I've always lived in apartments with central air, but my parents have been through quite a few brands of window-style air conditioners over the years. I say window-style, because they always install them through the wall, their house has large, horizontal sliding windows which cannot (nicely) accomidate an air conditioner.
Of all the brands they've been through, they've been most fond of Panasonic, for one main reason. They're QUIET! They have a ~14,000 BTU unit installed in their upstairs living room that is quieter at full power than most box fans set to low speed. Other brands they've had of similar rating (an Emerson and a Sharp...maybe?) were considerably louder. They also have two smaller Panasonics for each of the bedrooms--one is over 10 years old at this point, and still runs quietly and efficiently. The other is less than 5 years old, but it is twice as powerful and twice as quiet as the older unit (the older is about 3,000 BTU, the newer is 5,500, IIRC). Neither air conditioner is removed form its housing or even covered for the winter months either, despite this, no problems with them whatsoever.
Having used these units and others, I'd recommend the Panasonic without a doubt. They are a touch on the pricey side, as I remember, though, but well worth the premium. If you ever buy another one, it might be worth checking one out.
Of all the brands they've been through, they've been most fond of Panasonic, for one main reason. They're QUIET! They have a ~14,000 BTU unit installed in their upstairs living room that is quieter at full power than most box fans set to low speed. Other brands they've had of similar rating (an Emerson and a Sharp...maybe?) were considerably louder. They also have two smaller Panasonics for each of the bedrooms--one is over 10 years old at this point, and still runs quietly and efficiently. The other is less than 5 years old, but it is twice as powerful and twice as quiet as the older unit (the older is about 3,000 BTU, the newer is 5,500, IIRC). Neither air conditioner is removed form its housing or even covered for the winter months either, despite this, no problems with them whatsoever.
Having used these units and others, I'd recommend the Panasonic without a doubt. They are a touch on the pricey side, as I remember, though, but well worth the premium. If you ever buy another one, it might be worth checking one out.
