Can't sleep with window open - need air con unit! Any advice?

[artylady14]

My immediate area is unfortunately to noisy for me to sleep at night with the window open and it has got to the point I dread summer! I am exhausted as have had the windows open the past few nights. Does any one have a stand alone air conditioning unit they use in a bedroom which is not noisy (Im sensitive to noise!) and which could enable me to sleep with the windows closed! Thank you!

All aircon is noisy, isn't it? Would ear plugs help?

We have an ac which is noisy. But I put it in an hour before bed which lowers the temperature of the room, then use a fan and open windows the rest of the night

If you can handle the noise of a fan, put a big bowl of ice in front of it and that should help

I think those home aircon units need to be vented outside like a tumble dryer, so you'd have to have the window open anyway

they often have a vent hose like a tumble drier for the hot exhaust.

You can get a Core Drill from a tool hire shop which will cut the appropriate neat round hole. It is better if you also have access from outside but don't use the drill off a ladder as it is very heavy and can twist you if it jams. Or a small builder can do it, or a plumber as it is the same as a soil pipe or extractor fan hole. Brick walls are easy. Other constructions may not be. If you hire one, you will perhaps enjoy it so much that you make more holes for cooker hoods and extractor fans during your half-day's hire.

The hole should be lined with plastic duct to prevent condensation or rain wetting the wall. You need a cowl vent on the outside to keep rain and wind out.

When the aircon is not in use, put a hit and miss vent over the inside. I believe you can get noise absorbing ventilation fittings but have not used them.

p.s.

Have you tried opening the loft hatch? Convection currents will suck the hot air out through the roof. Leaving your bedroom door open will allow some circulation.

We have a similar issue. We have one of [[http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fantasia-Orion-Ceiling-Light-Remote/dp/B00E1D8UVS]]. Expensive but none of the rattling you get on cheaper fans and my DH, who travels a lot, says he prefers to air con!

We have this! My review's the one from 30th June

Agree that a very quiet fan is better. You need a tall one so it's blowing air on you not just moving air round the room. I run mine all night. It's fab.

I am a light sleeper and have the window open at night. I use foam earplugs. Very little wakes me.

would anyone know or recommend a ceiling fan perhaps slightly cheaper than the fantasia linked to.

dd happy to sleep with current fan, but would be better to have something off the ground and out of ds's way

How about something with no visible blades if that's what you're concerned about, sacbina? We have just bought a little Bionaire ioniser fan for DS1, as he's been suffering with hayfever and hot evenings and rather than the buzz and rattle of some fans, it's pretty much white noise and the reviews say people have found it good to sleep with. It's also small enough to sit on a chest of drawers and be easy to store when not needed.

Thanks everyone. I really want to buy an aircon unit but we just spent money on some fans. Will do it if they are good and quiet though!

it's more that the room heats ip unbearably. it's a small box room, West facing, and I've done all sorts to try and make it more bearable. current solution works but is convoluted and tricky. looking for something long term but not quite as costly. aren't we all! !

We have an old Alaska portable a/c unit which we are currently using to cool bedroom before we sleep. It works pretty well (38 degrees here all week!). DH cut a piece of board to fit in the window frame and cut a hole in it for vent. Takes 30 seconds to slot in and out. A/c is too noisy to sleep with though. So at bedtime we switch it for open window and cylinder fan, which is very quiet. You might find that if you cool the room before bed with the a/c unit, you can leave the window closed overnight ... Or you might not, depending on external temp! Hope you find a solution.

AndDeepBreath I've been looking at that one. Do you think I could vent it through a (low height) skylight? Our attic guestroom is very hot.

OsloGin - I'm peering at one of our low skylighty windows and I can't think why not. However, you'd probably need a hose extension like this, pushing it quite far out the window so the heat didn't just vent back in again - and you'd possibly have to seal up around it with something like cardboard/cloth and tape as I don't think you'd be able to wedge a board up or something.

On the plus side, it's due to be a bit cooler this week - thank goodness!

Oh, or maybe this - less messy! (Although if you stuck it at the angle in this picture without blocking the rest of the open window at all, I think the heat would just waft straight back in again and negate the AC...)

Thanks AndDeepBreath. I'll have a look at that.