The home / office air-conditioner thread

pedrolourenco · 11th May 2009, 19:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by arindamray

when I bought one, I was told 1T is ok for a 1000 sft room; and for bigger rooms one need 1.5T.

My bedroom is around 25m2 but has got a high sloping roof. But 1T is more than enough. Sometimes I have to turn off the AC by 4 in the morning.

Guite · 17th May 2009, 14:50

I have been reading high recommendation for O General in this thread. So I have two questions:
1. Where in Delhi and NCR can I buy O General AC? Name, contact number, address, etc of dealers will be welcome.
2. Does O General have official presence in India? By official I mean the company setting up shop and not just through some importers. My concern is on after sales service.

Any answer will be highly appreciated.

F50 · 19th May 2009, 17:18

Guys who own Hitachi Splits - are the spares and services expensive compared to others say like Voltas?

hillram?

anonymous · 19th May 2009, 18:19

Mods-Can we have a Poll added to this Thread to get a clear picture of the better brand among all??

F50 · 28th May 2009, 08:51

Zeroed in on Voltas Vertis Gold Split 1.5T. Today I will be finalizing the deal.

I got a positive feedback from Yogi and I think even Samurai uses Voltas.

Guite · 6th June 2009, 01:23

Its been pretty hot today in Noida. I am sitting here in my 140 sq.ft. bedroom with a 1.0 ton AC running. My family and myself are sitting pretty cool. This inspite of the fact that most AC dealers were selling me 1.5 ton AC for my room size.

Buying an AC had been quite a learning experience, I would like to share some of it here for others like me who did not have prior experience. As already illustrated in the first para, most dealers will try to sell you a larger capacity (and more expensive) AC than you require. Even so, let me put the "1 ton in 140 sq.ft. room" in the right perspective. This room have only two walls exposed to external elements facing north-east and south-west but is never hit by direct sunlight due to shading by adjoining apartments. There are windows and a door on these walls, but not big ones. There is a floor above and below.

I had even thought of buying a 0.75 ton but 'upgraded' because I wanted to keep a CRT TV, AV receiver and computer, all in this room. The AV receiver is rarely on but TV and PC are mostly simultanously on.

When comparing AC units, even within similar rated tonnage, its good to look at capacity in btu/hr or kW. Eventhough exact conversion is 1 ton = 12,000 btu/hr, there are variations in exact capacity across brands and models. While comparing brands, a dealer recommended a particular brand saying it cools faster than competition. When I asked 'why?', he replied 'experience'. When I compared the spec sheets, it turned out that that brand model have air flow of about 100 cfm more. Cfm stand for 'cubic feet per minute', it denotes how much air a fan can circulate in one minute. Imagine a 4' dia ceiling fan and a 3' dia ceiling fan; at equal speed (rpm) the 4' fan have higher cfm by virtue of its size. This is a simplified analogy.

The BEE star rating is supposed to consider EER whose unit to my understanding is btu/hr/watt but the values seem to indicate COP which is watt/watt. Anyone have a clearer idea? Companies like Hitachi, General and Mitsubishi give EER in btu/hr/watt. So for my comparison I either directly derive watt/watt or divide EER by 3.41. I then slot the resultant value in the BEE star value ranges. That's when I noted that the General 1 ton split AC is just 3 star.

I had initially set out to buy General AC after reading through this topic. But I just could not get in touch with the company or its authorised dealers. I would like to thank the fellow members who responded to my PMs w.r.t. General AC. Along the way I had also considered Samsung, Hitachi and Mitsubishi. Daikin was not in my active consideration initially because it is expensive.

The AC I ultimately bought is a Daikin G series 1 ton split AC. Let me first state my perception of its downside. The night mode and humidity control could have been better. Night mode is off timer which is impractical. Moreover, the timer setting is lost in case of power failure. On paper, Hitachi and Samsung seem better in these two aspects. On the positive side, first is the assurance of quality of product and service. Its capacity is 12,700 btu/hr (3.7 kW), consumes just 1095 watt ~ 1.1 kW. Its COP is therefore 3700/1095 = 3.38. If the BEE star rating were to go beyond 5 stars, this should be 6 stars = more energy efficient = more long term saving! We set the thermostat at 28 deg C, fan speed on auto and it does its work silently. We are comfortable: two adults and one precocious baby.

Cheers,
Guite

Elito11 · 6th June 2009, 08:35

Congrats Guite!

gr8 narrative to your buying decision. How much did you pay for it?

Elito

WanderNomad · 6th June 2009, 11:11

Congrats Guite on your purchase and I am glad that you are happy with a 1.5T. You have well explained the location of your bedroom but I would still say that everyone shouldnt take it as a benchmark.

To give you a perspective, my bedroom is around 220 sq feet and going by your experience a 1.5T should be sufficient for my room. Now coming to the reality, forget a 1.5T, even a 2T is grossly insufficient. Its a top floor room and gets direct sun from front, top and side. I have got the roof insulated by an air sealed POP false ceiling but still the temperature in the room reached 38 - 40 celsius.

I have a General 2T Split and Hitachi 2T window and both of them are required to cool the room decently (a 3T in total may also be sufficient, I bought the window first and during my second renovation I bought the split). The split is installed right above my bed and the air throw is right on me when I am sleeping so thats how I manage to sleep in the room with one AC on as I cant use both of them together as that would cost me a bomb. However the presence of the AC in this situation can only be felt on the bed and if someone is sleeping in the other end of the room (its a longish room , 22 X 10) you need to definitely switch the other AC on. There is nothing wrong with the ACs and both of them are high end but the location of the room.

During these hot June days I prefer to sleep in the guest room on the ground floor where a 1.5T is able to sufficiently chill the room (more comfort, less expenditure on electricity).

Also I just read on page 23 where someone was surprised at an assembled AC. I think assembled AC was a very popular concept before these LGs and Samsungs' were launched in the 20K range. At that time a branded AC used to be 30K and the assembled ones were in the 20K range. I still remember a Napolean kit used to be very popular. My first AC was an assembled 2T Window which was replaced by a Hitachi 2T Window.

Advice: Whenever you buy / rent a new house, be very very cautious before going in for a top floor house. I will never ever go for it even if I get it 50% cheaper than a ground floor house.

coolboy007 · 6th June 2009, 11:20

Friends,
My 9 year old Samsung 1.5 ton AC finally has RIP. The compressor got burnt as told to me by samsung engineers and told me a repair estimate of 7k

another shocking part is that they will give just 1 month warranty on the new compressor.

So am bidding farewell to the AC and planning to get a new 1.5 T AC. There are 4 Samsung products in my house and you can call me a samsung loyalist as i find their customer care very good. Am planning to buy a Samsung again but even LG is good as told to me by some.
Have a Voltas too in my house and noise level is too high for initial 20 mins.
Now am confused whether to get a LG or SAMSUNG, they both cost around 16-18k, how much is the Hitachi quadricool for (i know they are expensive)? Am not convinced about their A.S.S.

vasudeva · 6th June 2009, 11:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guite

I have been reading high recommendation for O General in this thread. So I have two questions:
1. Where in Delhi and NCR can I buy O General AC? Name, contact number, address, etc of dealers will be welcome.
2. Does O General have official presence in India? By official I mean the company setting up shop and not just through some importers. My concern is on after sales service.

Any answer will be highly appreciated.

Have 2 O General ACs and they have proper authorised service. Browse on google and you will get many dealers in Delhi. It is usually stocked by multibrand dealers. In East Delhi, there is Hazrat vision on Vikas Marg and many more. Would be many dealers in NOIDA too. Go to Vikas Marg and you will find at least 3 dealers there.

vasudeva · 6th June 2009, 11:55

Quote:

Originally Posted by WanderNomad

Advice: Whenever you buy / rent a new house, be very very cautious before going in for a top floor house. I will never ever go for it even if I get it 50% cheaper than a ground floor house.

That is 100% correct. The AC becomes perhaps 50% efficient and unless you switch it on all thru the day, the cooling effect wears off in minutes, and the room boils. In my society, I have seen 1 house on the top floor being rented in the winter, but the tenant usually moves out in the summers, unable to bear electricity costs. This has happened in both 2007 and 2008 seasons (the owner moved out in 2006). I have a home on GF.

WanderNomad · 6th June 2009, 12:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Have 2 O General ACs and they have proper authorised service. Browse on google and you will get many dealers in Delhi. It is usually stocked by multibrand dealers. In East Delhi, there is Hazrat vision on Vikas Marg and many more. Would be many dealers in NOIDA too. Go to Vikas Marg and you will find at least 3 dealers there.

Hey friend! He has already bought a Daikin now.

passion4cars · 6th June 2009, 13:28

All the way - Only HITACHI ( LOGI COOL + QUADRI COOL ) in our house , got 1st in 2001 ( HITACHI as a experiment) , then slowly moved on and bought 4 ( all HITACHI's from experiment tag to loyal customers tag ) , consumes less power and cools brilliantly + a.c service center of HITACHI is excellent ( they have done general servicing usually within 24hrs and no problem till date with compressor or a.c unit )

Guite · 6th June 2009, 17:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elito11

Congrats Guite!

gr8 narrative to your buying decision. How much did you pay for it?
Elito

Thanks. I paid a total of about 40k (including installation, stabiliser, etc) which, by twist of circumstances, is lower than prevailing rates, even after considering dealer's discount.

Quote:

Originally Posted by coolboy007

Have a Voltas too in my house and noise level is too high for initial 20 mins.
Now am confused whether to get a LG or SAMSUNG, they both cost around 16-18k, how much is the Hitachi quadricool for (i know they are expensive)? Am not convinced about their A.S.S.

As per spec sheets, a Voltas split is as noisy as a Hitachi window unit. I was quoted Rs.22k for a 1 ton Hitachi Quadracool tm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vasudeva

Have 2 O General ACs and they have proper authorised service. Browse on google and you will get many dealers in Delhi. It is usually stocked by multibrand dealers.

Even though WanderNomad have already replied for me, let me respond to your Google suggestion. For about two weeks, practically everyday, I type "O General" in the google search box. I would go to the ETA General India website and various other links. It didn't get me anywhere near to the company or its authorised dealers. While shopping around I did come across General ACs in some multibrand showrooms.

coolboy007 · 6th June 2009, 17:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Guite

As per spec sheets, a Voltas split is as noisy as a Hitachi window unit. I was quoted Rs.22k for a 1 ton Hitachi Quadricool tm

22k for a 1 T

and thats out of my budget for sure. Thats 4k more than a Samsung 1.5T with a 3 star energy rating.
Whats the energy rating for 1.5 T hitachi quadricool tm?

17th May 2009, 14:50	#482
Guite BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Noida, NCR Posts: 733 Thanked: 629 Times	I have been reading high recommendation for O General in this thread. So I have two questions: 1. Where in Delhi and NCR can I buy O General AC? Name, contact number, address, etc of dealers will be welcome. 2. Does O General have official presence in India? By official I mean the company setting up shop and not just through some importers. My concern is on after sales service. Any answer will be highly appreciated.
	() Thanks

19th May 2009, 17:18	#483
F50 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai/USA Posts: 1,707 Thanked: 103 Times	Guys who own Hitachi Splits - are the spares and services expensive compared to others say like Voltas? hillram?
	() Thanks

19th May 2009, 18:19	#484
anonymous BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: NCR Posts: 565 Thanked: 25 Times	Mods-Can we have a Poll added to this Thread to get a clear picture of the better brand among all??
	() Thanks

28th May 2009, 08:51	#485
F50 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Mumbai/USA Posts: 1,707 Thanked: 103 Times	Zeroed in on Voltas Vertis Gold Split 1.5T. Today I will be finalizing the deal. I got a positive feedback from Yogi and I think even Samurai uses Voltas.
	() Thanks

6th June 2009, 01:23	#486
Guite BHPian Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Noida, NCR Posts: 733 Thanked: 629 Times	Its been pretty hot today in Noida. I am sitting here in my 140 sq.ft. bedroom with a 1.0 ton AC running. My family and myself are sitting pretty cool. This inspite of the fact that most AC dealers were selling me 1.5 ton AC for my room size. Buying an AC had been quite a learning experience, I would like to share some of it here for others like me who did not have prior experience. As already illustrated in the first para, most dealers will try to sell you a larger capacity (and more expensive) AC than you require. Even so, let me put the "1 ton in 140 sq.ft. room" in the right perspective. This room have only two walls exposed to external elements facing north-east and south-west but is never hit by direct sunlight due to shading by adjoining apartments. There are windows and a door on these walls, but not big ones. There is a floor above and below. I had even thought of buying a 0.75 ton but 'upgraded' because I wanted to keep a CRT TV, AV receiver and computer, all in this room. The AV receiver is rarely on but TV and PC are mostly simultanously on. When comparing AC units, even within similar rated tonnage, its good to look at capacity in btu/hr or kW. Eventhough exact conversion is 1 ton = 12,000 btu/hr, there are variations in exact capacity across brands and models. While comparing brands, a dealer recommended a particular brand saying it cools faster than competition. When I asked 'why?', he replied 'experience'. When I compared the spec sheets, it turned out that that brand model have air flow of about 100 cfm more. Cfm stand for 'cubic feet per minute', it denotes how much air a fan can circulate in one minute. Imagine a 4' dia ceiling fan and a 3' dia ceiling fan; at equal speed (rpm) the 4' fan have higher cfm by virtue of its size. This is a simplified analogy. The BEE star rating is supposed to consider EER whose unit to my understanding is btu/hr/watt but the values seem to indicate COP which is watt/watt. Anyone have a clearer idea? Companies like Hitachi, General and Mitsubishi give EER in btu/hr/watt. So for my comparison I either directly derive watt/watt or divide EER by 3.41. I then slot the resultant value in the BEE star value ranges. That's when I noted that the General 1 ton split AC is just 3 star. I had initially set out to buy General AC after reading through this topic. But I just could not get in touch with the company or its authorised dealers. I would like to thank the fellow members who responded to my PMs w.r.t. General AC. Along the way I had also considered Samsung, Hitachi and Mitsubishi. Daikin was not in my active consideration initially because it is expensive. The AC I ultimately bought is a Daikin G series 1 ton split AC. Let me first state my perception of its downside. The night mode and humidity control could have been better. Night mode is off timer which is impractical. Moreover, the timer setting is lost in case of power failure. On paper, Hitachi and Samsung seem better in these two aspects. On the positive side, first is the assurance of quality of product and service. Its capacity is 12,700 btu/hr (3.7 kW), consumes just 1095 watt ~ 1.1 kW. Its COP is therefore 3700/1095 = 3.38. If the BEE star rating were to go beyond 5 stars, this should be 6 stars = more energy efficient = more long term saving! We set the thermostat at 28 deg C, fan speed on auto and it does its work silently. We are comfortable: two adults and one precocious baby. Cheers, Guite
	() Thanks

6th June 2009, 08:35	#487
Elito11 BHPian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Delhi Posts: 509 Thanked: 107 Times	Congrats Guite! gr8 narrative to your buying decision. How much did you pay for it? Elito
	() Thanks

6th June 2009, 11:11	#488
WanderNomad BHPian Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Delhi Posts: 271 Thanked: 11 Times	Congrats Guite on your purchase and I am glad that you are happy with a 1.5T. You have well explained the location of your bedroom but I would still say that everyone shouldnt take it as a benchmark. To give you a perspective, my bedroom is around 220 sq feet and going by your experience a 1.5T should be sufficient for my room. Now coming to the reality, forget a 1.5T, even a 2T is grossly insufficient. Its a top floor room and gets direct sun from front, top and side. I have got the roof insulated by an air sealed POP false ceiling but still the temperature in the room reached 38 - 40 celsius. I have a General 2T Split and Hitachi 2T window and both of them are required to cool the room decently (a 3T in total may also be sufficient, I bought the window first and during my second renovation I bought the split). The split is installed right above my bed and the air throw is right on me when I am sleeping so thats how I manage to sleep in the room with one AC on as I cant use both of them together as that would cost me a bomb. However the presence of the AC in this situation can only be felt on the bed and if someone is sleeping in the other end of the room (its a longish room , 22 X 10) you need to definitely switch the other AC on. There is nothing wrong with the ACs and both of them are high end but the location of the room. During these hot June days I prefer to sleep in the guest room on the ground floor where a 1.5T is able to sufficiently chill the room (more comfort, less expenditure on electricity). Also I just read on page 23 where someone was surprised at an assembled AC. I think assembled AC was a very popular concept before these LGs and Samsungs' were launched in the 20K range. At that time a branded AC used to be 30K and the assembled ones were in the 20K range. I still remember a Napolean kit used to be very popular. My first AC was an assembled 2T Window which was replaced by a Hitachi 2T Window. Advice: Whenever you buy / rent a new house, be very very cautious before going in for a top floor house. I will never ever go for it even if I get it 50% cheaper than a ground floor house. Last edited by WanderNomad : 6th June 2009 at 11:17.
	() Thanks

6th June 2009, 11:20	#489
coolboy007 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: New Delhi Posts: 1,852 Thanked: 2,137 Times	Friends, My 9 year old Samsung 1.5 ton AC finally has RIP. The compressor got burnt as told to me by samsung engineers and told me a repair estimate of 7k another shocking part is that they will give just 1 month warranty on the new compressor. So am bidding farewell to the AC and planning to get a new 1.5 T AC. There are 4 Samsung products in my house and you can call me a samsung loyalist as i find their customer care very good. Am planning to buy a Samsung again but even LG is good as told to me by some. Have a Voltas too in my house and noise level is too high for initial 20 mins. Now am confused whether to get a LG or SAMSUNG, they both cost around 16-18k, how much is the Hitachi quadricool for (i know they are expensive)? Am not convinced about their A.S.S.
	() Thanks

6th June 2009, 13:28	#493
passion4cars BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Melbourne Posts: 156 Thanked: 6 Times	All the way - Only HITACHI ( LOGI COOL + QUADRI COOL ) in our house , got 1st in 2001 ( HITACHI as a experiment) , then slowly moved on and bought 4 ( all HITACHI's from experiment tag to loyal customers tag ) , consumes less power and cools brilliantly + a.c service center of HITACHI is excellent ( they have done general servicing usually within 24hrs and no problem till date with compressor or a.c unit ) Last edited by passion4cars : 6th June 2009 at 13:31.
	() Thanks