LG 'Dual Inverter' QUIET Wall AC LW1817IVSM 18,000 BTU 230 Volt (Efficient-Update in description)

In my Bass Hack series, I talked about "noise floor", and how loud my AC was. My hope was that this LG Dual Inverter Air Conditioner would quiet things down... Vv Click "SHOW MORE" vV

Here is this LG AC unit on Amazon:

***UPDATE*** 4-26-2019: This AC made quite a dent in my electric bill, reducing it by around $90+ the first month, probably $300+/year. Very happy with it!!

The smaller Frigidaire unit I mentioned (NOT a variable speed compressor, but quiet):

Mini Splits (best option, if you can):

For quiet air conditioners and other home theater supplies, you can support this channel here:

This is NOT one of my best videos, it wasn't planned out very well, and I've been feeling pretty "off" lately, but I really wanted to get this out there ASAP, as I know air conditioners are more of a problem when it's hot like this.

Had I thought this out, I would have taken an RTA (Real Time Analysis) of the old AC before taking it out, but I was too hot and miserable to think straight. I just needed to be cool again. This LG is definitely cooler and quieter though!!

Just like subwoofers, a simple number like a dB rating only tells part of the story. Where is the loudness? Is in the range of hearing? Over 200 hertz or so is much more likely to interfere with movie dialog.

Much of the noise from this unit is in the lower range, some below 20 hertz and out of hearing range. It still adds to the upper frequency noise, it just seems less intrusive.

The solid front panel is a smart design feature, preventing the higher frequency noise from having a direct path to your ears. You can hear that briefly as I passed the microphone under the front panel.

On a hot day, I'm still going to run this on regular "Cool" or "Energy Saver" with the higher fan speeds to keep it borderline chilly. But when it comes to movie or music time, I will put it on "Sleep Mode".

Sleep mode puts out warmer air by comparison, but it's still cooling the room. The difference in noise is night and day!

This has kept my room temperature more EVEN than **ANY** AC I've ever used, including, and perhaps especially, central air. If I was to build a house today, a variable speed compressor type AC would be a vital part of my design.

The unit always runs unless in "Energy Saver" mode, and slowing the compressor down makes way more sense to me than hard starting constantly throughout the day.

Starting and stopping the compressor in a typical AC means the room will get warmer and colder, very annoying when you think about it.

If you know of other units like this, or other quiet units, please comment below!!

***Current System setup below***

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Subwoofer 101 is the world's first SVS affiliate, so if you found this video useful, please support this channel by following any link in this video description before ordering, and it doesn't have to be a link for the exact product.

Here is the setup at the time of upload:

Provided on a demo basis by SVS:

Speaker wire:


LG 4K 3D that I replaced previous Vizio with a Square Trade type warranty. Love the LG, some issues aside. Going through Amazon means you can get a decently priced 5 year warranty (strongly recommend for TV's and AVR's)

Measurement Mic for use with Room EQ Wizard:

Room EQ Wizard (free, donations encouraged for the guy that created it-not me):

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[markdtannen]

Hi, thanks for your helpful, candid YouTube video about the 3 newest 2018 LG dual-inverter window air conditioners!

By chance, I discovered your video on 7-29-2018, after a month of searching obsessively for new “through-the -wall” air conditioners for our apartment in a 45-year-old 19-floor building in New York City. Like you, I’ve been exasperated that in 2018 most window air conditioners are noisy, inefficient, they lack “smart” wi-fi interfaces and still haven’t upgraded to the newest, efficient and environmentally friendly R32 coolant.

Like you, I admire other LG products like their OLED TV’s and their appliances with new inverter technology (LG washer/dryers, microwave ovens, their refrigerators and air conditioners. But amid all the market hype about the virtues of split-mini air conditioners for homes with white picket fences, LG has not promoted their MUCH larger market for urban customers in buildings with “through-the-wall” and window A/C units. We can’t retrofit central A/C in older buildings because of costs and complex building codes, and we can’t install split mini A/C because we can’t hang a split mini A/C external venting unit outside each apartment’s windows on each floor of tall building! Similarly, we can’t install a satellite TV dish for each apartment, either!

However, when I contacted LG Customer Service and I spoke at length to LG Technical Support about the 3 new 2018 dual-inverter A/C window units, their representatives told me emphatically to read the LG User Guides which were available on their LG website for each of these A/C units. The representatives warned me that these units are specifically designed WITH SIDE VENTS in order to vent properly through windows, and installation ONLY through windows is recommended. This seems to preclude my own application, which is Installation through directly through a wall of a building. Window air conditioners are not designed for installation through a wall unless manufacturers specifically design a special “through-the-wall sleeve” to allow enough air flow through the air conditioner’s side vents. Several Friedrich Kuhl window air conditioners are marketed as “through-wall-compatible, ” and such air conditioners ship with the sleeve included for use in through-wall installation, though they can also be installed in windows.

So when I saw your YouTube video, I was very HAPPILY (!) surprised and delighted that you have managed to install the new LG 2018 dual inverter window A/C unit INTO YOUR WALL— exactly as I would really like to do! I am very surprised but encouraged—it sounds quiet!

How deep (thickness) are your walls and of what materials are your house walls made? Are there layers of wall materials with brick behind your sheet rock room walls? When you installed your new A/C unit, does LG actually provide a “venting wall sleeve” that you install first, and then you have to slide the heavy A/C unit into this wall sleeve? Does it appear that there is enough of an air gap between the wall, the wall sleeve, and the heavy A/C unit to allow significant air to flow through side vents of the LG air conditioner? Sorry for all of these questions, but I’m excited that it works and I am just trying to figure out why!

Of course, such air flow through the air gap between the wall, the wall sleeve, and the heavy A/C unit will contribute to the “laminar” airflow noise you hear in your room. Without such a sleeve— if you simply installed the A/C unit through a window, for instance (consult your installation guide), the LG A/C unit’s side vents would be free to vent into the outside air, so “laminar” air flow noise in your wall should be mitigated, although LG A/C dual inverter noise would still be present according to LG A/C engineering design specifications.

I asked LG Customer Service Tech Support what would happen if I actually tried to install their new 2018 dual-inverter window A/C unit in my own through-the-wall application here. They simply re-quoted to me what is already in their LG A/C User Guides— they said that the window A/C unit’s side vents might not be able to get proper side ventilation through the wall, so the LG window A/C unit might easily overheat, malfunction, fail to cool or even quit prematurely at any time. They told me that I’d have a problem getting service or a repair if I didn’t follow their LG engineering installation guidelines to install the A/C unit in a window under the terms of LG’s A/C warranty. Since the LG A/C unit should last 5 or more years, it would be best to get a long-term A/C service contract, and definitely bring the LG A/C unit to a remote service depot to avoid having the repair personnel come to your home, where they might notice that the wall installation!

I am undaunted by these issues and I am very encouraged by your installation. I’m going to purchase the same LG A/C unit for my apt!

[christinadavis]

*It’s: Pretty. Quiet. **Fastly.Cool** in my room. Works wellLittle of hassle to install was TOTALLY worth it. I’m loving it so far. I recommend watching the installation video and taking it slow~*

[willmatiq]

I like that you are getting the word out there on room noise as an alt subject video! Underrated and undervalued topic with enthusiasts from my experience.

[killacamfoo]

Just got these today. One for the living room, one for the bedroom. Amazing units. Can't wait to get them dialed in just right. Unreal I could control them from my phone from anywhere, not even at my house. Unreal.

[vgernyc]

There seems to now be 4 vendors making dual inverter air conditioners. In Addition to LG, there is Midea U air conditioner, Soleus and more recently Frigidaire.

[tawtam]

Excellent unit. 5 out of 5 stars. It cools great. And my favorite feature of all is how quiet it is. The fan runs quiet and you can't even hear the compressor unless you get real close to the unit. The first time in a long time I have given anything a top rating. The price was comparable to others in it's class. I got mine on sale at home depot. I would recommend this unit to anyone.

[jameslmiller]

Thanks for the only intelligent review that I've seen so far. I really appreciate that you supply metrics! Many thanks!

[skipx]

bro, ur comments echo my sentiments! I live in a hot area and when summers hit, trying to hear the home theater over the racket is tough... there are times I'll endure the heat for an hr or 2 in silence rather than turn on the ac.. sure you can crank the sound but then its too loud during the times when compressor is off..the slow ramp up that inverters can do is Great for ac units and will certainly save on electric dills.. its that surge and sudden start that take major amps with old style ac units.. multiply that happening all day and you can see why they cost more to run, that and the fact they are constant as far as compressor speeds when running.

[garysnyder]

Thank you sooo much for making a video about home theater noise floor and air have been searching for a quiet air conditioner for my small Sensurround theater (6, 000 BTU), and even though the unit you review here is not the size I need, the company is supposedly releasing smaller models in it helps to get all the reviews we can on these new ultra-quiet room air conditioners. I don't want to spend the money or hassle on a split a/c, so this new quiet a/c trend by room a/c manufacturers interests me greatly. Any kind of noise in a theater is a form of distortion, in my opinion.

When I worked at JL Audio "car stereo", I actually changed out mufflers on cars to more quiet, "Cadillac" like mufflers - something I've never heard anyone else talk about.

When you put the a/c on the lower fan speed (low or sleep?) in your video, while you were talking, I could not hear the a/c at all - which is exactly what we are shooting for in home theater!

By the way, another secret to reduce window a/c noise, is to seal all gaps after install with Dap Peel N' SEAL removable sealant. It enables you to easily uninstall the unit and won't void the warranty because the sealant is removable with your fingers, you can pull it off. It also makes the ultimate subwoofer driver/speaker driver gasket for DIY.

I also find it funny that the lowest fan setting is sleep mode and lasts only 7 but that's plenty of time to watch a couple of blue-ray movies, lol! Great job ---Gary

[ironheadbiker]

I've had mine installed now THRU THE WALL in my garage for a month now and couldn't be happier.! All 3 side vents completely are exposed outside. The fan auxiliary fan has a blade that throws water up onto the evaporator to help it be more efficient, it was so easy to install and came packaged very well. The energy saver mode is nice, but you don't have constant moving air which makes a huge difference if you or in my case, my pets are in the room. In energy saver mode the fan kicks in every couple of minutes to accurately "test" the air temp and cycles on as needed. I use that overnight when they're not in there to maintain a certain temp and keep out the humidity. Then I put it in cool hold mode for while they're in there and it's hot out. The wifi app works awesome and I use that all the time without a hitch. I cannot overstate how quiet this unit it! Across the room 20 ft I can feel the air being moved, but all you hear is the air actually moving, not the unit. It takes a 6-15r wall receptacle and the remote works from at least 25ft away. My garage is 900 sq ft. And is easily cooled with the 18, 000btu. I have a 14" exterior wall and all vents are exposed properly. It replaced a 1984 model, the wall size was exactly the same. Great video, great machine.

[SG-ykxh]

Amazingly quiet...variable speed compressor...sleep mode... greatly intrigued. Thanks for the review!

[BrianRadcliffe]

The Midea "U" is also a variable inverter compressor. I however chose the 14k LG dual inverter model man I love this thing it cools my Living room Dining room and Kitchen and I barely hear it running. Over the summer I will be replacing all of my bedroom ac's with the 9500 btu models as finances permits. by the end of the summer I will have 4 units in my house

[ARCVAC]

I bought this air conditioner because of this review. And it is still cooling even in "Sleep Mode".

[mikemcmike]

I have the 14k but window mount one. got it used for only 350$ Canadian. my only concern is there's already erosion in the pan at the bottom because it builds up and uses a "slinger fan" to shoot water out the side and at the coils to cool it so its more efficient. I may spray paint the bottom after next year to make sure it lasts long

[jcepri]

4:00 is all I needed to hear. Anyone who goes through all this trouble has gotta be trustworthy. :-) I just bought one. Thank you!

[inigomontoya]

Thank you for this review, and all of the respondents, which has given me hope of a lower sound floor and utility bills. I have an older, very reliable and most likely noisier 2015 LG 18k btu unit, installed in my living/listening room. The old old unit in the den has finally died after 30 plus years, from the oppressive Texas heat, and the 2015 LG will replace it. I have had the very same model that you reviewed here, sitting on my living room floor, waiting for installation. I will be installing a new LG 8000 btu unit in my bedroom this weekend, and then hopefully finished with the musical AC chairs before it consistently hits above 95, and most certainly before it hits the sustained over 100 degrees...like it may do here for months on end.

[hafeexius]

On sleep mode, the temperature gradually increases by a few degrees after a while (by which time you've hopefully fallen asleep) and maintains the higher temperature Reason behind that being, you won't notice the higher temperature while you're sleeping. You'll end up saving money on the resulting lower electric bill because the compressor doesn't have to work harder.

[northwestsuburbs]

THANKS FOR THE REVIEW HELPED ME MAKE MY DECISION TO PURCHASE THIS UNIT FOR MY SUNROOM.

[toyo]

Thank u for ur review, I'm getting ready to put one of these thru the test in the Texas Gulf Coast heat (rural jus outside Houston) cooling a shed to home with 1 LG 18000btu and 2 9500btu for a 2bd 2bath, I'm very impressed with the low noise dB...awesome and well refined review

[tw]

Midea has come out with a new U shaped air conditioner and it uses the dual inverter tech. It just launched in February I think and the units are delivering now. You can buy one on Amazon. I chose this LG unit instead.