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Hi All

I am planning to buy two ACs this summer. I found a very useful link.
https://www.bijlibachao.com/air-cond...ee-5-star.html

Very nicely author explains the difference between inverter and non-inverter technologies. He has provided calculator where in you enter city, room size etc and it shows your tonnage requirement, yearly electricity bills by 3 star, 5 star ACs and so on.

Initially I had thought to go for inverter ACs but looking at the initial cost, even 3 star AC will serve me well. I will be using it approximately 10 hrs a day, for 4-5 months in an year. Initial investment in inverter ACs does not look justified for my use. I will be saving very little in terms of electricity bills and will take many years to recover the initial extra investment.

The utility of Inverter AC is not only in saving electricity (and that is substantial, given that electricity rates are increase monotonically every year). An Inverter will always supply cool air by slowing the compressor down, so that there are no burst of warm air when the compressor switches off and chilled air when it is on. As a lot of current is consumed while switching on, an inverter will save a lot of electricity by just staying on. Further as there is very little starting current (normally it is upto five times the running current), you will need smaller capacity switch gear and in case you want to, be able to run the AC on an inverter.

Let me put that another way: Inverter ACs simply work better.

Really they do. I have been stung by buying a lemon (Sharp). Our local-street engineer says he is not even going to try to diagnose its current fault: yes, these things are very much more electronics-heavy than older types. I was browsing through an online service manual for one, and, can you believe, some of the diagnostics tests required an oscilloscope! Doubt if there are many of those in India's AC workshops. Probably not even in the manufacturers' service shops.

But still I'll get an inverter AC again for that room. For the comfort.

I am planning to purchase two 1 Ton AC's. Room size is 120 sq.ft. I am thinking of LG 1 ton inverter. What are other options? How's the customer service of Japanese brands like Daikin, Hitachi in Pune?

I have a problem with the stabiliser on the AC. This is a region with quite a lot of voltage fluctuation. Every 10 minutes or so the AC switched off as the stabiliser output is lost. It then takes 4-5 minutes to start back again.
An electrician friend suggested I use a triple booster stabiliser to try and get this sorted.
Will this sort the issue?

What will sort your problem and not just for the AC but for the betterment of all other appliances is a "servo stabiliser".

I guess the installation guys carry a long rope with a wooden plank which they use to suspend from the terrace to hand onto the 6th floor, similar to what the painters or the building glass cleaners use. They would be carrying a drilling machine to drill holes for mounting the supporting angles for which they would need power. IMO it is better to have the ODU placed at a location which can be easily accessible for future maintenance. You may have to spend some additional cost for the extra copper pipe for extending the copper pipe from the 6th Floor till the terrace.

I have Daikin's FTKP series 1.5 ton inverter split AC for the last 2 years in my wife's office. Its served very well and works like a charm.

We recently moved to a different place where her wooden cabin would be 10x12x15 feet. For a 120sqft room 1 ton looked ok until I added the extra height of 15 feet.

However, this office doesn't get direct sunlight from any angle. Its on the first floor of a 5 storey building but I'm not sure whether wooden cabin (3 sides) is going to affect the AC's performance so is it better to get another 1.5 ton or can I work with a 1 ton AC here.

Lastly, any reason (like longevity or something else) to consider any other expensive series of Daikin (like anti-corrosion etc.) or is FTKP good with regular maintenance?

If it helps, the AC would be run at temp like 23-24 would only be when there's a group of people in the room, which is like 2 hours in a day out of 9-10 working hours. Mostly the AC would be run at 25-26 degrees with just 1 person in the cabin.

Thank you so much for your reply amitpatnaik. Suspending oneself from the terrace on the 10th floor all the way down to my window with the ODU in tow sounds like an incredibly risky thing to do, one which I am really not willing to be part of. You are absolutely right about future maintenance too.
Another option is mounting it where my terrace is, approximately 16-18 feet in total away. There might be a need to do some significant drilling, because of the need to bypass a beam. Will there be a significant load on the system, given that it has to pump the cool stuff all the way across this much distance ? Will it reduce cooling efficiency, as well as the life of the overall setup ?

I am lucky to find this thread at so apt time. I have the below query:


I am planning to install 2 ACs with 1 Tonne capacity each for 2 rooms(Ground Floor and First Floor) in my house(Bangalore)

Tonnage wise, I am fine but, the query I have is, We have a 5 KW energy meter for our house. With 2 ACs with 1Tonne each(Appx 1 KW each) + refrigerator(600Litres), will this 5 KW energy meter enough or should I go for increase in wattage of Energy meter?

If I have to go for increase in wattage, what is the procedure in Bangalore?

Request experts to respond to this query

When I had family living many floors up in a Singapore block, they did not have any sort of balcony for human use, but there was a small area with access from the inside where an AC unit or two could be safely placed and serviced. Are not multi-storey blocks in India a thing of the reasonably-recent past? surprised architects didn't consider this.
The run can be surprisingly long, but check the specifications before buying, as it will differ for different machines. The pipes must be properly insulated, and do not let the installers bind the insulation tightly with tape, which seems to be a misconceived fashion. It is the air bubbles in the foam that do the actual insulation: compressing it defeats the object.

I totally agree with you on the risks involved. Ideally the technician should use the safety equipment like the safety belts, safety shoes & safety helmets for doing a proper installation which they seldom do:Frustrati.

Most of the A/c OEMs do not charge for the copper piping of length 3 mtrs. Any copper pipe more than 3 metres is charged additionally to the customer. 16-18 Feet distance works out to 6mts approx which is quite normal.

Why don't you consider your balcony as an option to install the ODU?

I doubt if you can do any drilling on the beam.



IMO the load on the system would not be an issue but the cooling efficiency may slightly reduce with the increase in the length of the copper piping. It wont affect the life of the overall setup.

Why the need for so much hassle? If your requirement is for a silent AC, I am sure people on this thread can suggest you multiple window ACs that are quiet, if not silent.

Daikin FTKP series are pretty robust and can handle the additional 5 feet easily. Thing is cool air settles to the bottom and hot air rises up. So the region above the IDU will anyway have warmer air than the one below the IDU. Just ensure regular cleaning of filters and it will keep working like a charm

It is time to get my ac serviced and ready for summer. It is a Hitachi split ac.

Last year, the technician cleaned the IDU internals with a wet tooth brush, washed the grill, filters. However, he simply poured some water over the ODU and said that's it. Servicing done!

Before calling the Hitachi guys this year, want to understand if the wet service includes removing the cover of the ODU, washing the compressor, fins etc or just pouring water on the ODU?