[mobike008]

Originally Posted by drbabuanand

mobike008- stunning pictures.
is it texture painting in your wall.

Yes, the walls are first textured with a design and then paint is layered on top of it. When I did it ( Sep'2005) it was relatively a new fashion.

Originally Posted by khoj

@mobike008
That is a great room especially the blue on the walls. I like the painted alcoves in the wall next to the glass door.

Thanks Khoj. I conceptualized it myself completely taking simple guidelines from Interior magazines.

Btw, all rooms have a different color theme suiting slightly to my fancy liking

[khoj]

Originally Posted by drbabuanand

khoj
what do you think about 2 ton hitachi "follow me" and 2 ton hitachi "kaze".
the former is 46000 while the later is 38000.
is there any differance in their cooling capacity?

The 'follow me' is priced at 44300 and the 'Kaze" at 44300 on the site and these are the MRP. So you are being quoted prices with a 10% mark up. Unless the extra 10% is for installation including stand, material and installation. Even then I would expect a 10% off on the machine price.

The follow me has a compressor rated at 23500BTU with a 2390W input and the kaze has a 21000BTU with a 2300W input. Follow me is definitely the better machine of the two.

From the Hitachi range the best suited machine for you is the Atom XL with a 2.75 Ton compressor. Equipped with a 33000 BTU compressor and 3000W of input it will take care of both the rooms i.e 250 and the 300 square feet. MRP is 67500.

I have no idea regarding the climate at Trichy but I am assuming consitions would be similar to Chennai.

If you have a business or are a professional(assuming that you are a Doctor) you may be able to order one direct from the factory through your local dealer. This helps in avoiding double sales tax. the machine is billed directly to you and you pay only the Central Sales tax @2% or 4%(commodity dependent) and avoid paying the local sales tax. (as high as 12% in some states) It is perfectly legal and you can claim depreciation on the air cons being business assets. Your dealer will also prefer this as he is covered and does not have to put in his own money. But looking at the prices he is quoting to you negotiate as hard as possible and then some more. Two machines identical or otherwise is a pretty neat order.

Originally Posted by mobike008

Btw, all rooms have a different color theme suiting slightly to my fancy liking

Fodder for a new thread. What say mobike008. I will look forward to you taking the lead here.

[Guite]

Originally Posted by khoj

I spoke to the sales guy at the Panasonic Brand shop and got some prices.

The 5 star rated 1 ton split 12000BTU comp. is for 29,900 consumes 1080 W.
The 4 star rated 1 ton split 11700BTU comp. is for 26,900 consumes 1160 W.
The 2 star rated 1 ton split 11500BTU comp. is for 21,900 consumes 1250 W.

Now assuming that the air con will be used for 15 hours a day x 7 days x 4 weeks and we are using the 2 star rated air con consuming an extra 70 watts so we consume an extra 30 units over what we would with the 5 star air con. Assuming per unit cost to be Rs. 5/- that comes out to an extra spend of INR 150 per month or say INR 900 over a summer season of 6 months. Do carry out your own calculations but in view of the above is it worth paying the premium for the 5 stars.

Hi khoj,

I did a similar calculation (posted in a previously here) and what I found out was that buying a 5 star rated AC does not make much financial sense. It may make more financial sense if:- (a). You use high capacity e.g. 2.5 ton, and (b). Usage duration is very high, say 20 hours a day.

On the other hand you calculation confuses me. The difference between 5* and 2* from your list seem more like 1250-1080 = 170 watt = 0.17 units per hour.
Monthly consumption = 0.17 units x 15 hours a day x 7 days x 4 weeks = 71.4 units.
However my experience is that full power is consumed only about half the time. So 71.4 x 0.5 = 35.7 units @ Rs.5 = Rs.178.50p per month x 6 months usage in a year = Rs. 1071 per annum. In other words, the running cost of the 2* is Rs.1071 more than the 5*, year on year.

So theoretically, the pay back period for the above 5* model when compared to the 2* model is Rs.8000/Rs.1071 = 7.5 years!

[drbabuanand]

khoj
thanks for the quick and detailed reply.
the amt quoted for "follow me" is including installation.
you have mentioned same price for kaze also,is it a typo.
there is also another variant called star,is it the same as kaze.
the climate in trichy is 2degrees above chennai.
i am afraid to experiment with atom for my two rooms.
will keep all your suggestions in mind when i visit hitachi show room tomorrow.

[sourav9385]

Thanks to all for replying to my queries . I have a few quotations that I would like to share with you guys. Please let me know which would be the best deal among these.

Voltas Vertis Premium 1.5 Ton Split with stabilizer and installation(3 star ,EER - 2.8) - 25k

Samsung Biosleep 1.5 Ton Split with stabilizer (2 Star, EER - 2.6) - 21k

Samsung Biosleep 1.5 Ton Split with stabilizer ( 3 Star, EER - 2.83) - 22.5k

Installation charges for the samsung models is 1.2k

What do you guys suggest? How are Samsung AC's in particular? Any horror stories so far? I have heard that Voltas AC's are pretty decent. What about service and all?

How much of a difference will it make if I choose an AC with a 2 star rating over a 3 star one in the long run?

Please do reply guys. Thanks to all who read this post of mine Much appreciated.

[khoj]

Originally Posted by khoj

The 'follow me' is priced at 44300 and the 'Kaze" at 44300 on the site and these are the MRP.

Yes that is a typo indeed the MRP for Kaze is 34,740/-

The star is HItachi's attempt to catch up with OG and Daikin and carries loads of features too like the 4 way air swing and all. However I think both Daikin and OG would be more efficient in the 2.0 ton and above range.


@ Guite

You are correct regarding the power consumption figures. I considered full power to replicate a worst case scenario.

@icemanz

Buddy, I hope you have gone through guite's figures and may want to take a better look at the Panasonic 4 and 2 star air cons at 27 and 22 respectively. These are MRPs and open to negotiations.

I spent nearly two hours this evening looking at various brands and the build quality of the Panasonic is in a class of its own and the premium pricing bug is yet to bite them.

[WanderNomad]

I would like to add something to the discussion here. While technically a split is no better than a window (in fact traditionally it is said that a split should never be put where there is a space for a window AC as split consumes more power, has hassles and blah blah) I feel a split is much better in terms of noise and fashion statement.

Window ACs are slowing getting phased out and I know of friends replacing window ACs with splits during renovation. But after using a split in my bedroom for over 2 years I find it difficult to sleep in any room with a window AC as I find the noise level too high.

[mobike008]

@Sourav, a friend of mine installed a Samsung Window AC a couple of years ago and got the Samsung bio sleep 1.5 ton split last month.

He seemed pretty happy with their performance.

For that matter, i have an LG Window AC ( 1.5 ton) in my bedroom since last 4-5 years and got it serviced only twice till date.

So LG and Samsung are proven products and you should not go wrong if you select either of them.

My usage is about 7-8 months a year and for daily about 3-4 hours ( mostly in the night)

[LonelyPlanet]

Originally Posted by mobike008

For that matter, i have an LG Window AC ( 1.5 ton) in my bedroom since last 4-5 years and got it serviced only twice till date.

What do they do in servicing ? Do they check the gas/ electricals/ compressor lubrication or its a mere wash with water

[anupmathur]

So what happens if you don't get the AC 'serviced'?

There is a good chance it is working at reduced efficiency due to a partially dirty/clogged condenser and evaporator.
Slightly or moderately higher electricity bill!

In very bad cases, with severe clogging of the condenser fins you could be paying through your nose for the power consumed and still be sitting in a room that is not cooled to anywhere near expectation!

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by LonelyPlanet

What do they do in servicing ? Do they check the gas/ electricals/ compressor lubrication or its a mere wash with water

They remov the entire front panel, check for gas, clean the entire unit with water and remove all dirt particals that clog the unit and thats about it. I reckon they charge Rs.500 for same

This year as well they kept following up with me and i decided not to get it serviced.

Originally Posted by anupmathur

So what happens if you don't get the AC 'serviced'?

There is a good chance it is working at reduced efficiency due to a partially dirty/clogged condenser and evaporator.
Slightly or moderately higher electricity bill!

In very bad cases, with severe clogging of the condenser fins you could be paying through your nose for the power consumed and still be sitting in a room that is not cooled to anywhere near expectation!

Thats right Anupam. Its a simple check

If electricity bill goes drastically high then you know the unit is performing at reduced efficiency. thus, a service should have been done.

I keep a check that in Summers, if my electricity bill is higher than Rs.3000/month then something is wrong and other seasons it hovers between Rs.1200-Rs.1800

[Thad E Ginathom]

There is a label on my Samsung remotes, to the effect: No cooling? Don't panic! Clean the filters!

I'm very lazy about this (and most things <Blush>) but did clean our bedroom AC filters the other day. They were not badly clogged, but I noticed that the air smelt fresher having done this.

[Abes]

I found this about solar air conditioner. They are offering big a/c systems for commercial use. Have anyone checked/tried it out?

[Thad E Ginathom]

Very interesting... thanks!

I guess it doesn't work at night, which might be fine for some areas, but not here where the humidity makes summers nights feel worse than summers days.

[Abes]

The website says "Extended period of operations possible even after Sunny hours". The company's address is given as in Nashik; those of you from around that area could check it out and post a review.