Finally upgraded to these LG dual inverters and I'm never going back

I had a very similar experience when I swapped out my old 12,000 BTU Frigidaire for an LG Dual Inverter last summer. My kitchen and dining area used to feel like a wind tunnel whenever the compressor kicked on, but now I barely notice it running. The variable speed tech is the real star because it avoids those annoying power spikes you get with traditional units. Instead of slamming on and off, it just hums along at a low frequency to keep the room steady. The ThinQ app was a bit of a headache to pair with my mesh Wi-Fi at first, but once I locked it onto the 2.4GHz band, it worked perfectly. I check the energy monitoring tab religiously and saw my monthly bill drop by nearly forty dollars during the hottest part of July. It’s a relief to see actual data backing up the efficiency claims. One thing I’d suggest is being extremely precise with the mounting bracket. Because these units are so quiet, any slight rattle from an uneven install stands out. I ended up adding some extra rubber padding to the window frame to keep things completely silent. It makes a huge difference if you’re a light sleeper like I am.

I actually had a bit of a rougher time with the LG inverters in my 1920s bungalow. While the noise level is definitely lower, I found that the moisture removal wasn't nearly as aggressive as my old, loud GE window units. In high humidity states like Louisiana, that variable speed compressor sometimes idles down before it really pulls the dampness out of the air. I ended up having to run a separate dehumidifier in the hallway just to keep the 'sticky' feeling away, which sort of cancelled out my energy savings. Also, keep an eye on the drainage. These units are designed to keep some water in the base to cool the coils, but in my experience, that led to a bit of a musty smell after the first season. I had to get pretty creative with a shop-vac and some vinegar tabs to keep it fresh. They are great for a modern, well-insulated apartment, but for an old drafty house with high humidity, they might struggle to keep things crisp.

Inverters are fancy, but I remember when we just oversized a Fedders and let the short cycling handle the humidity. These new LGs are slick, but you gotta watch the drainage. Back in the day, those heavy steel chassis whould rust out in ten years if the pitch wasn't perfect, and these plastic pans aren't much better if you let slime build up. I’ve seen guys rely too much on the 'self-evaporating' feature only to have it backfire during a heatwave. If you aren't tilting that unit back a hair more than the manual says, you're asking for a mess. Just make sure you're cleaning those coils every season or that variable speed tech won't mean squat.