I know a guy who has one too....me. It's not loud at all, I hang out in the breezeway (the only place my wife allows it to reside) quite often and the compressor cycles fairly infrequently and you can easily hold a casual conversation without it bothering you. The fan that cools the towers runs 24/7, its whisper quiet (not like Dr. Nicks juicer), but I didn't notice a spike in my electric bill. However, in the summer it makes my breezeway pretty hot. I picked mine up for about $300 on CL a few years ago. I absolutely love it! Snatch this deal up!