Recommend an inverter based AC (some prices inside)

[naveenjn]

Sorry I don't remember 1T as I never asked for it. But for 1.5T, Panasonic and LG were close to 55K. Only Sharp was affordable and I am absolutely satisfied with it.

What other features do Panasonic offer? I remember they have some sort of motion sensing to activate AC only when it detects someone's physical presence. I am not sure that is a good idea for inverter ACs as it saves the most when operating for longer duration. They have ioniser which Sharp too has.

The feature I love most about Sharp inverter ACs is that it shows the real time power consumption in KW (which is basically the tonnage at which the AC is presently running) on the indoor unit display. It is a big relief to see values like 0.5 and 0.6 in the middle of afternoon and yet be comfortably cool.

 

[arunsankar]

Sorry I don't remember 1T as I never asked for it. But for 1.5T, Panasonic and LG were close to 55K. Only Sharp was affordable and I am absolutely satisfied with it.

What other features do Panasonic offer? I remember they have some sort of motion sensing to activate AC only when it detects someone's physical presence. I am not sure that is a good idea for inverter ACs as it saves the most when operating for longer duration. They have ioniser which Sharp too has.

The feature I love most about Sharp inverter ACs is that it shows the real time power consumption in KW (which is basically the tonnage at which the AC is presently running) on the indoor unit display. It is a big relief to see values like 0.5 and 0.6 in the middle of afternoon and yet be comfortably cool.

Hello Naveen,

Could you please share the actual savings you had in your electricity bills after this installation? I am too planning to swap my 2 star 1T ac for an inverter model. Doing some math now

 

[Maddy02]

Thanks for all the extensive info that you have provided Naveenjn. I am about to decide on buying two Splits for my home (I am not averse to a window AC and I have sufficient space to install them).
Room 1: 12 x 12 x 10 - Ground floor, has a room above it, Receives no direct sunlight, Used by two adults. Usage will be couple of hours during the day and approx 7-8 hours during the night. It has an assembled 1.5 window AC right now which is a big electricity guzzler.
Room 2: 12 x 14 x 10 - Top floor, Little cross ventilation, faces the sun for most of the day, becomes very hot in peak summers. Usage will be mostly 7-8 hours at night (all days) and a few hours during the day on weekends. It has a decently performing Samsung 1.5 window AC right now.

For Room 1, a 1.1 should suffice. I am confused whether to buy a 1.5 ton for Room 2 or go in for a 1.1 (Considering it becomes very hot in this one)

Based on the inputs on this thread regarding the Sharp, I am incline to buy the Sharp AH-XP13LV or the Sharp AH-XP13NRV . I am getting the NRV for 32k + 1K installation (Stabalizer extra). I also have an option to go in for the Panasonic CS-YS12PKY. I am getting this at about 33 k + installation (Stabalizer extra). Also suggest the stabalizer for 1.1s.

I am getting 1.5 Ton Sharp Inverter (Model No. AH-XP18MV) for 45k + 1K installation (Stabalizer extra) - I can negotiate further to get the price down to 42-43k.
I am getting the Panasonic CS-YS18PKY (1.5 Ton inverter) for 40k + 1K installation (Stabalizer extra).

PS: Both the Panasonic 1Ton and 1.5Ton models mentioned above have Inverter power display just like the Sharp ones.

Kindly provide your inputs at the earliest..

P.S. I live in Chandigarh, so the temp ranges from 30- 42/43 with ow humidity levels most of the time. I am going to move the current window ACs to lesser used rooms in my home.

 

[naveenjn]

Hello Naveen,

Could you please share the actual savings you had in your electricity bills after this installation? I am too planning to swap my 2 star 1T ac for an inverter model. Doing some math now

As I mentioned my daily savings is about 4-6 units, despite my doubling usage time from 6 hours (old 3 star) to 12 hours (new inverter).

As for the actual rupee savings on the bill, it is difficult to calculate because Kerala State Electricity Board keeps on hiking charges every 3 months or so, citing lack of rains, increased thermal costs blah blah blah. So my present bill is pretty much what I used to pay 6 months back. But there is a key difference.

4 months back KSEB introduced a new rule. If the monthly consumption crosses 500 units (or in this case 1000 units per 2 months as the billing is done every 2 months), the consumer will have to pay a flat rate of number of units x 6.5. Previously there used to be a slab system by which only the units in excess of 1000 needs to be paid at 6.5 per unit. But now if you use 1300, you pay 1300 x 6.5.

And then 2 months back they announced another hike. They installed special energy meters in houses like mine (houses that crossed 1000 units consistently in the past). And now if the total units cross 1000, I will be billed based on my time of the usage on every day. What that means is that all my usage during peak hours (6 PM to 10 PM) gets charged at 8.5, 10 PM to 6 AM at 5.5 and 6 AM to 6 PM at 6.5 (these are not the exact values but something like this).

So if my 2 month usage reaches 1001 units, I will have pay around 2000 to 3000 rupee more than what I would have to if it was at 999 units. This is where my inverter AC saved me. With my old 3 star AC, my usage was always at 1200 to 1300 units. With the new inverter AC I still reach perilously close to 995 units but those remaining 5 units save 3000 rupee.

Therefore for me, inverter AC is a big saver.

 

[Maddy02]

Off-topic suggestion, but I believe it will help, whatever you buy. If you have a flat terrace roof above you, get it painted with heat-reflecting paint. It is not a gimmick, it really does work! Proof of this, for me, is I can comfortably walk barefoot on our terrace during 40+ Chennai summer months, when other flat surfaces are scorching my skin. Of course, if you live in a more traditional-stlye Kerala house, without a flat roof, you do not have this option. But, if you do, it means quite a lot of heat energy getting reflected, rather than absorbed by your ceiling.

Hi Thad E Ginathom. Can you shed some more light on the heat reflective paint:: The product you have used, performance, and price. Any info will be highly appreciated. Is it really VFM?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Well, this might even sound a bit silly, but we just went for a classified ad in the local newspaper! It said something like "German Technology," and I don't have any brand names for the stuff the guy used, but it is effective as per my previous post, and it does make a difference.

I think it cost about Rs.13 a square foot, and, thanks for the reminder, I think we need a after-a-couple-of-years touch up.

 

[brat]

Daikin has a useful tool that helps calculate the AC based on your room specs: Resources

Does anyone know the retail cost of a Daikin 0.75 or 1 Tonne Inverter AC?

How would you rate Panasonic and LG Inverter ACs? (in terms of cost, features, durability, support and service)

I need this for my home office in Bangalore (121 sq feet, 4th floor in 10 storey apartment, sun facing, 9-10 hrs of usage during summer only, avg room temp is 28-32C with 55-60% humidity in summer)

 

[alexmat01]

As I mentioned my daily savings is about 4-6 units, despite my doubling usage time from 6 hours (old 3 star) to 12 hours (new inverter).

As for the actual rupee savings on the bill, it is difficult to calculate because Kerala State Electricity Board keeps on hiking charges every 3 months or so, citing lack of rains, increased thermal costs blah blah blah. So my present bill is pretty much what I used to pay 6 months back. But there is a key difference.

4 months back KSEB introduced a new rule. If the monthly consumption crosses 500 units (or in this case 1000 units per 2 months as the billing is done every 2 months), the consumer will have to pay a flat rate of number of units x 6.5. Previously there used to be a slab system by which only the units in excess of 1000 needs to be paid at 6.5 per unit. But now if you use 1300, you pay 1300 x 6.5.

And then 2 months back they announced another hike. They installed special energy meters in houses like mine (houses that crossed 1000 units consistently in the past). And now if the total units cross 1000, I will be billed based on my time of the usage on every day. What that means is that all my usage during peak hours (6 PM to 10 PM) gets charged at 8.5, 10 PM to 6 AM at 5.5 and 6 AM to 6 PM at 6.5 (these are not the exact values but something like this).

So if my 2 month usage reaches 1001 units, I will have pay around 2000 to 3000 rupee more than what I would have to if it was at 999 units. This is where my inverter AC saved me. With my old 3 star AC, my usage was always at 1200 to 1300 units. With the new inverter AC I still reach perilously close to 995 units but those remaining 5 units save 3000 rupee.

Therefore for me, inverter AC is a big saver.

Naveen nice review and I too plan to take the 1.1 ton inverter for my house in Kerala. I have some queries if you could help with:
1) The model you have purchased is mentioned as an inverter model with no inverter controlled operations.I understand that inverter models heavlily depends on a microcomputer to control the rpm of condenser,wattage etc so this model without the microcomputer would it do the inverter function efficiently as compared to other brand inverters using micro computer control ?
Am wondering if this is using an inferior inverter technology

2) I understand that Copper condenser (Out door unit) is much efficient in heat exchange than Aluminium and also that if there are any defects like cracks, its very costly to weld an Aluminium tube compared to copper tube. So would this be an issue ?

3) Surpising to know that there is no temperature display at all either on remote or on unit ? So how does one know whats the current temperature and if the temperature has been reached ? Equivalent to a car without the speedometer ;-)

Thanks and Cheers

 

[naveenjn]

@alexmat01 sorry I am not sure about the technical side of things. Rishiguru is the best person to answer that. You should post this in his thread.

 

[aikatj]

I have just purchased and installed two LG BS-Q186C8A4 inverter acs in two bedrooms (14 X 12, both) on 2nd floor, west facing of my three storied house in Calcutta yesterday. I have been poring over articles in this forum and would like to share pictures of the units and my overall experience. But I shall do that a few days from now, for various reasons. In the meanwhile can someone comment on how long it should take these acs to bring room temperature down to 18 when external temp is 34 ? Keeping in mind west facing rooms in top floor of a house with external temp of 34 ?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I have never tried, as I would never want to be that cold, but I doubt very much if any of our ACs would be capable of that with only one per room.

 

[vijwilso]

Off-topic suggestion, but I believe it will help, whatever you buy. If you have a flat terrace roof above you, get it painted with heat-reflecting paint. It is not a gimmick, it really does work! Proof of this, for me, is I can comfortably walk barefoot on our terrace during 40+ Chennai summer months, when other flat surfaces are scorching my skin. Of course, if you live in a more traditional-stlye Kerala house, without a flat roof, you do not have this option. But, if you do, it means quite a lot of heat energy getting reflected, rather than absorbed by your ceiling.

Thad
I will be visiting Chennai this Thursday and wanted to do this coating for my Chennai house. Can you pls send some pointers for this

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

We just picked a small ad in the local newspaper. Local one-man business. Well, one man plus workers .

If I remember correctly, it said "German Technology." At the time, we had leaks and needed water-proofing, with heat treatment as a bonus.

Actually, the indoors temperature has been rising for the last few days (obviously, the outside temperature has! Summer is upon us!) and I think we need to look at getting a fresh coat.

I just looked for business card, with no luck. Mrs G probably has it: will try to remember to ask her tomorrow.

 

[jagdish_p]

I have just purchased and installed two LG BS-Q186C8A4 inverter acs in two bedrooms (14 X 12, both) on 2nd floor, west facing of my three storied house in Calcutta yesterday. I have been poring over articles in this forum and would like to share pictures of the units and my overall experience. But I shall do that a few days from now, for various reasons. In the meanwhile can someone comment on how long it should take these acs to bring room temperature down to 18 when external temp is 34 ? Keeping in mind west facing rooms in top floor of a house with external temp of 34 ?

Room temperature at 18 deg centigrade!! That is unusually low and uncomfortable. The recommended is around 23 to 27 range.

In any case please note that the A/C s normally lower the suction air temperatures by around 14 deg and are able to reach a minimum discharge temp of around 14 deg irrespective of suction. So reaching a room temp of 18 may not be possible unless you have a high capacity air conditioner relative to room size.

 

[aikatj]

Thanks to Thad E Ginathom and Jagadish P, I got the general 'drift'. As a matter of academic interest, I could gather that a 14 X 12 room requires roughly 7000 BTU of cooling. The LG inverters are rated at 18000 BTU. So is there any way that we can calculate how much time it should take for an ac to cool a room by 1 degree or 2 degrees or 3 degrees ? I guess that I am just bright enough to understand that the time shall not be a linear function of temperature.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Don't ask me: I'm a maths dunce!

But I think that this is the sort of calculation that architects and interior designers probably do quite often.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Thad
I will be visiting Chennai this Thursday and wanted to do this coating for my Chennai house. Can you pls send some pointers for this

Sorry to have neglected this. Several Thursdays have gone by already .

As the temperature has been rising, we noticed that it was getting hotter inside the house before, so we had our terrace recoated. Yesterday we got a crew of people to scrub down the surface, and today it was repainted.

Here is the guy's website/contact page: Sun Cool Coating.

I've seen small ads in The Hindu for some coating which they claim lasts ten years. There's also Dr Fixit products, but they seem to be very expensive.