An air conditioner is an excellent addition to your home. During winter or summer, an AC will be your lifesaver. Depending on when you had your air conditioning system installed, the components of your AC might start to fail due to age. In addition, moving parts may run out of lubrication and develop some noise when running. Typically, a noisy air conditioner will cause you more comfort than it will comfort you.
This might cause you to feel frustrated and even contemplate selling or scrapping the entire unit. However, instead of pulling the plug on your air conditioner, you can try a few tricks to quieten the air conditioner. This is always a great idea, especially since replacing the whole air conditioner could be very expensive. In this article, we get to give you a few tips that will help you maintain the quiet around your home.
Here we will cover the following air conditioners:
- Outdoor air conditioner
- Indoor air conditioner
- Window air conditioner
1. Quieting a Window Air Conditioning System
Typically, if your window air conditioner produces some noise, the probable causes are the spaces and openings around the unit. Your provider might have left gaps and holes around the window air conditioner when installing the air conditioner. When the window air conditioning system is running, the fans and the compressor tend to vibrate. The air conditioner’s gaps accentuate this vibration, and then the solid material makes the AC transfer the noise to your house.
To fix this problem, you can attempt to seal the openings and spaces around the AC. Essentially, you will be blocking off the noise from the air conditioner and keeping your house free of external noise. How do I seal the spaces? Well, to seal the cracks and openings, you can use sealing materials such as insulation foam. You evaluate the air conditioner frame for openings and then add the insulation material. Insulation foam is an excellent choice for this particular job. All you have to do is get an insulation foam of about two to three inches in thickness and place it in the openings.
One reason insulation foam is a great choice is the fact that it can be easily installed. In addition, removing it is easier and does not require any expert knowledge. Apart from insulation foam, you can also use acrylic material. This material should also be of similar measurements. You get to place the air conditioner squarely against the space available with an acrylic sheet. This prevents your air conditioner from moving and also absorbs any noise produced from the AC’s vibrations. With new technology, new types of acrylic have been made available. These sheets are fixed with internal tubing that absorbs and blocks noise from your air conditioner.
Other Ways of Quietening Your Air Conditioner
- Check for loose fittings and fasten them accordingly.
- Ensure that your air conditioner sits squarely on the frame.
- Fasten back the loose screws.
- Straighten the fan blades.
- Check for debris in the air conditioner fan.
- Lubricate the fan’s motor to alleviate the screeching sounds.
- Remove the dust that could have settled on the coil fins.
2. Quieting a Noisy Indoor AC
When the noise comes from your indoor air conditioning unit, you will have the worst experience. Essentially, your working or living environment will be the opposite or peaceful. When your indoor air conditioner is the source of noise, then you might consider getting a professional to check your blower fan motor. This motor is majorly responsible for collecting the warm air inside your home and sending it to the outdoor unit for cooling.
In addition, the motor ensures that cool air can be circulated inside your home. Though the blower is always the main suspect, you can also get your indoor air conditioner checked for a faulty switching process in the compressor. A faulty switching involves continuous turning on and off that produces noisy switching sounds. To counter this problem, you can use mass-loaded vinyl – popularly known as MLV—to soundproof your living or working space. An MLV is placed against the walls to insulate against sound entry. The following are other methods through which you can minimize noise from an indoor air conditioner.
- Change the location of the air conditioner.
- Prevent echo by installing the air conditioner away from vents and air ducts.
- Get a professional to fix the air conditioner.
- Reduce the impact of the noise by placing the AC away from usable spaces.
- Fasten any loose fittings.
3. Quieting a Noisy Outdoor Air Conditioner
With a noisy outdoor air conditioning unit, you risk getting sued for noise disturbance. Simply put, a noisy outdoor air conditioner is not a problem only for you. Therefore, you should consider fixing the noisy outdoor unit for your comfort and peace as soon as possible. In this particular case, the most probable culprit is always the unit compressor. In other situations, a disfigured fan is the problem. Mainly, most noise problems emanating from an outdoor unit are caused by either electrical or structural issues. Some of these causes are:
- A faulty compressor that produces noise during operation
- Capacitor and wiring problems – cause buzzing sounds
- Bent rotor blades on the fans – responsible for banging noises
- Leaking AC fluid (refrigerant) – causes a hissing noise
- Poor-fitting of the air conditioner unit on its frame
To fix these problems, you will need to contact a professional. Attempting to fix the electrical issues can be dangerous for you and the air conditioner.
4. What Are the Other Ways of Quieting a Noisy Air Conditioner?
Apart from the above methods, you can reduce the noise from your air conditioner through simple tricks easily achievable using locally available material. In essence, you will be soundproofing your air conditioner to ensure that noise does not escape. The following are the additional methods.
Use a Soundproofing Blanket
Fixing most of the new generation air conditioners is quite a cakewalk, especially if there are no internal components involved. However, with old air conditioners, the materials and structure of the AC cannot do much to protect you from the noise. Old models did not employ much padding to handle compressor and fan vibrations. Since this is simply a structural problem and not an electrical problem, you can use a blanket to muffle the noise. It is an easily implementable option.
Use Noise Barriers
If you have tried all the options and nothing works, then a noise barrier will do the trick. Though it could be considered overkill, a noise barrier ensures that the noise produced by the AC remains at the AC.
Use an Air Conditioning Fence
If you have surrounded your AC with a noise barrier, installing an AC fence will be pretty easy. Simply add soundproofing material to the noise barrier, and you won’t have to worry about noise again.
Noise could be a discomfort in the same way that sweltering heat is. For this reason, you should try to minimize the noise that is coming from your AC as soon as possible. If nothing works, calling an expert is a great option. At Beltway Air Conditioning & Heating, we offer HVAC installation, maintenance, and repair to clients around Columbia, Hanover, Ellicott City, and the surrounding areas. To help you solve your noisy AC problem, call us today at Beltway Air Conditioning & Heating and get assistance.
