Recommend an inverter based AC (some prices inside)

[naveenjn]

Last time I asked for a suggestion here to replace my Logitech Z-5500 speakers, I was pointed to Edifier, a brand I hadn't heard till then. I was skeptical but still went ahead trusting you guys and I couldn't be any happier. The balanced output was much better than the bass blasting Z-5500.

Now I am looking to buy an inverter based split AC. I am from Trivandrum, Kerala. My room size is 240 sqft, top floor. I believe 1.5T inverter would cover this area. I currently have a 5 year old Whirpool 1.5T split (3 star I believe). The cooling was always slow and my electricity bill was always high. Now with Kerala government hiking electricity rates again and planning for another hike in Jan 2013, I am considering changing this AC.

I went through pretty much all threads here on inverter ACs. My normal AC usage is from 3 PM to 6:30 PM and 9 PM to 12:30 PM. I was thinking if I switched to inverter AC, I could run it continuously from 3 PM to 12:30 PM, while reducing the bill (or at least retain the current rates).

I visited some shops here in Trivandrum and not surprisingly most of them don't have inverter ACs at all. Here are the inverter ones I found.

Sharp 1.5T (AH-XP18MV) - Rs 43,500 + 1000 (installation)
LG 1.5T (BS-Q186C7M1) - Rs 58,990 + installation
Carrier 1.5T - Rs 43,750 + installation
Daikin 1.5T - Rs 46,400 + installation

Sharp and LG use R410A refrigerant while Daikin uses old R22. Not sure about Carrier. Shop guys said for Sharp inverter acs, only 1.5T is required up to 290 sqft (my room is 240, top floor). I also found on the net, the photo of a document from Sharp comparing inverter and 5 star ACs.

I am leaning towards Sharp due to lower price and installation as well. Has anyone bought Sharp inverter ACs? Is the price good? What about the other brands? And more importantly is 1.5T inverter enough for a 240 sqft top floor room?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

My room size is 240 sqft, top floor.

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.

 

[naveenjn]

Thanks man. Always thought that was a marketing gimmick. I do have a concrete roof but it is slanted though. I don't think that will be a problem. I will definitely check this out.

 

[cmsajith]

Applying 2/3 layer of white cement coats will definitely help (cheapest option). Another option is to make a false roof over the concrete roof using alum / GI sheets with a gap of 1 ft, you may not require an AC for cooling.

 

[naveenjn]

Thanks. I believe outside false roof is expensive. Inside false ceiling would have been good but I don't want to move out of the room with all my stuff for at least a week till the work completes.

So applying something on the roof is the best option. Heat reflective paints and now 3 layers of white cement; cool. I will check it out.

Guys, anything on AC models and room size?

 

[avidyarthy]

240 sq ft ... That too on the top floor ... 1.5 TR won't do, during afternoons but might be just about ok during the nights ... looking at the hot and humid weather of Trivandrum.

Look at a 2 TR machine. Settling for an inverter based machine would not guarantee 'cooling' this kinda area, at such a location. Inverters play a major role during off-peak cooling making sure that the compressor does'nt operate intermittently and remains on continuous, though operating at a lower RPM.

So, try looking at a 2 TR A/C ... upto you, whether you settle for inverter or simple. Obviously, inverters would eat up less electricity during off-peak run time.

 

[naveenjn]

Thanks mate. I remember reading your posts on the topic.

In my area the voltage goes down to about 170v, which is why I bought V Guard VWR 400 (supports up to 130v) stabilizer for my 5 year old Whirlpool 1.5T. It costs Rs 4000 and will support only up to 1.5T.

Will a stabilizer made for 1.5T non-inverter AC, support a 2T inverter model? Otherwise, I will have to get VWR 500 which could cost about Rs 5000.

I am also considering painting the roof with heat-reflective paints like our members here suggested. Will that be enough to make a 1.5T inverter AC, cool a 240 sqft top floor room?

 

[kamalnayan]

Thanks. I believe outside false roof is expensive. Inside false ceiling would have been good but I don't want to move out of the room with all my stuff for at least a week till the work completes.

So applying something on the roof is the best option. Heat reflective paints and now 3 layers of white cement; cool. I will check it out.

Guys, anything on AC models and room size?

False ceiling with GI sheets and POP costs around Rs 80 per sq feet.

 

[Nishant06]

Buying a higher capacity AC than needed is advised against especially in humid areas. The thing that differentiates an AC from air cooler is that the AC removes moisture while also cooling the room. If you buy a higher capacity AC it would bring down the temperature too fast and then stop even removing moisture. Dunno if this argument holds for inverter ACs as well.
But i read somewhere that the 30% power saving over conventional ACs is marketing gimmick and cannot be achieved in normal household rooms. In such cases an efficient conventional AC may still turn out to be cheaper overall.
Also the cost of refilling the R410a may be significantly higher than R22. So keep that in mind if you plan to use it for a long time.
If you choose inverter based ACs, I would suggest a 1.5 ton (along with the paint thingy it should suffice, especially if used with a fan on low speed to circulate the cool air). Also buy a good quality one as replacing electronics may be a problem (in terms of cost) if something goes wrong.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[avidyarthy]

Thanks mate. I remember reading your posts on the topic.

In my area the voltage goes down to about 170v, which is why I bought V Guard VWR 400 (supports up to 130v) stabilizer for my 5 year old Whirlpool 1.5T. It costs Rs 4000 and will support only up to 1.5T.

Will a stabilizer made for 1.5T non-inverter AC, support a 2T inverter model? Otherwise, I will have to get VWR 500 which could cost about Rs 5000.

I am also considering painting the roof with heat-reflective paints like our members here suggested. Will that be enough to make a 1.5T inverter AC, cool a 240 sqft top floor room?

Don't 'F' around just for a 1000 bucks ......

 

[naveenjn]

Don't 'F' around just for a 1000 bucks ......

Not 1000 bucks my friend. The difference between 1.5T and 2T inverter is going to be at least 8000. And for 2T I will have to buy new double boat stabilizer for 5000 as my current one supports only up to 1.5T.

So in total the difference between 1.5T and 2T is going to be at least 13000 bucks. I will be doing roof painting either way so I was wondering, like Nishant suggested, if that and slow speed fan alone would be enough for a 1.5T inverter to cool my room.

 

[avidyarthy]

Suggest do the reflective coat first and see whether the existing 1.5 TR is making 'some' difference or not .... then, it would be easier to make a final decision.

 

[cmsajith]

AC cools the room and a fan can cool the body. I would suggest a 1.5T normal AC with the roof top coat and using the fan at very slow speed.

 

[naveenjn]

Thanks guys. I will get the roof painting done first and then decide on AC (although I am inclined towards 1.5T inverter).

Btw, what is your opinion on Sharp's ACs? This is the model I am looking at:

Sharp

 

[john_k_antony]

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.

May I know the brand of heat-reflective paint you used and an estimated cost/sqft for doing the same?

Thanks,
John.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

We went for something in a newspaper ad. A risky thing to do, perhaps, but it worked out for us . It's a one-man local business, so not much use to you.

Our roof/terrace was left as bare concrete by the previous owner/builder of the house and needed the water-proof and heat combo. For a 1,000 sq ft, the cost was about 13,000.

 

[Asit]

Hi naveenjn,

Sharp is good, that's what I hear. A few months ago, I went through a similar exercise, equipping our new apartment with new air conditioners. Our living/dining area is about 400 sq ft. After a lot of deliberations with a few brands like Daikin etc, ultimately we bought a 2.0 ton General AC (people usually calls these O'General). These are made in Thailand as are also Daikin and Panasonic, and are made by a joint venture with Fujitsu. We are very happy with this AC, very quiet and tremendous cooling ability. It hardly takes 10 minutes for this AC to cool the 400 sq ft area, moisture removal is also great (something that is very important here in Kolkata and I believe in your city too). General & Daikin are the most respected brands. Daikin also have very good service. General service however differs. It depends a bit whether they have a service centre in your city. If not, you should ask the dealer about the service. Usually people regard General ACs as very very reliable and having one of the best cooling capacities (especially since you are on the top floor). Their website is: :: ETA GENERAL ::

Regards.

PS: BTW, I have installed General ACs also in the 3 bedrooms (each 1 ton though).

 

[naveenjn]

Thanks Asit. I see that General too has inverter based ACs, but couldn't find any pricing info. Based on their history it could be pricey.

 

[naveenjn]

I visited some paint shops today to get an idea on heat reflective paints.

I found 2 of them:

Dulux WeatherShield SunReflect
4 litres cost Rs 875
20 litres cost Rs 4153
1 litre covers 240 to 280 sqft per coat
Can be mixed with water at the rate of 400 to 500 ml per litre
Over 1100 colors available, although the prices above is for white and is recommended for maximum heat reflection
2 coats recommended for light and 3 for dark colors

Nippon Weatherbond Solareflect
5 litres cost Rs 1978
1 litre covers 100 sqft
Cannot be mixed with water
Recommends putting a wall sealer first which costs Rs 828 for 4 litres (can be mixed with water)
Available only in white color
1 coat wall sealer + 2 coats of Solareflect recommended

Dulux claims to reduce room temperature by up to 5% while Nippon claims it can reduce up to 5 degree Celsius. So in paper Nippon sounds better but it is much more expensive than Dulux.

How is your experience with these brands?

EDIT:

On the website of Dulux India, it says it will reduce temperature by 5 degree Celcius, although in the Dulux brochure I got from paint shop it is mentioned 5%.

Anti Fungal Paint, Cooler Homes

 

[naveenjn]

Visited the shop again to get prices for Sharp 2T inverter AC. The model is AH-XP24MV and it costs Rs 54,000. So the difference between Sharp 1.5T and 2T inverter is Rs 10,000. Plus I will have to get new stabilizer for 2T while I can use the present one for 1.5T.

So in total the cost difference of getting 2T inverter AC from Sharp is Rs 15,000 over 1.5T which is pretty huge.

Btw, if anyone is interested, here is the user manual for both models

http://sharp.com.my/pci/manual/AC/AHXP18MV.pdf