Question:
I am looking for the quietest possible window air conditioner. The
community where I live has fairly strict noise regulations, and the
houses are quite close together, so I am looking for something that
makes as little noise as possible on the outside. I am looking for
7-8000 BTU, though up to 10,000 would be fine. I would like something
that is quiet on both fan mode and when the compressor is running.
Answer:
Checked Consumer Reports, June 97. In your size range, the 7800 BTU
Panasonic was the quietest and the 8600 BTU Amana was the noisiest. In
the range of 6000-6600 BTU, the 6600 BTU Amana was the quietest tested,
but no Panasonic was tested in this range. These two Panasonic and Amana
products were the only ones above 5800 BTU to receive excellent marks
for noise. By contrast, CU rated 9 out of 10 tested in the range of
5000-5800 BTU as excellent for noise. These ratings were based on
measurements indoors on slow fan speed. Results outside might be
different. No actual sound levels were reported.
