[Guite]

Originally Posted by aim120

I think you misunderstood, Daikin has the lowest power consumption 822 watt for a 1 ton, but daikin can run harder upto 1.1 ton+ for 15 min during which it may consume higher. It can also run at around .3 ton at lowest speed.

Daikin FTKF 1.0 ton has a lower range starting at 4000 btu/hr, which is 30% of rated capacity. Lowest power consumption is 281w.

LG 12Enza 1.0 ton has a lower range starting at 1850 btu/hr, which is 15.4% of rated capacity. Only high power consumption is stated, which is approx 980w. Lowest power consumption is not given, but by extrapolation it is lower than 200w.

When we bought LG also had cash back and no cost EMI offers. That's one more reason we bought LG.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Guite

Thanks Aroy for the response. For same rated capacity - 1 ton - and similar maximum power consumption of approx 980w (for 5 star) LG has a lower minimum cooling capacity. While for Daikin minimum is 50% of rated capacity, for LG it is 15% of rated capacity. So for low to medium cooling loads, the LG machine has potential for better power saving..

Have you actually tested or verified if the compressor can actually drop down to 15% capacity? I know it is not easy to do so. Checking power consumption could provide a vague idea. I don't believe LG's wifi app shows power consumption. I have seen documents and blogs by LG where they say that their inverter compressor can work as low as .28 ton.This was a couple of years ago and now they do list the minimum cooling capacity at around 15% but I not sure if this is actually true as Daikin lists it at around 30%.


I am really keen to get an ac that can run significantly lower than the 50% capacity of my current inverter ac.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Have you actually tested or verified if the compressor can actually drop down to 15% capacity?

I have not verified. It’s purely based on data provided by each company in their technical specification.

On related topic what exactly is Lg dual inverter? Their website mention dual rotary and variable frequency. How does this help in achieving better power efficiency, as claimed by them?

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Guite

I have not verified. It’s purely based on data provided by each company in their technical specification.

On related topic what exactly is Lg dual inverter? Their website mention dual rotary and variable frequency. How does this help in achieving better power efficiency, as claimed by them?

This simply means there are two rotary [rotating] wheels in the compressor. As you might be aware, rotary compressors squeeze the refrigerant by forcing it under a rotating wheel. Here they use two of these wheels which supposedly delivers better performance. This is not unique to LG in any way. Daikin uses it in some models, so does Panasonic and many others. This technology was developed by Toshiba several decades ago and is now coming in to India in higher end ACs. It is just a marketing gimmick by LG as others call it twin rotary which is the normal industry name. If we compare Daikin's 5 star 1 ton with a similar model by LG, the ISEER on LG is 4.7 despite having this dual inveter technology while Daikin delivers a much higher ISEER efficiency rating of 5.8!! This proves that this dual inverter technology is not as effective as claimed. However I like the fact that LG ACs can supposedly run at lower power of around .15 tons. That is the clinching factor for me.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

Have you actually tested or verified if the compressor can actually drop down to 15% capacity?

I recently bought a 1.5 ton Daikin JTKJ AC, yesterday I used the AC by first setting the temperature to 18 and using powerchill mode, then when the AC showed room temperature as 21 degrees, I set it at 22 with eco and silent mode on. After a while when the ambient temperature and the set temperature were matching at 22 degrees, the AC displayed compressor usage at 5% but I cannot say if this was constant since I changed the display to ambient temperature after 10 minutes.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

I recently bought a 1.5 ton Daikin JTKJ AC, yesterday I used the AC by first setting the temperature to 18 and using powerchill mode, then when the AC showed room temperature as 21 degrees, I set it at 22 with eco and silent mode on. After a while when the ambient temperature and the set temperature were matching at 22 degrees, the AC displayed compressor usage at 5% but I cannot say if this was constant since I changed the display to ambient temperature after 10 minutes.

I believe what you are seeing in the display is the power consumption, not compressor load. The compressor must be off at that time and the fan and the rest of the electronics consume around 30 to 80 watts which would be around 5% of total power load of around 1315 watts. Daikin itself states that their 1.5 ton units can function at around 0.28 ton minimum capacity which would make the minimum load not less than approx 20% of the 1.5 ton capacity. Nevertheless, that is a great unit you have acquired. It has superb energy efficiency and very good minimum to maximum range. It only consumes 418 watts when working 50% capacity. That is incredible. Congratulations!

[Guite]

Originally Posted by Lobogris

The compressor must be off at that time and the fan and the rest of the electronics consume around 30 to 80 watts which would be around 5% of total power load of around 1315 watts.

I thought compressor is always ON in inverters.

Strange thing happened in our new LG inverter AC on first night of usage. I had set OFF timer for 6:25AM. It's used in my son's room. When I went to check at 6am, AC was off, ODU off, but timer icon is still on. Which means off timer was still active. It has a analogue clock icon display on the cover facia. We have informed LG about it.

I prefer to set sleep mode to turn up temperature during the night and turn off the unit in the morning. However LG oddly has 7 hours maximum limit for this sleep timer. For 7.5 to 8 hour sleep, this is not practical.


In case of the Daikin in our master bedroom, sleep timer provides two options: 1. how much the temperature should climb, and 2. maximum nine hours from the time it is set.

[Thad E Ginathom]

I would say... If you want the room at 21, set the AC at 21! A modern AC will reach that temperature. Setting a much lower temperature doesn't help and maybe increases power consumption.

Excepting, with my old AC, for quick cooling to 25, I set 24, because I know this increases the auto fan speed.

When using turbo settings ("powerful" on latest inverter) I don't think the set temperature matters: the thing just runs on full power for a given time.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by Guite

I thought compressor is always ON in inverters.

That is sort of a myth. While the compressor turns off less often in an inverter, it does switch off when needed. This is observed more in milder temperatures in small and well sealed rooms. If the outside temperature is 45 and you set it to 20, of course the compressor might never shut off. But if the outside temperature is say 32 and you set your ac to 28 then in a small room, the compressor will shut off after a few hours. Basically after reaching the set temperature, it will start throttling down to its lowest capacity and if the temperature still drops to 27 and then 26, it will shut down the compressor.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Need some help in Bangalore, am thinking of getting the apartment air conditioned. Issue is lay out of the apartment is not a friendly one (to place the units) and wiring also needs to be checked, since i am not sure provisions were made for AC at construction. Was looking at multi split unit which would have been ideal, but that is not working out, since they have been pulled off the market and only VRF ones (expensive) are only available.

So need a consultant or installer who can take a look and suggest best options and help with wiring. Location is Indira Nagar, Bangalore and it is a 3 BHK. Any known leads would be appreciated.

Surprising to find out that there are no independent contractors who can do an end to end job for AC installation in BLR. Dealers who sell mostly were ready to just install the unit and said wiring etc would have to be arranged from our end. Google search gave some listings but most of them were either not reachable and others just interested in selling AC.

Was left with no option but to get the friendly neighbourhood electrician which my apartment care taker suggested and he actually pulled of a pretty decent job. Managed all the wiring through the existing wiring ducts and only one room where there were no high current line, we had to opt for an external installation of casings. That too was done with minimal disruption to aesthetics.

Next step was calculating the AC tonnage and the tool available on amazon was pretty much on dot with the calculations I had made. I would need just 1 ton for the bedrooms that did not have any direct sunlight and the other would need 1.5 ton. Hall though would need a 2 ton unit. But then when I started calculation on power requirements, I was not sure running so many with a 3 KVA residential line is a good idea. Anyways we were looking at a nicer living environment and not bone chilling cooling for the hall. So decided for 1.5 ton. Tried of some combinations of units from online and traditional vendors.

Option 1 - Daikin dealer with 3 star came to about 2.18 lakhs.
Option 2- Voltas came to about 1.8 online
Option 3 - Flipkart only brand came to just 1.2 lakhs! But then reviews on install was not great so dropped it.

Thats when I noticed a banner on amazon for Sanyo inverters. https://www.sanyoappliance.in/air-conditioners/ I know the brand from my school days and now is owned by Panasonic. On further research it was clear that most of the AC units are either assembled in India or China and differentiator is really the installation. This again was a hit or miss in Bangalore. Sanyo was available only online through amazon, and only 1.5 ton was available when I checked. After some debate, decided on 1.5 ton 3 star inverters x 4 units. Came to about 28990 per unit, but same night while reading up, realised that the newer 5 star units made further reduction of current consumption, which will mean I might be able to safely run 3 unit at same time. So cancelled 3 star and ordered 4 x 5 star unit which costed 32990 per unit. Delivery was 5 days away on Sunday.

Saturday I get a ping from my friend saying 1 ton 5 star has come back on stock in amazon and if I wanted to pick them up? If so, he will take 1.5 ton off me. Immediately agreed to the deal and ordered 2 x 5 start 1 ton Sanyo's for 28990 Had purchased VGuard inverter specific stabiliser as part of this retail therapy. Finally Sunday the 1.5 ton were delivered, 2 of which my friend picked on Monday morning and by Monday evening the 2 x 1 ton also were delivered. Sunday itself I had received a call for scheduling installation, which I tentatively blocked for Wednesday May 1, being a holiday and I would be available at home.

Tuesday reconfirmed the same, but come Wednesday morning the installer started giving excuse that he forgot it was May 1st and no one is there to assist him with parts and tools from the shop. I was really disappointed with this, followed up for 2 days and this is what happens! Anyhow by 11 am another guy calls and asks when he should come. Not sure if this guy was assigned for the second purchase or the first guy has sent, but since he was assigned by Sanyo I gave a go ahead.

Point to note 1) Sanyo AC's don't have cables for connecting to power, so one needs to buy extra wire. 2) the drain pipe is the bare minimum length and it will just get out of the wall, beyond which we need to buy extension pipe and install. Started at 12 noon and finished install of the 4 units by 10 pm. Overall I would rate the install below average. These guys don't even do a vacuum check of the piping before switch on, they just do the jugaad way of letting out a small quantity of refrigerant into the pipe and doing a pressure check using fingers on the service valve!! I strongly suspect, all these installations are outsourced by local Sanyo centres to local freelancers. Left to me, next time around I would get a known installer directly and not rely on these guys. Screw the warranty threat and register the product online. Anyways AC are running fine for now, so am at peace.

Now coming to performance, while discussing with friends I understood that dual speed inverters are potent and can pull off cooling larger area than conventional units and it is the truth. Both my bedrooms are 12x12-13 Feet + and still 1 tons are doing a brilliant job on auto mode with hardly an effort. Bigger surprise was the 1.5 ton unit, which is now keeping cool a huge L shaped area of hall + dining + open kitchen + a small corridor. I plan to soft partition the kitchen and corridor, still I am super impressed!

Now how these units fair in the long run etc needs to be seen. But for total spend of 1.52 lakhs, which includes wiring, stabiliser, instal, labor, stands, all the additional wire, drain pipe etc for 4 units and covering almost whole house. I am super happy! Touch wood!

[BigBrad]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

You need a spike buster before the stabilizer since the spike buster will cut off the supply first in case of a surge.

Originally Posted by Thad E Ginathom

And the same thing applies to the MCB.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

You need a spike/surge protector before the stabilizer on the A/C input.

Originally Posted by Prowler

So what this means is you need to buy a 4pole Surge Protection Device (for 3 phase supply) which can be fitted in your mains input box. These devices have typical response time of 25 nS. And they can 'sink' 20000 A.

Hello guys, I just came across this device which seems to be a surge protector for large appliances. Can someone please confirm if this would work well as a surge protector for home AC:

Havells MCB socket

Anchor MCB socket

[Sebring]

Mitsubishi in Bangalore was a pleasant change! They have a customer experience centre at MG Road (Beside Oberoi) and take pains to explain and demo the products. Since I couldn't be bothered with looking for installers, they provided company installation - so it was truly a five-star deal, a year back. Even the pipe used was the premium Ashirwad. And the AC is the best ever! Performing really well.

Originally Posted by Jaggu

Surprising to find out that there are no independent contractors who can do an end to end job for AC installation in BLR.

[Prowler]

Originally Posted by BigBrad

Hello guys, I just came across this device which seems to be a surge protector for large appliances. Can someone please confirm if this would work well as a surge protector for home AC:

Havells MCB socket

Anchor MCB socket

They are ordinary sockets with a miniature circuit breaker (MCB). They won't protect your connected devices from surges.

There is one more thing: Don't use normal plugs to connect your HEAVY current consuming appliances like ACs. They will get burnt out sooner or later. When they do, pray that they don't drip hot molten ember below. This is how fires are started. Get a full metal jacket (this has nothing to do with the American war film) to connect your AC, water heater etc.

[Sebring]

Meltdown, really? Do you have a picture of these metal jackets? I'm really curious. Even Google isn't of much help here.

Originally Posted by Prowler

Get a full metal jacket (this has nothing to do with the American war film) to connect your AC, water heater etc.

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by Jaggu

I strongly suspect, all these installations are outsourced by local Sanyo centres to local freelancers. Left to me, next time around I would get a known installer directly and not rely on these guys. Screw the warranty threat and register the product online. Anyways AC are running fine for now, so am at peace.

Just to update, one of the 1.5 ton which my friend installed at his place conked off. Raised a service request and they sent another installer to inspect, as expected the shoddy install resulted in a leak at the join and gas had leaked. Good thing, they fixed the leak and refilled without any charges!

So once again I would emphasise on getting a professional installer arranged if going for Sanyo AC's.

Originally Posted by Sebring

Mitsubishi in Bangalore was a pleasant change! They have a customer experience centre at MG Road (Beside Oberoi) and take pains to explain and demo the products.

Darn! your feedback came lil late for me :( but thanks and this indeed is a great info for others.

Originally Posted by Sebring

Meltdown, really? Do you have a picture of these metal jackets? I'm really curious. Even Google isn't of much help here.

I think he is referring to the metal case instead of plastic ones for the plug and switch console. These are usually used for mounting are inside the walls. Vs the plastic ones generally preferred when the mounting is on top of the wall.