quiet window air conditioner?

July 16, 2006 12:55 PM

Can anyone recommend a very very quiet window unit air conditioner?

I'm a very light sleeper and my air conditioner is driving me crazy. I wake up every time it switches from the fan to the cooler, and lately it's made this sort of ticking noise that's just as bad. As far as I can tell, the problem is the unit itself -- it's not rattling the windowframe or anything.

posted by footnote to Home & Garden (6 answers total)

In my fiancée's hot apartment, we turn on the AC in the main room and use fans to blow the cool air into the bedroom—thus, no fan noise in the bedroom. If that's possible in your setup, try that.

A very brief Google search reveals this highly-rated unit, which claims:

We bought a 5000 BTU Haier (has rotary knobs) first from Savon for $[...] and was surprised by how "quiet" it was.

It will always, however, make some noise.
posted by symphonik at 4:49 PM on July 16, 2006

Consumer Reports rates quite a few window A/C units. It looks like the GE models tend to be very quiet.
posted by Edge100x at 5:02 PM on July 16, 2006

I've never encountered a truly quiet window air conditioner, but this year I bought a Frigidaire FAA067P7 at Lowes, and I've been very happy with it. Most of the time it's about as quiet as a fan, and even the uptick between fan mode and compressor mode isn't too jarring, provided it's running continuously and not in energy saver mode.
posted by j-dawg at 5:17 PM on July 16, 2006

Best answer: This past week I bought the GE AGM06LH, a 6000 BTU unit, on the basis of the CR review. I'm happy with it, though I am thinking that maybe an 8000 BTU would have been better for my apartment. Anyway, it's quiet as air conditioners go. Not sure how to describe it--it's on a par noise-wise with an oscillating fan, maybe slightly noisier.

You can tell it's running, but it doesn't make that obnoxious click/whirring noise when the compressor kicks in.

The CR page has some good tips for picking an air conditioner, like looking for a digital interface, good energy ratings, etc.
posted by Brian James at 7:04 PM on July 16, 2006

Hey Brian James, thanks for your response. I'm in NYC (Manhattan) and would love to know where you found your AC unit. So as not to derail this thread (further) you can contact me via the email listed in my profile. Thanks!
posted by funkiwan at 8:30 AM on July 17, 2006

I've a 5 year old Amana unit. It's more powerful than what you seek, but it's very quiet. There is little audible difference between when the compressor is running and when it isnt'. Oh, and if you want quiet, look for ones with a side air discharge, not top.
posted by kc0dxh at 1:11 PM on July 18, 2006