Question:
We have central air in most but not all of our house. We're looking for a small
(5,000 BTU) unit to use in a non-central AC office. Unfortunately, going to
appliance stores lets us see the size & heft but not listen to the unit. Also,
we haven't found a small unit that has good efficiency (i.e., higher than 10
SEER). Can anyone suggest a manufacturer that puts out a quiet, efficient unit
... or are we expecting too much from a small window-mount job? I did see on
alt.home.repair that the 8,000 BTU Panasonic is very compact & quiet - no word
on efficiency, though.
Answer:
As for efficiency:
11 EER Panasonic CW-C60YU 5800 btu
11 EER Panasonic CW-C80YU 7800 btu
8.5 EER Panasonic CW-C60RU 6000 btu compact air conditioner
8.5 EER Panasonic CW-C70RU 7000 btu compact air conditioner
IMO, Panasonic models under 8000 btu's are among the very
quietest you can buy. Also, Consumer Reports gives them the highest
marks for quietness.
