A/Cs can be annnoying and hence why, whenever possible, people will put them at the side of their house and away from any of their own windows. My folks live out east where summers are hotter and more people have AC than not so that eases the problem somewhat. You can have your windows closed and AC on so you dont have to listen to your neighbours. It still can get annoying listening to a neighbours old noisy AC when your sitting out in your yard and especially is your neighbour has relative peace and quiet because his AC is far away from his usable backyard space.
Many municipalities have passed bylaws that require minimum distance from your neighbours house for your AC installation. Hey, if you say its not an issue, then you shouldnt have a problem putting it in your own back yard or under your own bedroom window. This works well. Existing units can be grandfathered and left alone. Any new or replacement units needs to adhere to the new rules.
Having a rule that you can only have it on until a certain hour is ridiculous.
The other problem in Calgary is that few people have AC. Thats somewhat ridiculous on its own. Look at all the $400k+ homes that have been built in the past few years. Whats an extra $3k on that mortgage for an AC?
What compounds the problem is all these tiny lots which leave little space or separation from your neighbour.
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Originally Posted by Beefcake
I'm at least partially in favor of the article. I've got a neighbor with (what I beleive to be) a ridiculously loud AC unit, and I can't leave my windows open at night because I can't sleep through the noise of it (and i'm not a particularly light sleeper). I'm not the type to call the city and complain, but I think i'm going to try and find a device to measure the decibels that it's pumping out, and then talk to him about it if they're way outside of the bylaw limits.
To me, it's not an easy question to answer... If I can't sleep at night because of the sound of my neighbor’s A/C unit, should I have to spend the money to install a unit in my own place (I don't otherwise have troubles sleeping with the windows open and a fan going on the hottest days of our summer)? Or should he have to spend the money to put in a new quieter unit, repair the unit, or do some other noise-dampening enhancements to the unit etc?
Also, the unit is at the side of his house, which I know to be the opposite side of the house to his master bedroom, kids' rooms, etc. However, it directly faces what's soon to be my 2-year-old's bedroom window, and in a direct line with our master bedroom windows. So, their sleep-time comfort has unquestionably come at the expense of ours.
I probably sound whiny, but i'm really against the idea that because I live in a city the size of calgary, i shouldn't expect to be able to leave my windows open at night.
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