Customer Rating: - Delighted (and a little amazed): 6,000 BTU FAA067P7A
THE PROBLEM
I'm in Salt Lake City, in an unshaded 10th floor apartment with an L-shaped 366 square foot living room. The short side of the L and the adjacent kitchen face west. Until yesterday I relied on a 12,000 BTU Sharp window unit ("The Beast") facing down the long side of the L, and whose compressor sounded like a down-shifting tractor-trailer, isn't energy star compliant, and has no energy-saving features. To cool the short side of the L and the kitchen I had to run one fan to blow the cool air across the room and a second to blow from there into the kitchen. Even with that plus reflective film on the west windows that area didn't really get cool in the afternoons.

INSTALLATION
After a lot of research and with some trepidation I bought this unit (the 6,000 BTU--reviews for the 8,000 BTU DON"T APPLY to this unit!!) to cool just the western part of the living area. I didn't expect it to be quiet, just quieter than the Beast, and hoped it'd save me from running the Beast earlier in the day and in the evening. I got it from a big regional furniture and housewares store for $139, $30 off the list price.

After letting the unit sit upright for 24 hours I did my usual customization of my window sills; they've got thin metal frames and are too narrow to use the accordion wings, so I need to lay a piece of wood on the bottom to keep the unit from resting directly on the window sill and support the top of the A/C with another piece of wood. Aside from that, the installation is the same as a regular wooden-framed sash window. I upgrade the stick-on foam tape, though. The first time you install one of these it'll take some fiddling to get it cushioned, positioned & adjusted, but once you get it right it'll be easier to remove and reinstall it.

RESULTS--THE BIG SURPRISE!
So, I turn the thing on. A few minutes later the air is cold, but wait a minute, where's the compressor noise? I turned it to fan-only and the sound didn't appear to change. I turned it back to cool and finally, by listening very carefully next to the window, I noticed a very slight hum added to the fan, which is the quietest A/C fan I've ever heard. It quickly cooled that corner of the apartment, and even on low the air reaches 15 feet into the kitchen, which chills nicely too. On high, there's very normal sounding but unobtrusive fan noise; on low, it's amazingly quiet. I can talk on the phone right next to it, don't have to turn the TV up, and can hardly hear it from across the room.

The fins don't do a great job of directing the air left and right, but I've yet to meet a window A/C that does better. However they do a good job of directing air upwards when you tilt the fin assemblies. The unit doesn't project air very strongly. It's enough to reach the very hot kitchen 15 feet away but not enough to circulate air well in the room on its own. My ceiling fan does that for me; a small fan directed straight at the ceiling of your bedroom will do the same for you. Because this is a desert I don't get sloshing noises, though it can feel a little humid if the compressor cycles off for a long time and the fan is running.

I'm going to get another of these to replace the Sharp unit; that'll give me a total of 12,000 BTU's for a tiny fraction of the noise. Now that I know how incredibly quiet this thing is I'll also get one for the bedroom to replace the 8,000 BTU FAA084P7A, which is way too loud.

TIPS (YOU KNOW YOU WANT THEM!)

WAIT 24 HOURS!! Noone at the store will tell you this, and I don't even think it's in the user manual, but start off by making sure the compressor lubricant is in the bottom. Otherwise you're likely to permanently damage the compressor the minute you turn it on, which means it'll be louder and less effective. If you're absolutely, positively sure that the unit was stored and transported right side up, go ahead and put it in. If not, DON'T TURN IT ON until it's been sitting right side up for at least 24 hours.

Reduce Vibration:
All window A/C units have compressors and fans, and all compressors and fans vibrate. The trick is to minimize how much vibration is transmitted from the metal A/C housing to the window and wall, both of which can vibrate like a drum.

The unit comes with stick-on strips of open-cell foam to 1) reduce vibration and 2) seal off drafts. I always upgrade this to stick-on closed-cell foam tape like M-D Building Products Sponge Rubber Tape, 3/8-by-1/2-Inch-by-10 feet, Closed Cell, Black #06619 (you can find this stuff at any hardware store). I put it at the bottom and top of the metal A/C housing and anywhere else the housing contacts the window or wall. You'll be amazed at the difference this little improvement makes.

The Right Angle:
Make sure the unit is installed at the correct angle. Use the slots in the housing that the accordion thingies fit into; they should be exactly perpendicular. The top of the housing may tilt down a little even when the angle is right, and the plastic front is rarely vertical; that's OK, they're designed to be that way. NOT doing this can make the fan and compressor louder or cause the sloshing problem people have if the thing is tilted so that water hits the fan. I've never had a problem with this in a normal wooden sash window, but if it doesn't automatically level itself, use shims at the top or bottom to even it up.

---

Customer Rating: - Decent
It works fairly well and I like having the remote. It certainly saved me on those 100 degree days, that's for sure. The filter light comes on more often than I would expect it to, but I suppose living in NY, the air quality isn't as great as other places. I put it in a small room, but it still doesn't seem to get it as cold as it could. Best when you can be right in front of it, otherwise plan to still be a little hot.

---

Customer Rating: - Great price, works great
We purchased this unit before a massive heatwave in NYC, and it saved us. we use it to cool a rather large bedroom (22 x 18), mostly at night, which it does well. If we use it during the day, we use the energy saver feature; at night, this is a little noisy, so we leave it on "cool". It will *not* cool your entire house, but if you have a contained space it works well. Have not yet seen an electricity bill, although it claims to be inexpensive to run. Highly recommended!

---

Customer Rating: - Coolin' A/C!
My previous A/C gave up the ghost! Set at the lowest temp and on high it acted as if I it was set at low 72 - better than the 100 / humid temperature outside, but not good enough for me. It also dripped water inside constantly. I research trying to find a better on; at an affordable price and found this one was rating high in Consumer Reports. Once installed and turned on, I realized how bad my previous A/C was from the beginning. It never cooled my room the way this one does. I sometimes find myself cold - and it's set to low 72! The noise is very bearable; just a white noise with a gentle noise from the motor tuning on and off. i highly recommend this. I remember reading the reviews beforehand and I think someone complained about it not working after installed. It's not a defect from the A/C - probably got damaged in transit or something (although I don't know how, as it's very well packaged) They should have just sent it back (although I KNOW that's a pain) not given it a bad review.