Air conditioner next to patio

17 years ago

Hello, I'd love some suggestions as to what I can do to help hide and decrease the noise from my AC unit. It's 2 feet from my covered back porch. We love to eat on the porch and it's an extended living area for us but when the AC is running it's annoying and although not really noisy it's more difficult to hear and carry on a conversion.

The area between the unit and the porch is full shade with good light. I've thought of putting a trellis with a shade vine at the porch edge which would allow for easy access to the unit and still allow good air flow. Would that help decrease the noice at all?? Any ideas as to what would grow (I LOVE flowering anything) or is there a better alternative?

If anyone has pics I'd LOVE to see what you've done in your shade AC area!

Thank You SOOOO much,

Sunny

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Comments (6)

razorback33
17 years ago
A trellis w/vine at the edge of the porch would shield the A/C unit from view, but would do little in the way of noise abatement.
I presume you only use the area when outdoor temperatures are comfortable. If so, why not turn the A/C off during that time? If your home is reasonably well insulated, the indoor temperature should only rise a few degrees. Since conditioned air is lower in humidity, it will still feel cooler inside, when you return.
Seems that you had an A/C installer like the one I started with, and dismissed!
Rb
wiley0
17 years ago
While this won't 'shade' you from the noise, it might help.

I assume you are not out on the porch for long periods like 4 hrs straight, but rather an hour or so in the eveningtime.

When you want the quietness, turn the thermostat down about 5 degrees and turn the fan blower to the 'on' position. This should recirculate some cooler air and it should take awhile before the house temp and humidity rise to an uncomfortable level. Of course if you are way down south this may not apply but it could work in the northern climes.
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whoopdedeaux
17 years ago
Sunny - I can't help you with the noise abatement, but if you want a good evergreen vine for shade in our Texas climate, you might check out Star Jasmine, Crossvine or Coral Honeysuckle. Good Luck!
MiMi
15 years ago
I realize this is an old post.. but a word of warning here... trust me.. do not block the air flow around your ac unit.. been there done that.. cost a new compressor...
Resident-Reviewer
14 years ago
Trellis with a shade vine might help a bit to insulate from the noise. See, any opening will let some of the sound in.

Better, you could use sound proof curtains for the patio, if you would use them all around the porch.

You may want to check the site I will write in. The soundproof curtains or soundproof blankets won't remove all the noise, but they can make the AC noise bearable.

Here is a link that might be useful: Soundproof Curtains
cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
14 years ago
A fountain on the patio will also mask the AC noise. I have a very simple Zen-like one and it is wonderful.