Which AC to buy ?? Help

[techy.saurabh]

I am from Pune. My room size is approx. 14*12*10 with one NE facing window and max 2-4 people in it (1 TV & 1 tubelight). Please help me in choosing the right a.c.

I plan to use it about 8 hrs daily (approx 1200 hrs/year). If the a.c. uses very less electricity, I don't mind using it longer. My budget is < 40k and i plan to keep it 6-7 yrs atleast).

Which type of a.c. suits my requirement inverter or non inverter 5 star ?
Since I want to keep the a.c for long, wont it be better if I chose inverter technology ?

As per my room size I guess a non inv model should be at least 1.1 T. Therefore, buying a 1.5T a.c should be a waste of money. Price difference between 1T & 1.5T is big.

I read reviews on some forums and found that Sharp 1.1T models are good especially AH XP13LV. I do not want to put lot of money.

Please suggest what type a.c is best for my requirements & suggest some models.

Also can you plz give an idea how much jump in electricity bills/month will i notice?

 

[mshifi]

1.5ton should suffice for your room size. Depending on your budget may may opt for either 3/5star models. Daikin is a good brand for ac.

 

[Naturelover]

Have you gone through this thread?

 

[kanth2004a]

Hi. This is umakanth..
Pls help me out in purchasing a new Window Air Conditioner

As i am interested in 1.5 ton AC with 5 star rating.. But im confused in prefering the Brand.

Im not able to judge among the below mentioned.. Pls guide me in this regard


1. Carrier
2. Hitachi
3. Voltas

 

[deba]

Hitachi..........expensive but best..........

 

[rikhi22s]

I am from Pune. My room size is approx. 14*12*10 with one NE facing window and max 2-4 people in it (1 TV & 1 tubelight). Please help me in choosing the right a.c.

I plan to use it about 8 hrs daily (approx 1200 hrs/year). If the a.c. uses very less electricity, I don't mind using it longer. My budget is < 40k and i plan to keep it 6-7 yrs atleast).

Which type of a.c. suits my requirement inverter or non inverter 5 star ?
Since I want to keep the a.c for long, wont it be better if I chose inverter technology ?

As per my room size I guess a non inv model should be at least 1.1 T. Therefore, buying a 1.5T a.c should be a waste of money. Price difference between 1T & 1.5T is big.

I read reviews on some forums and found that Sharp 1.1T models are good especially AH XP13LV. I do not want to put lot of money.

Please suggest what type a.c is best for my requirements & suggest some models.

Also can you plz give an idea how much jump in electricity bills/month will i notice?

Sharp or Daikin 1.1 ton should be good enough for you and it has to be the inverter model. Don't fall for stars coz inverter is the way ahead

 

[devang]

go to bijleebachao.com ...and ask your question. .Site owner.Abhishek Jain would give you all the details right upto the model number suitable for your specific needs.

 

[devang]

btw, i just got my 3 ACs (Daikin) installed today .. two 0.75 ton inverter ACs for 10x12 rooms and one 3 star 1.5 ton for 1119 room.

 

[techy.saurabh]

Hi

Thanks for all details and explanation. A dealer has offered me 36k for AH-XP13PETW model with 4 years full warranty and 5 years on compressor. Is it a good deal. Also I have heard good reviews for AH-XP13LV model but not much about AH-XP13PETW. Is it a good model ?

He said it has full copper wiring and not aluminum like previous Sharp models. Please reply soon.

 

[sanjub22]

Boss ... every brand is more or less equal .... so decide on the basis of the post sales service on your area ..... and better not to ask too much questions in the forum as you will get more confused ..... AC is not a very specific niche hifi product and different people will have different opinion ..... so judge by yourself and check out for the service centers in your area ......

 

[ghatgepatil]

One would be shocked to know that most, well, virtually all so-called Indian AC manufacturers get their ALL their wares from the 'big 3' Chinese cos., Haier, Midea and another one (missing its name now).

Average capacity of each supplier = 30 to 40 million pieces per annum.

All Indian cos. direct the Chinese to brand the products in their logo. Each product has 'some' differentiation with different pricing levels depending on quality desired.

Does anyone have any flaming idea the kind of profit margins company's like Voltas make on the Chinese re-branded products that they back up with the catchy 'Moorthy' TV ad. ?????

What is being said here is very true. Other than the very HI-END AC units, most AC suppliers are sourcing these units from one source. For the budget range at least, look for after-sales set-up than anything else.

 

[Scarface]

The best acs to have is mitsubishi and daikin , but dont get the daikin which is assembeled in india its not that good. General ac is also good but a bit high in electricity consumption.
In indian brands voltas is the best

 

[Fantastic]

I spoke to an a/c dealer today. He said that if you use the a/c a lot then a 5 start is better. The star rating is a measure of it's energy efficiency. 5 star uses less power for the same cooling as a 3 star but the unit costs much more
. For use only for a short span of time ( Pune, Bangalore ?) a 3 star will do. But say Chennai and Hyderabad a 5 start will be better if you use the a/c a lot all year round.
Toshiba and Carrier are the most expensive. Hitachi comes close. These three are supposed to be the most reliable brands. The companies don't compromise on the materials that they use. That's why the can't drop prices.Diakin and OGeneral are also good but I've no idea what they sell here.

 

[Amitkg]

Guys, stay away from ACs that use R22 refrigerant gas. Lately, you may have noticed that Flipkart and other online stores are giving huge discount on some of the models; if you carefully check the spec sheets, you'll find almost all of them use R22 as refrigerant gas. Problem with R22 is that it is not environment friendly and in developed nations, R22 is already banned. R22 has been replaced with R410A / R -600a / R -134a. India has long been known as a trusted dumping ground of throwbacks. Just imagine, if you buy an AC that uses R22 refrigerant gas and say after 3years your AC needs gas recharge and R22 is not available then ????

 

[krishnamurthy]

Using 8 hours AC daily at home is not a good idea from a health perspective.

1.5 Ton AC is sufficient. EER rating of the AC is important, higher the rating, the better it is. Calculate the lifecycle costs (i.e. how many units of power is consumed) of running the AC. Ask the dealer to give you the figures based on your situation. Many times, a dealer would lower the price on the MRP of the AC but ding you on the installation. Check how many feet of pipe you need to connect the indoor unit to the outdoor unit (i.e. for a split AC), any frame you may require to keep the outdoor unit if no chajja is around, hole making in the wall (not to damage existing pipes, studs and wiring)

Having worked in the AC industry before, it would be preferable to buy from manufacturer's dealers (who only sell AC's and nothing else) and enquire with the company itself who their best dealers are. Visit the dealer's premises (if possible, even their warehouse which shows how many spares do they stock) and you will get an idea of an efficient or an un-organized operation.

Key to look for is how many service personnel they have, how long they have been in business, how large is their network, how quickly they can respond to issues, do they work 6 days a week, proximity to your home (a big plus considering the commuting time nowadays in many cities is horrific) and AMC costs (annual maintenance contract after your warranty expiry) as well as compressor and motor warranty period and how many free services are provided and what exactly is covered under the service. No dealer is going to give you actual figures. Only way to find out is ask how many service calls they attend to on a daily basis, how much backlog is present and what types of complaints do they usually get to attend. Specific following questions will reveal how forthcoming they are.
If a compressor fails, what is the turnaround time to replace it?
If a motor fails, what is the turnaround time for replacement?

Don't take it blindly that a 1-2 day turnaround is feasible. From my experience, it rarely happens.

All this is worth, when you require the AC so desparate in summer and it fails, the background work you have done helps you immensely.

Always buy at the quarter end or yearly end (i.e. the company's timeframe, not the calendar quarter or year) and you will get the best prices.

 

[techy.saurabh]

I am not sure how it is bad from health prospective, i think its good as it blocks dust and polluted air and keeps circulating fresh air.

R410A is the latest and best gas for an AC. Also inverter ACs are way to go for future as they save about 30-40% more electricity than a 5 star AC. Its because of the way inverter tech works. They are the future of ACs.

Anyway, I finally got an offer for Sharp AH-XP13PHT 1.1T model for 36.5K (excluding installation). Is it a good deal. Is the AC a good selection. It does have a good list of features.

Ezone is offering 39K lowest for XP15-RET 1.25T model. They said some models get free installation but didn't confirmed if this qualifies for free installation. Anyway free installation means 1K less max. I also heard that Sharp 1.25 models do not have good EERs.

I was suggested 1.1T models by some expert on another website. Do you think 1.1T is not enough for my requirement and could prove to be a bad choice in future.

Feature wise AH-XP13PHT model sounds better deal though.