[su_madness]

Originally Posted by rkg

Godrej has priced them insanely. Just like CFL and Led bulbs are priced. As advantage in terms of power savings and saving earth( noble cause) is fully negated by pricing. For example in Bangalore, the usage will be limited to two months @ 6-7 hours per day., it does not make sense to pay double and triple the price for R290 models over R22 models

LEDs were priced so. Now 9W LED bulbs are available for 70 INR with a 3-year replacement warranty. These are available at electricity bill pay centres (Government's UJALA scheme). Also, 20W LED 4 feet tubes are available for 230 INR with a similar warranty. All of them are made by OEMs, I have ones made by Philips, HPL, Surya and I read that there are a lot many more companies. We have replaced all our CFLs with LEDs (Had replaced incandescent much earlier) and these ones are as good as the ones that we had paid 400-700 INR earlier. One LED bulb out of ten stopped working in a few months and they replaced it immediately. The LED tube is brilliant despite being just 20W. Even though the lumens are lower than 40W fluorescent ones, may be the directional nature of LEDs lit spaces better. Have planned to buy a few more of these. BEE 5 star rated fans have also started selling under this scheme. Apparently, the procurement cost has also reduced, win-win for consumer, environment and also the government.

Quoted from ET: "Currently, over 22 crore LED bulbs, 16 lakh LED tube lights and 6 lakh energy efficient fans have already been distributed across 25 states and 7 Union Territories.
This has led to daily energy savings of more than 8 crore KWh, resulting in avoidance of over 5,956 MW of peak demand. "

Let's hope the cost of R290 falls down over the years. Much needed considering the amount of ACs that are being used today. Until then, R32 is the best bet. Also, I recently witnessed at a car AC service centre that the gas can be stored in a container and reused after the repair. This should be the practice for home and commercial ACs too.

About stabilisers, here in Cuttack-Bhubaneswar, the voltage in summer is so bad that stabilisers with input of 90V are the norm. We manage with 130V input models as we have a 3-phase supply. For single phase meters, we have to use 90V ones. And this is not a scam, I have regularly monitored the input voltages in our house and other people's houses, and talks of fans running at their slowest speed during peak summer is pretty common. All this, despite Odisha being a power surplus state.

Here are a few long term reviews of our ACs:

I have the beloved Sharp AC, and it has been working fine for around 3 years now. Touch-touch-touch-wood. The best AC we have had so far is actually a Godrej 3 star fixed speed one, around 5-6 years old now, chills like a bomb. Believe it or not, we have used both these 1.5 tons Godrej and Sharp in a 280 sqft room, low ceiling but top floor (white paint on the roof). They have worked because I never use a temperature lower than 28 degrees. And yes, the Godrej used to cut off too. Sharp inverter definitely has lowered our electric bills substantially. Maintenance wise, the outdoor unit capacitor was replaced once (less than 100 INR) and once rats had eaten wires because the holes for pipes was left open. Godrej service was prompt and they had fixed it up in a day, the swing motor costed around 450 INR.

We have 2 1.5 tons window ACs too, one 2-year-old Voltas 5 star and an 11-year-old Electrolux. The Electrolux is a fantastic chiller. It developed a leak and vibrated a lot after the 9th year mark. We have a genuinely great AC guy, he repaired it completely for around 2k INR. No other major maintenance cost so far. We are still using it in the guest room where it is only used occasionally. The remote has stopped working completely, even the on-board buttons aren't working, so it operates at 25 degrees all the time. The newer Voltas is not bad but the air throw is slightly towards the right even at the extreme left swing position and as the place of the AC is at the right end of a wall, some part of the cold air falls on the right wall. The Electrolux had a better throw and used to cool the room much quicker. We have angled the Voltas now and it is slightly better. It does consume 350 watts lesser than the Electrolux. A window AC with the fan output on the left side would have been ideal for us but there were none available. The Voltas remote display is poor, half of it is not showing up but the signals are very quick and respond in opposite directions too. The on-board buttons are poor too.

There is a 10-year old LG split and this like the Electrolux has been moved to a room where the AC is used less. A Hitachi 5 star fixed speed has replaced it, and this cools much better (lower bills too) than the LG. The LG used to stop working during our extreme 45 degrees afternoon heat. None of the other ACs in the house do. It is now fixed in a smaller no direct sunlight room and the outdoor unit is under a proper shade.

I clean the indoor fins using a wet toothbrush and filters with water. Also, splash water on the outdoor condensers. I have noticed it does improve performance.

Only the dreaded Sharp has Aluminium condenser, rest all are copper. A friend's Samsung Al condenser was now replaced with a copper one by our AC guy for just 5500 INR.

Also, we paint our roof white every year with white cement paint. It helps a lot. Temperatures reduce by around 5-10 degrees. Without the paint, the top floor (where we reside almost always) is a furnace. With the paint, it feels like the floors below. We have found that cement paint is the ideal combo of price and longevity. Lime, which is more popularly used here on roofs, erodes off during the rains. The cement paint also erodes but much lesser. We will try elastomeric paint on a small roof some day as it is quite expensive now (10 INR/sqft - Asian Paints Roof Guard or something). If anybody has used it, please let me know if it lasts 3-5 years as they claim. Till then 0.75 INR per sqft cement once a year is VFM.

P.S - I have no political affiliation. I am a treehugger and environment blogger.

[su_madness]

We also capture water from our ACs. The Voltas 1.5 ton window fills this bucket in the 10-12 hours use per day. Ours is a hot and humid climate. We use this to water our plants, mop our floors and we are going to try to wash clothes in them as this water is extremely soft (11 TDS as measured by a digital TDS meter bought from Amazon). Our municipal supply water has a TDS of around 110 and borewell is hard at around 350. Overall we are collecting around 2.5 buckets of water from 3 ACs now.

Our rooftop white cement paint really helps cool down the place by around 10 degrees Celcius and it looks good too

Off topic - any idea on low cost filter for rainwater harvesting, we intend to collect water from around 2000 sqft of our rooftop space.

A Bluestar window was recently replaced (to be moved another room where usage is very low) with a Daikin FTKM 1 ton (ISEER 4.7) at my sister's place. The JTKM (ISEER 5.8) was out of stock here. We got the FTKM for 42k + 1.5k installation and 2.5k for extra copper pipe and wires. It is installed in a 120 sqft. top floor room (white paint to be applied). It takes a bit of time during the afternoon to chill the room. The inverter does help sleep better. Two of their window ACs have developed a leak and we have sent them to a workshop. Quoted cost of repair is 2200 INR each. A 3rd LG window AC's (7 years old) compressor needs to be replaced and these guys (they sell and service Daikin and Hitachi) have quoted 9-10k estimated cost for replacing the compressor with one year warranty. Is that a good deal considering a new 1.5 ton window cost upwards of 20k. Is there a way to source a 5 or 4 star compressor for this? The compressor this guy is selling is around 1700-1800 watts, hence 1 or 0 star. This AC too will be fixed up in a guest room where it will be occasionally used. Experts, please suggest.

[Geo_Ipe]

I'm just not able to source window AC's where I live (Vellore, TN)! None of the shop guys seem to have it in stock and all are asking 5-6 days to procure one. I paid an advance at the LG brand shop last week, and there's no unit even after 7 days!

Are Window AC's really that scarce or are shops not interested in dealing with them as margins are lower?

[su_madness]

Originally Posted by su_madness

I have the beloved Sharp AC, and it has been working fine for around 3 years now. Touch-touch-touch-wood.

The Sharp had required a gas top-up once. Service has been surprisingly prompt too. There's this one guy who always comes, he had installed it perfectly and had come for the free services. He also came to install our Sharp TV. He had told me that it is possible to replace the Al condenser with Copper if it fails. This guy is equally competent as our AC guy. Both of them do a very neat work of arranging wires and placing stabilisers & switches. We have all our stabilisers except one outside the room. On the other hand, the Godrej guys who installed had done a shabby job. The indoor unit was slightly tilted (he said water wouldn't flow out), he had to drill 2 holes because of miscalculation and incompetency. I had to call our guy who immediately set things right. The Godrej guys who subsequently came to repair the rat damage and free services were good. If anybody in Cuttack needs a good AC mechanic, ping me but he's usually extremely busy with work. His charges are the lowest and often says pay whatever you want since he has been working with us for a decade now.

Going by the dreaded Sharp experiences on this forum, I pray that the PCB lasts. I recently heard that there's this one guy in Bhubaneswar who is repairing inverter AC PCBs but he takes time as he's apparently the only guy and hence loaded with work.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Had our 2nd-hand Samsung indoor unit serviced recently. It was icing up due to dirty-fan-caused reduced airflow.

Our good AC guy sent his youngster to do it. Since which, it has been noisier and... it was freezing us. Had a hunch why, but only just got around to climbing the ladder. Yes: he had left the temperature probe dangling away from the air intake. Have put it in the right place now, and temperature regulation works again.

[ecenandu]

Any pointers on fixing AC in kitchen.

These are the points which came to my mind
1. Electric chimney a must.
2. Placement of AC far from the heat source.
3. I'm worried about clogging the AC filter and indoor unit, so regular maintenance is a must.
4. Are there products for this niche segment.
5. What about a different solution, like ducting cold air to kitchen.

Please feel free to add your suggestions.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Sheel

EDIT: Does this look like a good AC to buy? http://carriermideaindia.com/Superia-5i.aspx

Apparently, the 5i isn't manufactured yet as per the distributor, it is present on website only. The 4i is available. Should I get that? http://carriermideaindia.com/Superia-4i.aspx

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by ecenandu

Any pointers on fixing AC in kitchen.

These are the points which came to my mind
1. Electric chimney a must.
2. Placement of AC far from the heat source.
3. I'm worried about clogging the AC filter and indoor unit, so regular maintenance is a must.
4. Are there products for this niche segment.
5. What about a different solution, like ducting cold air to kitchen.

My son's complex in Gurugram has an AC in the kitchen of every flat. A chimney is also required to keep the smells out. Remember with an AC you have air recirculation. They have a central unit with indoor units in all bed rooms, drawing and dining area, and one in the kitchen. I have not seen any major differences. Maybe the installation and layout were so planned.

I may add that we seldom use the AC in the kitchen. There is enough leakage from other areas to cover the needs.

[SchumiFan]

Got the Mitsubishi MS-HK13VA machine today. Runs on R410A. I know, I tried getting the R32 machine but was out of luck and the Chennai summer turns up a notch this month. I will be here more often this month and hence the need for an AC immediately.

Haven't installed it yet. It will be happening sometime this week I am hoping. Summers have made installation guys' time very sparse

Thank you Team-BHPians for all the information that you guys provided during my search for an AC. I will make sure I educate a few others in my household when the matter of purchasing an AC comes up.

[goswami.j]

So here's the taste of the pudding. 2 years back (Jul15) had purchased a O General Windows AC 1.5T. It is installed on my largish 2nd floor bedroom (15' x15 '). It was a made in Thailand unit and Jan15 imported. Was might pleased with the strong airflow it had & easily covered the room. Used to run 6 months a year x 7/8 hrs daily. Missed the sleep mode during the night, when it got a bit chilly & had to adjust temp. manually.

Last week compressor has stopped working. Have logged a service request with there call center (Chennai based of all India), repeated calls to there local service incharge here no results ! No one has even come to have a look, & keep promising today technician will come.
Casual look at mouthshut, Generalindia.com shows this as a usual problem consumers face. So guys keep in mind service availability while choosing the specialist i.e. O General, Daikin, Mitsubushi. Think it is easier to get service from Voltas, Carrier, Samsung etc. at non-metros.
Lesson learned.

[diyguy]

Originally Posted by goswami.j

So guys keep in mind service availability while choosing the specialist i.e. O General, Daikin, Mitsubushi. Think it is easier to get service from Voltas, Carrier, Samsung etc. at non-metros.

Try to find a friends trusted ac mechanic. It could be something as simple as a condenser needing change. Has happened to me and recently to a friend as well. Both times was a simple condenser change.

[yoscenario2000]

Originally Posted by su_madness

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.
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We have 2 1.5 tons window ACs too, one 2-year-old Voltas 5 star and an 11-year-old Electrolux. The Electrolux is a fantastic chiller. It developed a leak and vibrated a lot after the 9th year mark. We have a genuinely great AC guy, he repaired it completely for around 2k INR. No other major maintenance cost so far. We are still using it in the guest room where it is only used occasionally. The remote has stopped working completely, even the on-board buttons aren't working, so it operates at 25 degrees all the time. The newer Voltas is not bad but the air throw is slightly towards the right even at the extreme left swing position and as the place of the AC is at the right end of a wall, some part of the cold air falls on the right wall. The Electrolux had a better throw and used to cool the room much quicker. We have angled the Voltas now and it is slightly better. It does consume 350 watts lesser than the Electrolux. A window AC with the fan output on the left side would have been ideal for us but there were none available. The Voltas remote display is poor, half of it is not showing up but the signals are very quick and respond in opposite directions too. The on-board buttons are poor too.

There is a 10-year old LG split and this like the Electrolux has been moved to a room where the AC is used less. A Hitachi 5 star fixed speed has replaced it, and this cools much better (lower bills too) than the LG. The LG used to stop working during our extreme 45 degrees afternoon heat. None of the other ACs in the house do. It is now fixed in a smaller no direct sunlight room and the outdoor unit is under a proper shade.

.
.
.
.

I was in hunt for a good, economical & easy on maintenance split AC for my Hall.

After much confusion, finally settled for 1.5 Tons, 3 star Electrolux owing to its best European home appliance brand reputation.

While its too early to vouch about its quality completely after a months usage, but I feel this AC is best suited to my requirements.

It has a bigger and a super silent ODU. It chills the room in less time and air throw is also good.

It claims to be 100% copper, 5 years warranty on compressor, 3 standard free service & uses R410a.

Its IDU has magic LED display feature which can be turned off while AC is functioning, which is quite useful at night.

I hope, in future, it would prove economical on maintenance part as well.

[goswami.j]

Originally Posted by diyguy

Try to find a friends trusted ac mechanic. It could be something as simple as a condenser needing change. Has happened to me and recently to a friend as well. Both times was a simple condenser change.

Apparently it is not so simple an issue. The compressor has conked off (burnt). Since it is under the 5 years warranty, need to get it attended by the O General authorised service personnel only.
In such situations you are stuck if the OEM service is pathetic. As is the case here for O General. Hence the advisory & lesson learnt line.

[Thad E Ginathom]

Originally Posted by goswami.j

O General.

Not "O General." Just General! Look carefully: that which many people think is an "O" is actually a logo, not a letter.

General India:

ETA General Private Limited (EGPL) is a Joint Venture company between ETA-ASCON STAR, Dubai and Fujitsu General (FGL), Japan set up in 2000.

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Sheel

EDIT: Does this look like a good AC to buy? http://carriermideaindia.com/Superia-5i.aspx

Originally Posted by Sheel

Apparently, the 5i isn't manufactured yet as per the distributor, it is present on website only. The 4i is available. Should I get that? http://carriermideaindia.com/Superia-4i.aspx

No info on these AC's anyone?