Yet another Air Conditioner thread - window inverters

C

Criminal

Adept
Hi Folks,

I have gained lots of knowledge from TE forum and have read almost all the threads on ACs. Came to know that Sharp makes really good inverter ACs. I was looking online for window based models of Sharp inverter ACs but the site doesn't list any.

- Doesn't Sharp make any 1.5 Ton window inverter AC with R410A?
- If not Sharp then which is the next one should I consider to buy from NCR market?
- Price, Features, Looks are not a constraint for me.

On the other hand, if I go for a split inverter model then
- Does Panasonic Cube have any advantages over the popular 1.5T Sharp?

Any kind of links, short answers etc would help.

Thanks!
 
There are no Window Inverter ACs in India. If you want an Inverter, a split is the only option.

The Panasonic Cube isn't an Inverter AC.
 
As window inverters are out of question for me... can anyone provide me your experience with

Multi-Split over Single Split ?

I was planning to buy 3 window inverter ACs but as they are not available, installing 3 ODUs will be a challenge. So, I thought of going for 3:1 multi-split. I want to find out if there are any operation difficulties in managing a single (huge) ODU? Will 3-phase electricity supply be of any use here? I can ask the dealers/sales reps but their answers will be biased.

Anything else that I need to be aware of before buying multi-split (inverter) AC?

Crazy_Eddy said:
There are no Window Inverter ACs in India. If you want an Inverter, a split is the only option.

The Panasonic Cube isn't an Inverter AC.
Click to expand...

Oh! thanks a lot for this info. I thought the manufacturers didn't update indian websites. LOL my house is window AC friendly :D... it's going to be a trouble but can't wait for window models to be launched in india.

Thanks for the info on Cube as well... I must be looking at wrong websites.
 
I am planning for costly all frills attached multi-split AC so that I could use it through out the year with myriad filters and heat pump. BlueStar inverters have lots of features and some of them are really useful. I don't know how come many people don't prefer it.

If I need to compare ACs for energy efficiency + power savings then which parameters should I look into? There is something called "Cooling Capacity" and then "Cooling Power Input". Both are ranges and mentioned in watts. If I look at EER only then I may not be able to reach a conclusion. I need to figure out whether a multi-split is going to be power hungry if only one IDU is being used. From @Crazy_Eddy's post in another thread, it seems multi-split is meant for space saving only. If it's true then multi-splits are not for me and it'll be a great relief for me as my hunt for multi-splits is not yielding any results.

All these years I used to think that multi-splits are cheaper than multiple single-splits as manufacturer is spending less material on extra ODUs. @rdst_1, @TheIndian: do you have more info on this?

1) I wanted to go with mutli-splits as I thought they would be cheaper than individual units. Also, only one power input at ODU is an advantage. So far I've come across only one multi-split - Rs 2 lac BlueStar with 4HP capacity. It's too costly for a 3 x 1.5 Ton AC. Even BlueStar HQ couldn't explain the sky high price.

2) My search criteria has now changed to single split inverters. :-(. It's going to be tough call now as earlier I had to select from just a handful of multi-splits.

3) My immediate requirement is for 3 no.s x 1.5 T inverters. Layout of the house is attached. I came up with a figure of 1.5 from my gut feeling. No technical analysis done :). I read somewhere by @cranky that going for extra capacity will be helpful in saving power. So, is it 2T for each room?

4) Each AC will run for 12 hours a day, during different times. So, the load on compressor will be lesser during nights but higher in afternoon.

5) I think, extra filters (like Vitamin C :p etc), extra features (sleep mode) and a multi-option wireless remote (extra temp sensor) will be quite helpful. If I add heat pump to it then it's going to help me year round (weather at my place is either too hot or too cold - i.e., anything but pleasant). Do you think paying extra for all such things (+heat pump) in an AC is a sensible investment?

6) Multi-splits are not easily available in my area. So, from where should I start my search for single-split hot-n-cold inverter ACs? Budget is not a constraint but high price needs to have a logic behind it.

7) Lastly, I am not familiar with Gurgaon's market in terms of pricing and service. Does anyone have info on a reliable AC dealer (your relative, friend etc). I am not much into haggling for lower prices and hence need to buy from a known person. Also, just like delhi, is there a gray market in Gurgaon as well?

Off topic: lots of people think R410A is the future but it's merely a stop-gap. R32 is the real replacement for R22.

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gauravH said:
1) I wanted to go with mutli-splits as I thought they would be cheaper than individual units. Also, only one power input at ODU is an advantage. So far I've come across only one multi-split - Rs 2 lac BlueStar with 4HP capacity. It's too costly for a 3 x 1.5 Ton AC. Even BlueStar HQ couldn't explain the sky high price.

3) My immediate requirement is for 3 no.s x 1.5 T inverters. Layout of the house is attached. I came up with a figure of 1.5 from my gut feeling. No technical analysis done :). I read somewhere by @cranky that going for extra capacity will be helpful in saving power. So, is it 2T for each room?

4) Each AC will run for 12 hours a day, during different times. So, the load on compressor will be lesser during nights but higher in afternoon.
Click to expand...

At a run time of 12 hours a day on a pretty sunny flat with fully exposed roof, yes, oversizing is definitely the way to go. Inverters may actually be useful here too given the long running time, but the best method is to work out which saves you more money in the long run (AC cost + running cost). Do note that the actual cost of the AC is only about 10% of the total cost of airconditioning. What professional engineers will always tell you is to oversize to begin with, so that you use energy for the shortest possible period. The other issue is the outside temperature in GGN, not all units are comfortable in peak summer.

You may have to bite the bullet and opt for the pricier units which are guaranteed to 50+ degrees ambient. I had a bunch of locally made units provided in my rented flat, and my bill was around 5k(DHBVN)+2k(society backup), so about 3.5k/month, and that was before the diesel price hikes. But I was a working man, so the ACs were used only at night and on weekends and since it was a ground floor the rooms were pretty liveable even without. I suspect good units would at least halve the cost of running ACs and save about 1200 or so per month (winter bills were closer to 2.5k bimonthly).

Multi-splits are of questionable utility unless you are very short on outdoor space. Since real estate is more expensive than air conditioning, there is a premium attached to anything that will help you save space. These are meant for very cramped spaces (eg mumbai) where a single unit can be used to cool three or four showrooms or apartment rooms.
 
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@cranky: that was really an informative post. At least I am now sure that I don't want multi-splits. I was looking into practical aspect of multi-splits but it's not going to be cost effective in the long run.

1) I'll now go thru the list of 2T inverters. Most probably, I'll choose one with a heat pump. Do you have any specific model to recommend?

2) If I need to find out cost of running an AC, which parameters should I refer to when comparing models from different brands? Each one has their own method of describing Rated Efficiency, Cooling Power etc. Don't know which parameter is the deal maker.
 
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1) Nope. Haven't bought a unit in the last two years and inverters launched only after that. I prefer oversizing to buying an inverter in generl terms - for example my room needed a 1.5T, I bought a 2T unit rather plump for the 5-star Hitachi units. This bore fruit, my summer bills dropped by about 300-400 per month compared to the earlier (though older) 1.5T unit. It's fairly possible that I may have saved another 100 or so with a 5-star 1.5T unit, but to cover the cost difference of about 18k, it would have taken 180 months, longer than I intend to keep the unit for (we normalise it at 120 months, or 10 years).

2) Normally we use watts to calculate both heating and cooling
 
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