Ruud's sound power table, size by size
Each sheet closes its table with "Tested in accordance with AHRI Standard 270-08 (not listed in AHRI)". The two digits after the series code give capacity in thousands of Btu per hour: 18 means 1.5 tons, 24 two tons, 36 three, 42 three and a half, 48 four and 60 five.
| Model, dBA sound power | 1.5 tons | 2 tons | 2.5 tons | 3 tons | 3.5 tons | 4 tons | 5 tons |
|---|
| Ultra UA19AY, lower row | | 59 | | 57 | | 54 | 70 |
| Ultra UA19AY, upper row | | 68 | | 72 | | 72 | 76 |
| Achiever Plus UA16AY, two stage | | 74.1 | | 71.9 | | 73.2 | 74.0 |
| Achiever RA13NY and Choice WA13NY | 70 | 70 | 71 | 71 | 68 | 71 | 76 |
| Achiever RA14AY and Choice WA14AY | 70 | 71 | 71 | 71 | 73 | 74 | 76 |
| Achiever RA15AY and Choice WA15AY | 71 | 69 | 71 | 72 | 73 | 74 | 76 |
| Choice WSA14AY | 76.0 | 76.0 | 74.0 | | | | |
A blank cell is a size that model's table does not list. Compressor types differ by line, inverter variable speed on the Ultra, two stage scroll on the Achiever Plus and single stage on Achiever and Choice, and rankings stay inside those groups.
Which Ruud air conditioner is the quietest?
The Ultra UA19AY, if you read its lower row: 54 dBA at 4 tons, and 59 or under from 2 to 4 tons. Nothing else Ruud sells as an air conditioner prints a figure below 68.
The catch sits in the column heading. Both UA19AY rows are labelled "STANDARD RATING (DBA)", and neither gets a speed. A compressor that throttles to 40% ought to spend mild days nearer the bottom row, but on a hot afternoon the upper row, 68 to 76, is the better guide, and at 3 and 4 tons it reads 72.
Among one figure models, tonnage decides. At 1.5 tons the RA13NY, WA13NY, RA14AY and WA14AY share 70, at 2 tons the RA15AY and WA15AY lead with 69, and the RA13NY pair reads 68 at 3.5 tons and 71 at 4. At 5 tons every single stage unit lists 76 and the UA16AY's one figure is 74.0.
Are Ruud and Rheem air conditioners the same?
In their sound tables, yes, figure for figure. The Ultra UA19AY prints the Rheem RA19AY's rows and the Achiever Plus UA16AY the RA16AY's, while the single stage Achiever and Choice units carry the very same model numbers as Rheem's Classic and Select lines. The sheets give the shared origin away. Their form numbers run parallel to Rheem's, A22-345 against A11-345 for the RA13NY, and text pulled from the UA19AY and UA16AY PDFs still holds Rheem model rows hidden behind the printed page.
Where Ruud helps is the paperwork. On October 23, Rheem's RA15AY sheet link returned an empty file, and its WA14AY and WSA14AY links an error. Ruud's equivalents all opened on November 6 and confirm the figures Rheem's product database gave for those three.
The two stage UA16AY rates 71.9 to 74.1 dBA, and at 2 tons its 74.1 sits above the RA13NY, RA14AY and RA15AY families, which list 69 to 71. Only the compact WSA14AY, at 76.0, is louder there.
Its sheet promises "two speeds (high and low)" and then publishes one row per size with no word on which speed produced it. If the figure describes the high stage, low stage running should be quieter, but Ruud leaves that unwritten.
It comes out ahead of the single stage models only at 5 tons, where 74.0 undercuts their 76. At 3 tons its 71.9 edges the RA15AY's 72 and trails the RA13NY and RA14AY at 71. On noise grounds alone, that is a thin case for paying for the second stage.
Ruud heat pumps rate 58 to 74 dBA
Five of the nine R-454B heat pumps carry a standard rating table, under the same AHRI 270-08 test.
Three more print only "as low as" columns, and the ninth has no table at all.
| Model, dBA sound power | 1.5 tons | 2 tons | 2.5 tons | 3 tons | 3.5 tons | 4 tons | 5 tons |
|---|
| Ultra UP19AY, lower row | | 59 | | 60 | | 59 | 58 |
| Ultra UP19AY, upper row | | 69 | | 70 | | 73 | 73 |
| Achiever RP14AY and Choice WP14AY | 73 | 73 | 72 | 72 | 72 | 74 | 74 |
| Achiever Plus RP15AY and Choice WP15AY | 73 | 73 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 74 |
No heat pump table says whether a figure is cooling or heating. Our heat pump comparison across brands explains why that gap counts when setting one maker against another.
Which Ruud heat pump is the quietest?
The Ultra UP19AY, with lower rows of 58 to 60 dBA at every size and upper rows, 69 to 73, that also sit below the two stage models at every size.
Among single row heat pumps, the RP14AY and WP14AY lead with 72 at 2.5, 3 and 3.5 tons. The dearer RP15AY never beats them. It ties them at four sizes and reads 73 or 74 where they read 72, and at 5 tons the two rows match band for band, from 43.9 dBA at 125 Hz to 52.9 at 8000 Hz, which suggests the same compressor and fan at that size.
Three heat pump sheets print only floors
The RD18AY, RD16AY and RP17AY sheets give "SOUND PRESSURE AS LOW AS" and "SOUND POWER AS LOW AS" columns instead of a standard rating. These are the quietest each size gets, quoted here and left unranked, and sound pressure depends on a distance none of the three names.
| Model, dBA pressure and power | 2 tons | 3 tons | 4 tons | 5 tons |
|---|
| RD18AY Ultra side discharge | 53 and 61 | 50 and 58 | 54 and 61 | 55 and 63 |
| RD16AY Achiever Plus side discharge | 53 and 59 | 50 and 58 | 54 and 61 | 55 and 62 |
| RP17AY Achiever Plus top discharge | 55 and 62 | 58 and 64 | 58 and 65 | 57 and 64 |
Ruud advertises both side discharge models with "Quiet Operation as low as 50dBA", which is the 3 ton sound pressure floor. Their 3 and 4 ton rows match down to the octave bands.
Brochure headlines mostly match the tables
Each brochure carries a "Sound Rating" headline credited to "Internal R&D Testing", and for most models it matches the lowest number in the spec sheet table, give or take rounding.
The UA19AY is the exception. Its brochure says "As low as 57 dB", the 3 ton lower row, while the comparison guide, Form No. M22-1100 Rev. 8, says 54 dBA, the 4 ton row. The WSA14AY goes the other way from its Rheem twin: Ruud's "As low as 74 dB" matches its 2.5 ton row of 74.0, and Rheem's product database advertised the same model at 70. Test dates in those footnotes run from "May 2022" on the RA13NY and RP15AY brochures to 2026 on the newest RP17AY one.
Read the headline as a hint, and the row for your own tonnage as the number.
Sound blankets, covers and the Swept Wing fan
A compressor sound blanket or cover comes standard on the UA19AY, UP19AY, RD18AY, RD16AY and RP17AY. On the UA16AY and the Achiever and Choice lines, a "Compressor sound cover" is an accessory, part 68-23427-26 for smaller sizes and 68-23427-25 for larger ones.
The UA19AY's paperwork muddles this. Its standard equipment list includes a "Compressor Sound Blanket", yet its accessory table also offers a "Compressor Sound Cover" as part 686020, and the UP19AY sheet lists that same 686020 as a "Heat Pump Riser 6 in.". Ask the installer which part you are buying.
The Swept Wing fan, credited with "quieter operation and improved unit acoustics", appears on the Ultra and Achiever Plus sheets and on the RA14AY and RA15AY, though not at 1.5 and 2 tons. No sheet says what it saves in decibels.
Models with no sound table, and older R-410A units
One R-454B model in the comparison guide has no table we could find. The WSP14AY heat pump is credited there with a 73 dBA "as low as" rating but is missing from the ruud.com heat pump listing, which shows only its R-410A sibling, the WSP14AZ.
The listings also still carry older R-410A units, coded AZ or NZ: the UA18AZ, UA16AZ, RA15AZ, RA14AZ, RA13NZ and WA15AZ air conditioners and the UP18AZ, RP15AZ and RP14AZ heat pumps among them. The 03/26 comparison guide leaves them all out, and so does this page.
None of the R-454B models is marked discontinued, though one is misfiled: the air conditioner listing titles the WSA14AY a "Heat Pump" and prints a heating efficiency, while its spec sheet heads it "Air Conditioners".
