[NPV]

Need some Home AC gyan (Split AC only)
-How to compute tonnage required for the AC ? (based on room size in sq. ft would help)
-Recommended brands/models

[Rajeevraj]

For the last 5 years, towards the end of March, we start thinking as to: Should we buy an AC for one of the rooms. Our apartment is on the top floor and in the summer it gets uncomfortably hot towards evening and at least till mid night. Every time we think, its needed only for 2-3 months and even with the climatic change, one can manage without AC in Bangalore from June to Feb. This year again the thought has come and with quite a few relatives expected during the summer holidays, we have almost decided to get one. Started doing some online research but the number of choices is huge and confusing. Hence thought of putting my questions here. Any pointers is appreciated.

1. The bedroom is around 130 sq feet. Do I need a 1T or 1.5T?
2. I don't need freezing cooling, just enough to keep the room cool and maybe complement the fan.
3. Usage will mostly be for few hours in the night. Worst case a couple of hours in the afternoon. How much additional hit can I expect on my electricity bill?
3. This room is next to my living room (120 Sq feet). If I install the AC in bedroom and get a 1.5T, will it help provide some level of cooling to the living room also? The living room has a passage that goes on to the rest of the house, hence will the cooling in the living get dissipated easily?
4. Any recommendations on brand and models? I went through the last few pages and see different options like Samsung, LG, Daikin, Voltas.

Thanks in advance.

[vina]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

...

1. The bedroom is around 130 sq feet. Do I need a 1T or 1.5T?
2. I don't need freezing cooling, just enough to keep the room cool and maybe complement the fan.
3. Usage will mostly be for few hours in the night. Worst case a couple of hours in the afternoon. How much additional hit can I expect on my electricity bill?
3. This room is next to my living room (120 Sq feet). If I install the AC in bedroom and get a 1.5T, will it help provide some level of cooling to the living room also? The living room has a passage that goes on to the rest of the house, hence will the cooling in the living get dissipated easily?
4. Any recommendations on brand and models? I went through the last few pages and see different options like Samsung, LG, Daikin, Voltas.

Thanks in advance.

My advice:

1. Bangalore = you don't really need AC more than for (perhaps) end-Mar to mid-Jun; once rains stat the roof will also cool down, especially at nights. This means you need something to augment the already rather nice weather.
   1. Assuming your walls are not exposed to the sun, go for the smallest available AC, especially since your room is basically very small
   2. A 1T in Bangalore will be enough for larger rooms too
2. On your point #3, while this is certainly possible - it will freeze your bedroom before it helps the living room significantly.
3. All of these brands are ok, but my advice would be (since you are in Bangalore) to not get a window AC; most of the year you would want to open you window and once the AC is installed that is really not easy (if possible)

[su_madness]

Hi all,

Our almost 4 year old Godrej 1.5 ton split AC is showing a peculiar problem. The cooling is insufficient. Our local guy topped up the gas and even changed the outdoor fan's capacitor but the problem persists. Compressor is working too. The air that comes in is not chilled. It is like something in between a not working AC and a fully working one. He cleaned the AC thoroughly, both indoor and outdoor, air blown is more but not cool enough. He seemed out of wits. Incidentally the same problem has happened on one of my office ACs too. Help

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by NPV

Thanks, I'd asked the mods to move my post there but it's not done yet, read a few pages on that thread but seems too much to skim from 222 pages, should suffice if you could help with a few quick questions on what to look for (small room so 1 ton split ac is enough)

Type - inverter, hot and cold, etc ?
Star rating ?
Cooling capacity btu/hr ?
Recommended brands

Hey, NPV. Inverter is only available in split. If you are going split then by all means. Also, try and get a R410/R32 unit and not R22 even though it is cheaper.

1TR is 12,000 btu/hr
I recommend Daikin, Sharp (they have Splits only), General, and Panasonic.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

Hey, NPV. Inverter is only available in split. If you are going split then by all means. Also, try and get a R410/R32 unit and not R22 even though it is cheaper.

1TR is 12,000 btu/hr
I recommend Daikin, Sharp (they have Splits only), General, and Panasonic.

Thank you sir! Did some research today, sharing here:

Sharp has just 2 service centres in bangalore so eliminated from list for now.
Currently looking at Panasonic models since I know the brand shop folks from where I bought the TV earlier. Also their service/support is good.

In trying to look for Inverter type + 5 star rating + Air purification (nano filter, can be used in dry mode after summer), prices are north of 40k

Maybe I should drop Inverter since usage in Bangalore will be for about 4 months max yearly (and about 8 hr each day). Given this usage maybe even look for 4 or 3 star models so price will be ~30k, let me know your thoughts.

[sgiitk]

@NPV; So you are going split. The top rung is Daikin, General and (now Sharp). Panasonic is a shade behind. I will still go for Inverter. With my 2 Tonner Daikin in the morning I see the power demand of the whole house is about 0.4kW. Power is only going to get costlier.

[Mr_Bean]

The apartment where I stay as a tenant, does not have Air Conditioner Plug socket for any of the rooms . I called up the owner requesting him to make the provision, but he refused to bear the expenses. The charges are pretty steep, around 2.5k for the plug point + labour. As a tenant I wasn't inclined to bear the expense, will be dead investment when I vacate my house.

Keeping this in mind, purchased a Bajaj Air Cooler from snapdeal.com, here is the link:
http://shop.bajajelectricals.com/Roo...pc-558-34.aspx

[navdeep]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@NPV; So you are going split. The top rung is Daikin, General and (now Sharp). Panasonic is a shade behind. I will still go for Inverter. With my 2 Tonner Daikin in the morning I see the power demand of the whole house is about 0.4kW. Power is only going to get costlier.

any reasons for keeping Hitachi models out of this ..

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by su_madness

Hi all,

Our almost 4 year old Godrej 1.5 ton split AC is showing a peculiar problem. The cooling is insufficient. Our local guy topped up the gas and even changed the outdoor fan's capacitor but the problem persists. Compressor is working too. The air that comes in is not chilled. It is like something in between a not working AC and a fully working one. He cleaned the AC thoroughly, both indoor and outdoor, air blown is more but not cool enough. He seemed out of wits. Incidentally the same problem has happened on one of my office ACs too. Help

In my case, my voltas vertis 1.5 T split needed to be relocated more than 3 times in as many years mainly due to my job postings. Due to this the copper tubes lost their resilience (frequent bending and unbending due to change in relative position of Indoor and outdoor unit). This resulted in the same problem that you faced. The piping developed a very minute crack that was not even visible to the naked eye. On the advice of the Voltas personnell, I changed all the tubing and the insulating material. Then the AC started working with its full efficiency. See if this helps.

[su_madness]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

In my case, my voltas vertis 1.5 T split needed to be relocated more than 3 times in as many years mainly due to my job postings. Due to this the copper tubes lost their resilience (frequent bending and unbending due to change in relative position of Indoor and outdoor unit). This resulted in the same problem that you faced. The piping developed a very minute crack that was not even visible to the naked eye. On the advice of the Voltas personnell, I changed all the tubing and the insulating material. Then the AC started working with its full efficiency. See if this helps.

Thank you for your reply. If there is a minute crack, the gas would leak out, wouldn't it? Had the gas leaked in your case? I will be calling the Godrej guys soon, lets see if they can solve it. My guy says he would try changing the outdoor fan capacitor again as the one he put was an old one lying around in my place, we are not sure if it was a new one or not.
We checked the stabilizer readings with a multimeter, they are fine too.

[sgiitk]

Originally Posted by navdeep

any reasons for keeping Hitachi models out of this ..

I forgot! Their Window units are great. However, service is atrocious in most places. I have a 1.5TR 5* in my house.

[navdeep]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

I forgot! Their Window units are great. However, service is atrocious in most places. I have a 1.5TR 5* in my house.

i thought so .. there are quite a few who keep Hitachi as a one of top 3 choice of brands while shortlisting including split

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by su_madness

Thank you for your reply. If there is a minute crack, the gas would leak out, wouldn't it? Had the gas leaked in your case? I will be calling the Godrej guys soon, lets see if they can solve it. My guy says he would try changing the outdoor fan capacitor again as the one he put was an old one lying around in my place, we are not sure if it was a new one or not.
We checked the stabilizer readings with a multimeter, they are fine too.

The gas did leak out. But since it was start of summer, it was not an issue since I was only testing if it was effective after its long slumber through the winter months. The technician arrived on the very next day and solved the problem.

Outdoor fan capacitor should not be the culprit. The outer fan only helps dissipate heat coming from the indoor unit, If the compressor is running normally and there is no cooling, then the issue must definitely be with low gas levels. In many cases, due to improper installation, gas leaks out in minute quantities especially from the joints and over a certain period of time, this will result in less/no cooling. In case the compressor operation is faulty, then it might be due to a larger issue.

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Due to this the copper tubes lost their resilience (frequent bending and unbending due to change in relative position of Indoor and outdoor unit). The piping developed a very minute crack that was not even visible to the naked eye. On the advice of the Voltas personnell, I changed all the tubing and the insulating material.

I've done a similar amount of re locations and re fixed my split air conditioner as many times as you. Works great. What I have found is, reusing the copper pipes are not the best way to go about it. Replace them. It will cost you if you purchase it through the Voltas chaps. Do ask them how much. When I went about the whole process of procuring new copper pipes, as usual, I was quoted close to Rs. 800 a meter for a half inch and quarter inch pipe. You need two pipe sizes. I went to a local air conditioner consumables store and got it for well under half of Rs. 800. I've replaced the piping twice and the relocation required different bends and lengths for the pipe. I tried re using the old one and the refrigerant did not stay in the system. It leaked out slowly.

The indoor unit stick out a little length of corrugated copper pipe. One must be careful with this too. Excessive, careless bending can damage the pipe and then you are in serious trouble.