The Quietest Window Air Conditioners: Which One to Buy
Buy the Midea MAW06V1UBL ($314.99 on Amazon), 6,000 BTU: rated 32 dBA (the maker does not say which mode), the lowest figure of any window AC on Amazon today. The quietest with a published cooling figure is the TCL H8W4KW: 40 dBA while cooling.
Our pick: quietest on Amazon today
Midea MAW06V1UBL
$314.99 on Amazon
Check price on Amazon- 32 dBA (the maker does not say which mode), by the maker's own figure. 8 certified window ACs list the same 32 dBA figure; 1 of them is on Amazon today.
- 6,000 BTU, CEER 15.1, about $56 a year to run.
The quietest at your size
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$249.95 on AmazonQuietest at 8,000 BTU
TCL H8W4KW
40 dBA while cooling (32 dBA with only the fan running). CEER 15, about $75 a year to run.
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$619 on AmazonQuietest at 10,000 BTU
Friedrich CCV10A10A
42 dBA while cooling (32 dBA with only the fan running). CEER 15, about $94 a year to run.
How makers measure noise
Makers do not measure noise the same way. TCL and Friedrich publish two figures, one with only the fan running and a higher one while cooling; Hisense lists its fan speeds; most Midea pages give one "as low as" figure without saying the mode. We rank on the cooling figure where there is one, and every number says which it is. No test program rates room-AC noise, so treat a few dBA as a tie.
What makes a window AC quiet
Two things. An inverter compressor slows down instead of switching on and off, so it hums instead of clunking. A U-shaped design puts the noisy compressor outside the window, with the window closing in the gap between the halves. Every 10 dBA is about twice as loud to the ear.
Size it first
Buy the size your room needs before you shop for quiet: a unit that is too small runs flat out, and that is its loudest. ENERGY STAR's sizing chart for an 8-foot ceiling. Add 10% for a very sunny room, take 10% off for a shaded one, add 600 BTU for each regular user over two, and 4,000 BTU for a kitchen. Bigger is not better: an oversized unit cools the room before it dries the air, so the room feels damp. The BTU calculator does the math for your room.
Every window AC with a published noise figure on Amazon today (7)
| Unit | Quietest (dBA) | Size | CEER | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midea MAW06V1UBL | 32 (mode not stated) | 6,000 BTU | 15.1 | $314.99 | Buy |
| TCL H8W4KW | 40 cooling (32 fan only) | 8,000 BTU | 15 | $249.95 | Buy |
 Friedrich CCV08A10A | 42 cooling (32 fan only) | 8,000 BTU | 15 | $499 | Buy |
| Friedrich CCV10A10A | 42 cooling (32 fan only) | 10,000 BTU | 15 | $619 | Buy |
 Friedrich CCV15A10A | 42 cooling (32 fan only) | 15,000 BTU | 14.4 | $760.41 | Buy |
 Midea MAW08HV1CWT | 45 (mode not stated) | 8,000 BTU | 14.5 | $399.99 | Buy |
 Hisense AW1422TW1W | 52 at low fan | 14,000 BTU | 15 | $549 | Buy |
Noise is the maker's own figure, with its mode; no program certifies room-AC noise. CEER is the certified DOE efficiency rating. Prices read on Amazon today.
Questions buyers ask
- What is the quietest window air conditioner?
- On Amazon today, the Midea MAW06V1UBL: 32 dBA (the maker does not say which mode). Among units whose maker gives a cooling figure, the TCL H8W4KW is the quietest at 40 dBA while cooling.
- Is a fan-only dBA figure the same as cooling?
- No. With only the fan running, the compressor is off, so the unit is quieter than when it cools. TCL and Friedrich publish both, and their cooling figure is the higher one. Compare cooling with cooling.
- Are U-shaped window ACs quieter?
- Usually, because the compressor sits outside the window. Compare the published dBA figures and their mode, since they come from the makers, not a test lab.
Every certified window AC with a published noise figure (41)
The full certified list, on Amazon or not, ranked the same way: the cooling figure where the maker gives one, else the one figure it publishes. Use it to check a unit you see in a store. The table shows the 20 quietest; the full product list has all 41.
The 20 quietest of 41 certified units · 3 with a verified place to buy
| Brand & model | dBA | Certified BTU | CEER | Price | To run | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Midea 1010451315 | 32 (mode not stated) | 8,000 | 16.0 | — | $71/yr | — |
| Midea 1010451379 | 32 (mode not stated) | 12,000 | 15.2 | — | $111/yr | — |
| Midea 1010451479 | 32 (mode not stated) | 10,000 | 16.0 | — | $88/yr | — |
| Midea MAW06V1QWT | 32 at low fan | 6,000 | 15.1 | — | $56/yr | — |
| Midea MAW06V1UBL | 32 (mode not stated) | 6,000 | 15.1 | $315 | $56/yr | Buy |
| Midea MAW08U2QWT | 32 (mode not stated) | 8,000 | 16.0 | — | $71/yr | — |
| Midea MAW10U2QWT | 32 (mode not stated) | 10,000 | 16.0 | — | $88/yr | — |
| Midea MAW12U2QWT | 32 (mode not stated) | 12,000 | 15.2 | — | $111/yr | — |
| TCL H10W4KW | 40 cooling (32 fan only) | 10,000 | 15.0 | — | $94/yr | — |
| TCL H10W4KW-CA | 40 cooling (32 fan only) | 10,000 | 15.0 | — | $94/yr | — |
| TCL H10W4MW | 40 (mode not stated) | 10,000 | 15.0 | — | $94/yr | — |
| TCL H12W4KW | 40 cooling (38 fan only) | 12,000 | 15.0 | — | $113/yr | — |
| TCL H12W4KW-CA | 40 cooling (38 fan only) | 12,000 | 15.0 | — | $113/yr | — |
| TCL H12W4MW | 40 (mode not stated) | 12,000 | 15.0 | — | $113/yr | — |
| TCL H15W4KW | 40 cooling (36 fan only) | 15,000 | 14.4 | — | $147/yr | — |
| TCL H15W4KW-CA | 40 cooling (36 fan only) | 15,000 | 14.4 | — | $147/yr | — |
| TCL H8W4KW | 40 cooling (32 fan only) | 8,000 | 15.0 | $250 | $75/yr | Buy |
| TCL H8W4KW-CA | 40 cooling (32 fan only) | 8,000 | 15.0 | $250 | $75/yr | Buy |
| TCL H8W4MW | 40 (mode not stated) | 8,000 | 15.0 | — | $75/yr | — |
| Hisense AHW0823TW1W | 41 at low fan | 8,000 | 15.0 | — | $75/yr | — |
CEER and capacity are certified ENERGY STAR / DOE values. Yearly running cost is computed by us from the certified power draw and EIA average electricity prices; see methodology. Quietest setting is the maker's own published figure; a dash means none is published. A price shows only for a listing read on Amazon today.