# Air conditioner bothering neighbors



## hsharr (May 24, 2018)

We're renting in Barcelona. When we visited the flat, the owner told us it wouldn't be a problem to install air conditioning on the inner patio. He has the same a few floors up. We got his written permission, per the lease, and went ahead with the install. When the installers came, our porter was a bit concerned but once he realized we had permission from the owner he said it was no problem.

Well, yesterday the neighbor below came to complain that he couldn't sleep with the noise. And even that it was bringing heat (although the heat should go up, no?). We feel bad and also a bit stupid for not thinking about it. Well, the installer told us they had to put it in a sort of inconvenient spot to avoid bothering the neighbors, and we agreed, but I guess it's still a bother.

We want to be respectful and handle this appropriately without escalation, but also we're not used to the heat, we just spent a lot of money on this, and my wife is pregnant and not sleeping well.

The neighbor suggested we move it to the front terrace but we already ran all the pipes and we can't afford a reinstall. Also that would probably just bother someone else. Not sure what else we can do. We could look into moving it a bit further from their window but probably it won't make much difference. We hear everything on the inner patio even several floors up--another AC unit, some laundry, etc. Barring that I guess we turn it off after 11pm which sucks, but is that what people do here? Doing some googling with the aid of google translate it seems that may be the case...

Any other advice?


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## bikerboy123 (Sep 30, 2018)

i just googled/you tubed, 'how to quieten an air conditioner', quite a few vids and answers there.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

Oh dear. Our neighbours often run theirs all night (they have a small child) but they are the other side of the road, so not such a problem. But like all background noise (dogs, traffic etc) one gets used to it after a while. Was the neighbour polite about his complaint, or was he threatening a denuncia? I would hold your ground for a while, given your wife's situation. Or turn it off at midnight, 11 pm is very early!


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## hsharr (May 24, 2018)

Yes he was polite but also surprised that we had permission, saying something like "nothing like this ever happened before". Also surprised that we are renters for some reason. We left it like we would see if we could do anything but didn't offer anything specific. Communication was difficult though so it's hard to tell. But yes he was polite not angry.

Right now we just feel guilty and want to be good neighbors. I wouldn't be surprised if he takes it up to some community board (which we assume exists but we were never told anything about it) eventually if we do nothing. Not sure what would happen but we want to avoid that kind of stress altogether. We already have had some tension with the owner...

He wanted us to take it to the front terrace which is not going to happen. So I was hoping to offer some conciliation to show we are trying and hopefully prevent escalation.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

I'm wondering if the owner himself got permission from the community board (and presumably the Ayuntamiento). if not, perhaps the board needs to take it up with him, if it ever gets that far.

In the meantime I guess you have to balance getting a good night's sleep against potentially frosty relations with the neighbour. Hopefully he'll get used to it quickly, but I'd offer to turn it off at midnight if he comes round again. And maybe he'll go on vacation during August, and by September it will be cooler. Good luck!


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## bikerboy123 (Sep 30, 2018)

if hubby is handy then get him to build a 'baffle box' around it, if not get a handy man in to build it.


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## bikerboy123 (Sep 30, 2018)

bikerboy123 said:


> if hubby is handy then get him to build a 'baffle box' around it, if not get a handy man in to build it.


or handy woman,,, jeez that was close phew!


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## Love Karma (Oct 10, 2018)

bikerboy123 said:


> or handy woman,,, jeez that was close phew!


Handy Person ......... even that maybe pounced on these days


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## skip o (Aug 1, 2011)

Look into insulation too, if it is possible. Great insulation, which is rare here, will help keep your home cool and have your AC run less often. Most homes don't meet the already dreadfully low insulation standards here. 

Also, if it is applicable, stick a fan in the window on one side of your apartment and leave a window or windows open on the other side to pull cool air in anytime the outside air is cooler than the air inside the home. I try to do that at night and then turn the fan off and close the windows in the morning so the cool air stays inside for a few more hours. 

Any fan pointed directly at your bed, without or with AC, is going to keep you a couple of degrees cooler too than no fan.

I have lived in different climates and can getaway with using my AC about half as often as my neighbors because of good insulation and window/fan manipulation.


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## hsharr (May 24, 2018)

Thanks for the advice. Yeah I think if we get some fans we'll be able to avoid running the AC at night. Hopefully that's a good enough compromise for our neighbor. I'll also try to see if it's possible to block the noise at all or redirect the heat output.


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## baldilocks (Mar 7, 2010)

hsharr said:


> Thanks for the advice. Yeah I think if we get some fans we'll be able to avoid running the AC at night. Hopefully that's a good enough compromise for our neighbor. I'll also try to see if it's possible to block the noise at all or redirect the heat output.


as far as night-time is concerned we use the a/c for about 10-15 minutes to introduce some cold air and then use fans on low setting to circulate the cold air and that usually cools everything enough to be able to get to sleep and then, come morning we open everything up to introduce the early-morning cool air, closing windows and persianas before the heat of the day starts building up then use low speed fans to keep air circulating


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## Monkey104 (Aug 24, 2014)

We normally put the aircon on in the bedroom half hour before bedtime. When we go to bed we turn the aircon off and turn on the ceiling fan.


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## Pesky Wesky (May 10, 2009)

hsharr said:


> We're renting in Barcelona. When we visited the flat, the owner told us it wouldn't be a problem to install air conditioning on the inner patio. He has the same a few floors up. We got his written permission, per the lease, and went ahead with the install. When the installers came, our porter was a bit concerned but once he realized we had permission from the owner he said it was no problem.
> 
> Well, yesterday the neighbor below came to complain that he couldn't sleep with the noise. And even that it was bringing heat (although the heat should go up, no?). We feel bad and also a bit stupid for not thinking about it. Well, the installer told us they had to put it in a sort of inconvenient spot to avoid bothering the neighbors, and we agreed, but I guess it's still a bother.
> 
> ...


I think there are at least 3 issues here:
Noise - Could that be overcome somewhat by the use of AC and then fans as I think others have said?
Heat - AC units do indeed whack out heat and before it goes up it might well be directed down. If I was the neighbour I would not be happy about that, so I think it needs to be followed up and as you say perhaps it can be redirected.
Permission - This is the owner's problem, but it does seem strange that the owner more or less said go ahead and do it. This is something that has to be agreed by the "comunidad" so if the instalation as a whole is questioned then you need to get him involved and get him to talk directly to the neighbours.


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## Rabbitcat (Aug 31, 2014)

Have given this some thought and as your neighbours seem to be obnoxious ****s my solution is.....

[email protected]@k em!!


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## bikerboy123 (Sep 30, 2018)

Rabbitcat said:


> Have given this some thought and as your neighbours seem to be obnoxious ****s my solution is.....
> 
> [email protected]@k em!!


big respect to your answer, how did you get the word **** past the mods, I posted **** and it was blocked?


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## bikerboy123 (Sep 30, 2018)

bikerboy123 said:


> big respect to your answer, how did you get the word **** past the mods, I posted **** and it was blocked?


and again!!!!!


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

bikerboy123 said:


> and again!!!!!


It isn't the mods, it's an automatic filter.
Presumably the other word hasn't been filtered.


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## Simply Simon (Jan 18, 2019)

It's probably daft but we leave ours on the very lowest fan setting at about 24 degrees for hours and the timer turning the bedroom one off at about 2.30am, the noise from the units is not then noticeable and the house is comfortable. I expect the next Iberdola bill is going to make me want have a lie down in a cool room ......

Our really nice German neighbours say they haven't used theirs much yet and they have only just started using their pool as it has been too chilly! They've been here here 20 years so hopefully we'll get more used to the heat like them and save a euro or two on the lecky bill.


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## windwalker (Dec 21, 2009)

Maybe it's that in the US AC is very common in hot weather, but that's less true in Spain. Here in the hot Arizona desert, I hear neighbors' AC running even though their houses are not that close by. So we are quite used to hearing that kind of sound. If you introduce a new and persistent sound in an apartment there, it could seem very irritating to neighbors.


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## Nomoss (Nov 25, 2016)

Many air conditioning outside units make more noise than they should because of bad installation.

The unit should be supported on proper vibration insulating rubber mounts, and internal components such as the compressor should also be on rubber mountings, and care taken that no vibrating items like pipework are touching the casing, which can act as a sounding board, amplifying the noise.

Also, supporting brackets fixed to relatively flimsy walls (only one brick or similar in thickness) can transmit vibration to the wall, considerably increasing the noise.

If the noise is still unacceptable after checking all these points, providing there is enough space, sound absorbing panels may be placed around the unit, taking care not to block air flow to and from it.

I have installed this sound insulation around quite large diesel engines on boats, together with vibration absorbing engine mounts, resulting in so much noise reduction that the engines could no longer be heard from the cockpit or accommodation.

https://www.chmarine.com/halyard-sound-insulation/


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## KleenBreeze (Jul 14, 2019)

hsharr said:


> We're renting in Barcelona. When we visited the flat, the owner told us it wouldn't be a problem to install air conditioning on the inner patio. He has the same a few floors up. We got his written permission, per the lease, and went ahead with the install. When the installers came, our porter was a bit concerned but once he realized we had permission from the owner he said it was no problem.
> 
> Well, yesterday the neighbor below came to complain that he couldn't sleep with the noise. And even that it was bringing heat (although the heat should go up, no?). We feel bad and also a bit stupid for not thinking about it. Well, the installer told us they had to put it in a sort of inconvenient spot to avoid bothering the neighbors, and we agreed, but I guess it's still a bother.
> 
> ...


No advice but a suggestion: If you wanted to you could use the reefer unit to cool your place down through the afternoon and early evening, then shut all the windows until noon the next day. You will stay cool, save money and possibly satisfy your neighbor. 
I bet it really sucks to be pregnant and too hot....


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## bikerboy123 (Sep 30, 2018)

Nomoss said:


> Many air conditioning outside units make more noise than they should because of bad installation.
> 
> The unit should be supported on proper vibration insulating rubber mounts, and internal components such as the compressor should also be on rubber mountings, and care taken that no vibrating items like pipework are touching the casing, which can act as a sounding board, amplifying the noise.
> 
> ...


I did recommend building a 'baffle box' around it myself, with as you say adequate air holes.


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## Nomoss (Nov 25, 2016)

Good for you

A contributor suggesting a simple solution.

There's not many of us left.


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## 95995 (May 16, 2010)

You could look into buying one of those Dyson Pure/Cool thingies - I have one here because I am not allowed to install air-conditioning in my apartment and we have had days where the temp has exceeded 40 deg and with the humidity where I live it is horrendous, plus the night-time temps sometimes don't fall below 28 before dawn. No outside connection at all is required, it's almost silent inside, has a remote control and running on cool very low after the room has cooled is sufficient - plus you can move it from one room to another. Actually mine heats too because my building has collective central heating and we often get very cold snaps after the annual turn off date. Sadly it may have cost you less to do something like this in the first place. But have a look at the prices you can get for the various models in Spain. Just a thought.

(Apart from the Dyson, the only fans I can stand are ceiling fans - so I'm very difficult. Also, I had aircon - reverse cycle - in Queensland Australia and definitely prefer this solution, which also seems to cost much less to run and I have had it for over 12 months so have the power bills which demonstrate no real increase in power consumption. Of course, it wouldn't be the best solution for a family using multiple rooms at the same time.)

Hot weather during advanced pregnancy can be a real ****** for many women and I feel for your wife.


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## hsharr (May 24, 2018)

Thanks for the advice everyone. We got the installer to double-check everything and we confirmed that the decibel level is below the noise regulations even at night. So now we are less concerned. We talked with the installer a bit about the options for a baffle box or similar, but we will save that option in case the neighbor tries to escalate.


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