EXTERNAL UNIT LOCATION

[gregjharmon]

MY NEIGHBOR INTENDS TO INSTALL A SPLIT UNIT AIR CONDITIONER AT THE REAR SIDE OF HIS UNDERCONSTRUCTION HOUSE WHICH WILL BE DIRECTLY BESIDE MY REAR PATIO. THE UNITS HAVE NOT YET BEEN INSTALLED, BUT THE ELECTRIC WIRES FOR THE UNITS HAVE. I ASKED HIM TO CONSIDER MOVING THE UNITS TO THE OTHER SIDE OF HIS HOME, IN A SPOT WHICH WOULD NOT BE HEARD BY ANY FUTURE CONSTRUCTION, (THE PROXIMATE LOT IS VACANT). HIS COMMENT WAS THAT HIS HVAC SYSTEM WAS DESIGNED TO REQUIRE THE UNITS TO BE LOCATED THERE FOR MAXIMUM EFFICIENCY.

I EXPECT HIS HVAC MAN WILL TELL HIM THIS SO AS TO MINIMIZE ANY EXTRA WORK FOR HIMSELF. THERE IS S STRONG LIKLIYHOOD THAT LOCATION OF THE UNITS AS PROPOSED WILL PRESENT A SIGNIFICANT NOISE PROBLEM FOR ME DESTROYING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF VALUE TO THE PEACE AND QUIET INTENDED ON ONES PATIO.

WHEN MY UNIT WAS INSTALLED, JUST LAST YEAR, MY HVAC MAN TOLD ME JUST THE OPPOSITE, INDICATING THAT THE EXTERNAL UNITS COULD BE LOCATED ON EITHER SIDE OF THE HOUSE WITHOUT ANY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN EFFICIENCY. I HAVE A SINGLE 5 TON UNIT.

WHAT IS THE TRUTH?

[badbatch]

Most new air conditioners are so quiet you won't even notice them running. By the way press the "caps lock" button on your key board

[keepitsimplestupid]

Greg...:

Pssst....All caps is listed in the net Netiquette book as shouting. Is your caps lock button stuck?

See:

http://www.albury.net.au/new-users/netiquet.htm

[BaldLoonie]

Talk to him about what he is getting. Some are whisper quiet, some are rather loud. If he's getting a quiet one, neither of you will hear much.

[kayjh]

Some municipalities require compressor units to be placed a minimum distance from the property line and a minimum distance from a window in a neighboring property.

In my city, the compressor must be more than 2 feet from my property line and no closer than 15' from any room with a window on an adjoining property.

May be this will help your cause as it is unlikely your new neighbor will be going to any extra expense at this point to move the units, seeing that the wiring has been done already.

[docholiday]

His guy is right, long lines detract from the efficiency, reliability and capacity of the system. Your guy is wrong.

Unless he installs a real piece of crap or doesnt follow the charging and airflow charts his unit should not be too loud. Local ordanances prevent that. It will on the otherhand be a new noise you are not used to hearing but a little flexibility on your behalf is not too much to ask either. I'm sure he'd be willing to install a higher end unit if you chipped in to pay for the difference. Maybe you should have bought the lot beofre he did if you wanted to live in seclusion. You may want to install a 6 foot privacy fence, I suspect the air conditioner will only be one of many complaints you have with neighbors.

[bertrand]

Originally posted by badbatch
Most new air conditioners are so quiet you won't even notice them running.

I am not an HVAC pro - but I have read this more than once here and would have to disagree with these kinds of statements. I think this is misleading to consumers.

You can tell the 3 ton unit Infinity 18 unit I bought last year is running - both outside for sure, and to a small extent inside my bedroom. I had two different top of the line Carrier dealers tell me that the noise level I was hearing was normal for Infinity AC units.

Out of frustration I got a sound meter, the spec sheets, and ARI 270 and 275 sound rating standards. We can debate what is quiet, but product specs can't be argued with. The sound rating of most new AC units appear to be rated in the 69-74 dba rating. My reading confirmed the carrier spec of around 69-70 dbA which are equal at at both low and high speed.

Normal human conversation is around 60dba. Whispering is 30dba. Most quiet homes are around 40dba. An interesting fact is that for every 3 dba increase - the human perceived sound power level doubles. So a new AC unit (at 69-72 dba) will be much times louder than a normal human conversation -equal to a noisey resturant or vaccum cleaner.

[Edited by bertrand on 07-05-2006 at 03:38 PM]

[thomefan2579]

I have a 14 seer goodman unit i installed in 6/05 it is so quite i can barley hear the fan running from the deck which is 10 feet away. the systems are very quite the trane 19i is the quitest ive ever seen in general all the ac's are quite compared to the old ones. and betrand not to contradict you but i have been in the field for over 8 years and have seen and heard many more a/cs then you have ever dreamed of

[bertrand]

Originally posted by thomefan2579
I have a 14 seer goodman unit i installed in 6/05 it is so quite i can barley hear the fan running from the deck which is 10 feet away. the systems are very quite the trane 19i is the quitest ive ever seen in general all the ac's are quite compared to the old ones. and betrand not to contradict you but i have been in the field for over 8 years and have seen and heard many more a/cs then you have ever dreamed of

By no means do I wish to contradict you either - but it is relative. To an experienced HVAC residential contractor - I have no doubt the new units these days are quieter – much so – and that is your basis for what quiet is.

I can say compared to my old unit – the infinity 18 unit is quieter.

I would just like to stick to real sound specs and ratings rather comparisons to old (80 dba) units. 69-72 dba is not ”quiet” and never will be.

[bertrand]

Originally posted by acefurnacefixer
http://www.lennox.com/products/specs.asp?model=XC21
69 db

http://www.residential.carrier.com/products/acheatpumps/ac/infinity.shtml

70 db

Both are whisper quiet.....but on a new construction I would bet they are putting in a plane jane 13 seer unit.

Per past discussion - whispering is 30dba or less. If a carrier or lennox unit was truely "whisper quiet" - then they would be rated at 30 dba and not 70dba.

Here are some more sound comparisons for the average consumer to understand what his new AC unit sound rating will compare to.

Dishwasher 75
Vacuum Cleaner 70
Hair Dryer 70
Normal Conversation 50-65
Quiet Office 50-60
Refrigerator Humming 40
Whisper 30

Sound does drop off significantly with distance for AC units - at 10 foot the drop would be around 18 dba taking a 69 dba unit down to almost 50 dba which I would agree would start to be quiet. In addition, transmission through walls or windows would have notable reduction in sound levels (20 db or more).

[Edited by bertrand on 07-06-2006 at 04:55 AM]

[Irishmist]

Don't overlook the obvious in this discussion. There are here, and there may be also where you live, restrictions about where the unit can be located. If in doubt, YOU call in and see what the restrictions are. There are minimums here that the unit can be located from the property line, so the fact that your patio is on the same side may be a moot issue if the location does not comply with the restriction. Check it out. Also, sound and noise are in the ear of the beholder! What is objectionable to one person is acceptable to another and visa versa. Like fences, good (acceptable) sound levels from the a/c unt make for good neighbors. All the best, John.