Team-BHP - The home / office air-conditioner thread

I'm in market for 2 units of inverter split (.75 or 1 ton). After energy efficiency my concern is indoor unit noise. I found Mitsubishi units are 19dB on lowest speed. LG units (1 ton/4star ) specifications mention 18 dB. Another feature i insist on is illuminated remote which is very useful during night. Only Hitachi and LG have that. Hitachi indoors are noisy. LG is not 5 star. So may be next year.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dark.knight (Post 4262615)

In that same vein, I say NEVER, buy Panasonic.. its been a bad experience simply put. This is the update after my review that I liked it but 1.5 years down the realities have changes, the operation is quite noisy/clumsy.. it simply doesn't feel like a properly functioning unit and it is very slow to respond to remote changes as well (the Bluestar in the office functions superbly in comparison). Filters have been cleaned and tune-ups have been given and while the a.c never failed in its actual job of cooling it simply is too unrefined and overall bad, period.

In this respect, our Samsungs work well.

Our second-hand Daikin in, I suspect, held back by the cheapo-chinese remote that came with it. Will try to get an original-Daikin remote one day. Yes, this will be a couple of Rs.K at least --- and I might just find that what I;m really suffering from is a narrow angle of the sensor seeing the signals and I won't be better off for my 2K spent. Well, I probably will: hope the Daikin original wont reset itself regularly! And yes, I have tweaked the battery terminals for better contact.

Disappointed by the Panasonic review. Had been high on my want list. Anyway, should be a year or two until next purchase now.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dark.knight (Post 4262615)

I usually mean it when I compliment brands that I own, I do not compliment them simply because I happen to own them and when I feel its time to update my views to reflect the change in reality I will do so.

In that same vein, I say NEVER, buy Panasonic.. its been a bad experience simply put. This is the update after my review that I liked it but 1.5 years down the realities have changes, the operation is quite noisy/clumsy.. it simply doesn't feel like a properly functioning unit and it is very slow to respond to remote changes as well (the Bluestar in the office functions superbly in comparison). Filters have been cleaned and tune-ups have been given and while the a.c never failed in its actual job of cooling it simply is too unrefined and overall bad, period.

Want to keep it running for some more time (sees operation of <1hr a day) maybe a year more and then I'll change to Daikin, Carrier or Bluestar. O.G has pathetic sales/service network.

Which model did you buy? We have two Panasonic inverter AC, one has been doing duty since 2012 and the other one since April 2017. So far both has been doing pretty well. The first one we bought has done some serious running and still doing its job pretty well.

In quiet mode, the noise level is pretty low and since it is inverter, the cooling is pleasant.

I am looking for 1.5 T Inverter Split AC for my room, as my 8 year Old LG Split AC is creating huge noise indoors.

Below are few i am looking at
1. Carrier 1.5 Ton Inverter (4 Star) Split AC - Superia 4i Price - 42k
2. Daikin 1.5 Ton Inverter Split AC - White (FTKH50RRV, Copper Condenser) - Price 44k.
3. Blue Star 1.5 Ton Inverter Split AC - White (CNHW18RAF) -Price - 38k

All the three are Copper and inverter.
Customer review shows Carrier and Bluestar as top, Daikin is low on customer review(quiet bad rating in both Flipkart and Amazon), even though this forum rates is high.

Kindly suggest which AC i can go, or any other brand?

Quote:

Originally Posted by shamanth (Post 4263091)

Customer review shows Carrier and Bluestar as top, Daikin is low on customer review(quiet bad rating in both Flipkart and Amazon), even though this forum rates is high.

Kindly suggest which AC i can go, or any other brand?

In Gurgaon, we have installed Hitachi split a/c in all the rooms (all 1.5 T, all-weather).

Two of these rooms are west facing (Gurgaon has unforgiving, direct sunlight for 6-7 hours/each day); yet, the a/c does its job really well. I often set it at 25 deg just because anything less gets too cold for me!

Really quiet, four way air movement.

General is another brilliant performer in hot climates (but pretty expensive).

Avoid Bluestar at all costs. This company is simply not supporting its dealers with supply of spares. As against a dealer order for 20 specific spares for service, the company (viz Bluestar) only supplies the dealer with 5.

This has resulted in tremendous customer dissatisfaction and turnover from blue star products. As per dealer, the company is interested only in selling a/c units and not providing support for ASS.

Avoid.

Even after 2 months with the Carrier Superia 4i, I am not able to find an optimum setting for comfort. I used to think that I could set it at a temp and sleep through the night. But alas, no. I set it at 25C and in a couple of hours, we'd be shivering. Set it at 26 and it takes ages to cool. And at 27C, we'd be feeling hot.

I found a setting called sleep mode which would progressively raise the temp setting for 2 hours by 2 degrees and then run for 5 hours and then shut down. This seems to work somewhat fine when we start with 25C, but by early morning we'd be feeling hot and would have to restart the AC.

Is this how it is supposed to be? Did I have too much of expectation from this inverter AC?

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Originally Posted by civic-sense (Post 4264687)

... Did I have too much of expectation from this inverter AC?

Well, what you are describing is more like a non-inverter machine, so I don't feel you are getting a good result there.

First thing I'd do is to get an objective take on the situation by keeping a thermometer in the room and seeing what you you get. 25 on the AC should give you 25 in the room... or some sort of reasonable offset and it should be reasonably constant.

Give that a go. It is not going to make you any more comfortable ;) but may help to know the exact situation.

Personally, I think a C degree is a bit too big for comfort. But without getting stuff from USA, this is what we're stuck with. And I think I've seen one company advertising 0.5 settings. Can't remember who.

C degrees, of course, is also what we are used to thinking in. Even those of us that grew up with F!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom (Post 4264708)

Well, what you are describing is more like a non-inverter machine, so I don't feel you are getting a good result there.

Well, set at 25C, I see that the compressor never switches off. I know that the inverter AC's compressor is not supposed to switch on/off but, I wonder how it is supposed to behave once the set temperature is attained. Switch off or continue running at its lowest speed?

Quote:

First thing I'd do is to get an objective take on the situation by keeping a thermometer in the room and seeing what you you get. 25 on the AC should give you 25 in the room... or some sort of reasonable offset and it should be reasonably constant.
Give that a go. It is not going to make you any more comfortable ;) but may help to know the exact situation.

I'd try this.

Quote:

Personally, I think a C degree is a bit too big for comfort. But without getting stuff from USA, this is what we're stuck with. And I think I've seen one company advertising 0.5 settings. Can't remember who.

I think it is Bluestar. Been seeing an ad lately.

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Originally Posted by civic-sense (Post 4264733)

As I understand it.... yes.

But the room is getting some sort of heat input, from outside and/or from its occupants, so this should never lead to a situation where the the temperature just goes on dropping.

(Imagine: guys goes on holiday, leaves AC on by mistake, returns to find room at absolute zero rl: )

Please excuse my zany sense of humour. When my poor deceased Sharp was working, it kept temperature and humidity wonderfully, comfortably stable. This is what we are paying the inverter extra for!

Quote:

[half centigrade degrees] I think it is Bluestar. Been seeing an ad lately.

Oh, that's a pity!

Please can I have suggestions for a decent 2T split AC. I have had a few quotes and been quoted 51000 for a mitsubishi 5* split system. The dealer also stocks other brands and suggested a carrier unit.

Are there any pitfalls to inverter AC units? Local fix everything and anything mistri guy reckons it better to go for a non inverter unit as more to go wrong in an inverter one.

Last 1T window Whirlpool AC we bought has lasted more than 12 years and still works fine (never re-gassed). Not used very often.

I am adding my 2 cents about the underrated Panasonic Cube AC.

In our ancestral home in Jharkhand, we have a couple of rooms with this AC, size approx 450 sqft each with high-ceiling.
The AC is superb in terms of air throw and cooling, and one can feel the effect of the cool breeze almost immediately.
The USP is that the airthrow is not direct to the floor, but to the adjacent walls which helps the cool the room, without chilling the occupants on the bed.
The operation is low on noise, but one cannot compare it to the super-quiet Daikin ones.

It's suited for both commercial and residential ones. I am unable to comment upon its availablility, star rating, inverter feature, but these ACs work like a charm.

Overall, I think Panasonic is worth keeping in one's shortlist.

Quote:

Originally Posted by akshaymahajan (Post 4239636)

Scenario: Have a window AC installed in a shaft on the ground floor of a 3 story house. The distance between the AC body and the shaft walls is 1 feet each on all 3 sides.

Does this adversely affect the cooling? My AC technician said so since the hot air thrown out does not have a wind stream, the AC will not be as efficient.

Q1. Is it true? What should be the ideal distance between the back of the AC and the wall?
Q2. Will installing an exhaust fan perpendicularly behind the AC help?
Q3. Can this cause the the coil on the side of the condensor to have ice deposited on it? I always thought that was just due to lack of gas.

Thanks

I hope I am answering your question correctly. I think you can install a perpendicular steel box, and change the flow of the air as per requirement.
I have seen this installation in numerous commercial AC outdoor units.

See this pic for indicative reference.

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Originally Posted by sharktale (Post 4266121)

I am adding my 2 cents about the underrated Panasonic Cube AC.

See this pic for indicative reference.[/url]

Thanks Sharktale. My AC guy told me that even if I try something like this, it will result in an x percent improvement (x <30). And since this was already a 1.5T in a place where a 2 T would probably be just adequate, we decided to just re-install it in a not so pretty but more effective location.

Works better now.