A PTAC is not a through-the-wall unit
Both slide into a metal sleeve set through an outside wall, and they look alike. They are not.
A PTAC sleeve is a near-universal size, about 42 inches wide and 16 inches tall. Friedrich's ZoneAire Premier chassis measures 42.1 by 16.0 by 21.5 inches, GREE's 42 by 16 by 21-1/2, ACiQ's 42.09 by 15.98 by 21.5. Through-the-wall units fit sleeves of roughly 24 to 27 inches wide, and swapping one for the other means cutting the wall.
The electrics differ too. Every PTAC in this guide runs on 208/230V, and several also come in 265V versions for commercial buildings, while through-the-wall units in the 8,000 BTU class plug into a standard 115V outlet. PTACs are built to heat: each one here carries an electric strip heater and most add a heat pump, where many wall units are cool-only.
Even the figures differ in kind. Through-the-wall makers print a single "dBA" per fan speed with no word on what it measures. PTAC makers mostly print service-manual tables that name the quantity, sound pressure or sound power. That allows a proper sort here, and it also means the numbers in the two guides cannot be compared with each other.
Indoor sound pressure in dB(A). It is the closest thing to what you hear in the room, although makers also print indoor sound power and, in one case, a noise level of unstated kind.
Indoor sound pressure, dB(A)
Rankings use this. Friedrich labels its rows "Sound Pressure Level (H)" and "(L)".
GREE's R32 manuals and ACiQ's manual print the values as a slash list, 50/46 or 49/48/47, without saying which speed each value belongs to. They are quoted that way here, and no speed is assigned to them.
Indoor sound power, dB(A)
The same three makers print this as well, about ten decibels higher: 60/56 for Friedrich's and GREE's 9,000 BTU units, 59/58/57 for ACiQ's.
It is a different quantity, and a lower sound power figure does not mean a lower sound pressure figure. In the 12,000 BTU class ACiQ has the lowest sound pressure row while Friedrich and GREE have the lowest bottom value for sound power.
Noise level, kind not stated
Perfect Aire's brochure prints "INDOOR NOISE LEVEL dB(A) (Hi/Lo)" for every model, 50/49.5 for its 9,000 BTU units. High and low are named, but pressure or power is not, which leaves the Perfect Aire figure alone in its group.
Not one PTAC table used here gives a measuring distance or a test standard.
Friedrich and GREE print identical tables
Put the two service manuals side by side. For the 9,000 BTU heat pumps both give 9,700/9,400 Btu/h cooling, EER 12.1, airflow of 330 and 282 CFM, indoor sound pressure of 50 and 46, sound power of 60 and 56, and outdoor figures of 62 and 58. The 12,000 and 15,000 BTU models match the same way, at 53 and 50, and GREE's ETAC III R32 manual repeats the PTAC II figures once more. Neither maker explains the match.
For a buyer it hardly matters. A Friedrich PDH09K3SGR3 and a GREE GAA09AED6NRNB5DCP carry the same published figures, and the choice comes down to which dealer you can reach, the warranty, and what the installer knows. Friedrich's version labels its figures by speed; GREE's brochure puts the floor in one line, "Sound Pressure Level (Down to)" 46.
Friedrich's cheaper ZoneAire Select R-32 line also has a service manual with figures. Its table mixes cooling-mode rows with fan-mode rows marked "±2" and gives different numbers for the same fan in different rows, so it was left out rather than one row picked.
Is the ACiQ inverter PTAC as loud as its page suggests?
No. The 58 dB(A) on its page is a sound power figure, and the same company's service manual lists sound pressure at 49/48/47.
ACiQ sells the only PTAC here described as an inverter, with the most confusing paperwork. Its product page shows "Sound Level: 58 dB(A)" for the ACiQ-09PTC-INV, its line page promises "indoor sound levels as low as 57 dB(A)", and its submittal lists "Indoor Noise level (Hi/Med/Low) dB(A) 59/58/57". All of those match the manual's "Sound Power Level dB (A) 59/58/57" row. The sound pressure row is a separate line, "Sound Pressure Level dB (A) 49/48/47".
On sound pressure its top value, 49, is the lowest top value in the guide, and its bottom value, 47, is one decibel above Friedrich's and GREE's 46. At 12,000 BTU its 51/50/49 beats the Friedrich and GREE 53/50 on sound pressure and loses by one decibel on sound power.
GE Zoneline, Amana and Hotpoint all claim quiet for their PTACs without an operating decibel figure.
GE Zoneline and Amana
GE's product guide calls Zoneline "The Quietest PTAC in the industry", footnoted to 12,000 BTU heat pump models tested at a third-party acoustical lab. It prints STC and OITC ratings, which measure how well the unit blocks outside noise rather than how loud it runs. GE's 2016 white paper goes further and charts operating sound power against Amana, LG and Friedrich, but only as gaps, "+2.1 dBA" and "+1.0 dBA", above a Zoneline bar with no value. Across the product guide, the white paper, the engineering manual and the AZ65H12DAC product page, no absolute operating figure appears.
Amana's PTAC product pages list capacity, EER and COP. Its specifications and accessories catalog mentions a "Heavy sound isolation insulation sleeve", and its brochure talks about quiet comfort, without an operating decibel figure anywhere.
Hotpoint and LG
GE's value PTAC brand lists a "Tangential fan for air flow and smooth sound" on its AH12H12D3B page. Neither the page, the quick specs sheet nor the 2023 product guide gives a figure.
LG is absent. Its site, lg.com, had no current PTAC, only a support page for older models.
Friedrich makes a similar claim to GE's, "THE QUIETEST* standard PTAC you can buy", footnoted to third-party testing against competitors. The difference is that Friedrich also publishes figures you can check.
What size PTAC, circuit and sleeve do you need?
Friedrich's manual rates its 9,000 BTU PTACs for 350 to 400 sq ft, its 12,000 BTU models for 450 to 550, and its 15,000 BTU models for 550 to 800. Perfect Aire puts its 9,000 BTU units at 300 to 400 sq ft. Within each brand, stepping up from 9,000 to 12,000 BTU adds two to four decibels to the published indoor figures, so size for the room and no bigger.
The circuit counts as much as the room. PTACs plug into 230/208V receptacles matched to the heater size. GREE's cords come in 15, 20 and 30 amp versions, each with a different NEMA plug shape, and Perfect Aire lists 20 or 30 amp minimum circuits. A bigger heater needs a bigger circuit, and the receptacle has to match the cord.
For a replacement, measure the old sleeve first. Friedrich says the ZoneAire Premier "Fits standard PTAC sleeve without the added cost of a baffle kit", and GREE says its units retrofit "most competitive wall sleeves (without a kit)". A chassis that fits its sleeve snugly, gasket and outdoor grille in place, leaks less sound around its edges than one shimmed into the wrong opening.
How much does a PTAC unit cost?
The makers' sites will not say. None of the four brands with figures shows a price, and no dealer prices are recorded here.
Friedrich, GREE and ACiQ send you to dealers, and Perfect Aire's product pages showed no price when we checked on September 28, 2026. If you are cutting a new opening, budget for the sleeve, the outdoor grille and the electrical work on top of the chassis.
New to these numbers? Start with dBA explained and sound power vs sound pressure, then comparing decibel ratings for why Friedrich and GREE figures cannot simply be lined up. For a PTAC in a bedroom, how quiet is quiet enough sets the target to aim under.
