10 feet

( 12 x 10 x 10 ) x 8 = 9,600 btu

Choose a unit with the next higher size say 12,000 btu.
It sounds like overkill up sizing but remember, you can simply regulate the speed or temperature on an overpowered unit but you can't do anything with an underpowered unit.

One last point.. don't forget maintenance. Clean the air filter once a month & carry out general servicing on the unit every 6 months (if used several hours daily).

Hope that helps.