How To Quiet Your AC to Normal Conversation Volume

Have you ever tried any of these steps? What did you find to work best for you?

I recently cleaned my compressor coils. Just as instructed, it upped the unit’s efficiency and reduced the noise. Great advice. Great video.

Decibels are logarithmic, so that 35 point difference in db levels is more than three times the loudness level from baseline. That is an incredible difference.

Great videos - watched them both. You're video is the first one that I've every watched which talked about the double coils. I've used the cleaner that you recommend with good results but only on the outside as I've been hesitant "pop the top" and clean the inside. Well worth watching.

Glad you addressed cleaning the coils

10:42 Yeah you do. I actually stumbled on another video by some knucklehead who said simply to spray off the outside of the coils with a hose (bare water, no cleaner). Your video on cleaning the coils was the most comprehensive one I've seen. Very helpful.

Awesome video. My AC unit is.. quite a clamor. Thanks for the tips and advices. Time for spring cleaning and prepping for summer.

decibels are a logarithmic scale, which means an increase of 10dB is actually a doubling in volume. So just going from 96dB to 84dB is less than half the noise! Amazing how much potential there is to reduce noise pollution with a few tricks. Thanks for sharing that!

Never cleaned my coils since I bought my house 4 years ago. Coils were 75% completely clogged. Followed your coil cleaning guide, and the thing runs SOOOOOOOOO MUCH quieter! Although I'm sure the compressor running harder contributes some additional noise, I think the majority of the noise reduction (at least in my case) comes from the fact that the air is able to flow much more easily through the fin stack now that it's clean. When it was clogged up, the fan were creating a lot more negative pressure inside the unit. That causes some air to try to suck it's way back into the unit around the fan shroud, creating much more turbulent air flow, and oscillating pressure waves, leading to much louder exhaust fan noise. The reason I'm thinking most of this noise is coming from the fan was that the unit was really loud on start up, meaning the compressor shouldn't have been running super hard since the fins weren't heat soaked yet. After cleaning, it was super quiet, right from start up, and after 2 hours of continuous use!

Pro tip,I always carry a box woth cerrated/knurled screws,they grip when tight,they are very hard to strip even with a screw gun.I always place a unit as far away from ears as possible and most new units are very quiet anyhow! 40 to 60 db

Cleaning the coiled really made a difference! I need to know how to safely clean outside coils. Take the lid off safely but we just bought a new brand new ac unit so it comes with 2 free visits.

they work great...I've seen old ones, that caused no problem...I've installed new ones and they are very nice

Thank you for this video. It was loose and stripped screws, an easy fix. I bet a tech used his cordless to put this unit back together. Now my system is much quieter.

Over all a good video. I agree with bosspanther. Be careful putting a sound blanket on. Some compressors are not designed for it and relies on unimpeded heat transfer. Many compressors come from the factory with a blanket, some can use a field installed blanket others prohibit a blanket and could void the warranty.

A large magnet to keep track of all the screws can prevent frustrated digging around in the dirt. Missing screws create rattles.

Cleaning the condenser alone made my unit incredibly quieter. The side facing the house was pretty much fully covered from dust, grass & grime making the fan spin faster to keep the high side pressure within tolerance. Dropped the temp at the handler 2 degrees as well. Stays at 48 even when it's hot as hell.

Love it, thanks! Our unit is right next to my kid's room. Make things a little nicer for them going forward

We got a brand new Carrier unit a few years ago and we were stunned by how noisy it was right out of the box. I'm sure the coils could use a deep clean by now but I'm really excited to try the compressor blanket. As it is now, it's really hard to sit out on the patio and talk with someone when the AC is running. Thank you for the video!

One other thing is to check the bolts and rubber feet on the bottom of the compressor. The bolts can loosen and the feet can rot, all letting things rattle. The reduction in sound in this video is amazing!!!

Mine was about a year old, but very loud, primarily at startup. Called an AC company and he tightened the wire connectors on the breakers, which silenced the noise. He said they can loosen over time and if they were not torqued correctly at install.