Neighbour complaining about aircons

M

mugikhan

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Location
Cape Town before December holidays.
We moved into our new place about 6 months ago and done some renovations which the neighbour complained about even though we had approval from the city. Now we have installed two aircon units which can't be moved at all since they're back-to-back units and won't fit anywhere else in the rooms. The neighbour has now decided to complain about the noise from the units despite anyone in my family not being able to hear them. The aircons are also at least 1.5m from the boundary wall so I don't know how he hears them.
How do you deal with serial complainers like this guy?

TL;DR: Neighbour complaining about aircons that are brand new and make very little noise.
 
bwana said:
Get a generator and really give him something to complain about.

Is your family listening from inside the house or outside?
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I've personally tried both, from inside I can't hear anything and from outside it's very faint and I highly doubt they can hear it unless they have open windows or they're standing outside.

I'm at my wits end because I paid a lot of money for decent units so I don't know what else to do.
 
Sounds like one of those neighbours that will complain about anything.

What units are they? I've got a LG 24000 BTU unit (inverter type) and the noise is hardly noticeable when standing right next to it, blends in with the background noise of the neigbourhood (noted I don't live in a particularly quiet neighbourhood but it's still not that loud).
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
Sounds like one of those neighbours that will complain about anything.

What units are they? I've got a LG 24000 BTU unit (inverter type) and the noise is hardly noticeable when standing right next to it, blends in with the background noise of the neigbourhood (noted I don't live in a particularly quiet neighbourhood but it's still not that loud).
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It's two of these one, 18000btu and one 12000btu. They are really quiet, I mean I'm 25 years old so I'd hope my hearing is still good and I can only hear the fan spinning lightly when I stand underneath it.
 
Unless they complain through an official channel its just noise from the neighbour. If they have a real issue and they believe it exceeds the municipal bylaws then they can lodge a formal complaint and you can deal with it. Planting some trees between you and that neighbour is probably a good idea in the meantime though.
 
mugikhan said:

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It's two of these one, 18000btu and one 12000btu. They are really quiet, I mean I'm 25 years old so I'd hope my hearing is still good and I can only hear the fan spinning lightly when I stand underneath it.
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We've got a few of the Alliance arctics.. they are pretty damn loud
 
nivek said:
We've got a few of the Alliance arctics.. they are pretty damn loud
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We've got an Alliance 12000BTU in our bedroom with the external unit right outside and while we can hear I don't think it is that loud. No complaints from the neighbours or the damn pigeons that nest in between the anti bird spikes I put on top of it to stop the damn pigeons nesting on it.
 
Tell them you turned them off, but don't, if they still complain tell them you lost the remotes. if they still complain tell them you don't want to communicate with them anymore in person and all complaints must go via email due to covid, add their emails to spam.
 
Why dont you move them to tight next to your bedroom window or living room where the TV is for a while. Leave windows open as well where practical. If it doesn't bother you, then move it back and ignore the neighbours. If it does bother you, keep it there so your neighbours don't have to be influenced by your noise.
 
Best solution is get a decibel meter, I see there are a few apps to, and measure the sound level at the boundry wall. If it is less than the municipal bylaw states, then show him the measurement and bylaw and tell him you will not discuss the matter further. Thats what I did with a neighbor and when he realised he had no lefal avenue, he shut up about it.
 
RedViking said:
Why dont you move them to tight next to your bedroom window or living room where the TV is for a while. Leave windows open as well where practical. If it doesn't bother you, then move it back and ignore the neighbours. If it does bother you, keep it there so your neighbours don't have to be influenced by your noise.
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There’s already a process to follow, the neighbour is just doing a ‘bump’.
You don’t have to engage with people, just keep waking.
 
DA-LION-619 said:
There’s already a process to follow, the neighbour is just doing a ‘bump’.
You don’t have to engage with people, just keep waking.
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Yes and no. I think we need to be considered, but can be done with respects and understanding. The neighbour might have a very valid complaint.

What does make me think they full of nonsense is they complained about renovations. But again, even this might be a valid complaint, depending on the conditions.
 
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