AC units recommendation

[JonnBKk]

I am renovating a condo and am looking at the Samsung Air Conditiner Inverter AR9400 series.

 

First question, how are these units? They claim to be energy efficient and have an "air free" design. Is anyone using them and can provide feedback?

 

Second, I am unsure of which size to use in my rooms.

 

1) Small guestroom, 12.6 sqm, one wall of half windows, rarely used at the moment, will be a child bedroom in a few years. Would a 9,000 BTU unit be enough or should I go for 12.000?

2) Master bed, 21 sqm, one wall of windows, need it cool in the evening and at night at around 24 degrees. Would a 18,000 BTU suit or should we go for 21,000 ?

3) Rectangular area, lounge area next to a wall of windows about 3.2 meters in width, 23 sqm, which leads to an open kitchen of 15sqm. a 21,000 unit seems to low for this. Would you recommend having a 18,000 BTU unit by the lounge area and anther 12,000 BTU Unit by the kitchen? The samsung line i am looking at does not go higher than 21,000. What is the difference of cost if running 2 smaller units compared to a larger one? Would both units need to be on all the or would the 18,000 running with a ceiling fan to circulate be enough to keep the room cool if we are just lounging watching TV?

 

Thank you very much for the feedback

[KittenKong]

If you are renovating then presumably there are some older units already in place. They should give you an idea of what is needed. If they are still working you could even test them to see how effective they seem to be. Or perhaps there are other identical condo units that you could ask about?

 

It might be an idea to get just one unit fitted first, and to see how effective it is.

 

Any aircon shop will tell you what you need, based on room sizes, but standard Thai rules for calculating air-con size needed seem to be way over the top for me. That said, having large windows that are exposed to the direct sun will make a huge difference to the energy required to cool the place down. My own condo has large windows but they almost never get the direct sun due to an overhanging balcony.

 

Inverter models are more efficient and do save money, and they are much more comfortable and less noisy, but in order to work at their best they should not be over-powered or under-powered.

 

For what it's worth, one 21BTU unit does my whole condo of around 50+sqm (not including bathroom), with one quarter of the whole perimeter being windows, but my unit is open-plan.

 

The idea of an "air-free" air conditioner is indeed intriguing. I dont think that Samsung has a very good reputation for air-cons. For longevity and robustness Daikin and Mitsubishi are often mentioned, and my Hitachi has been running for 7 years more or less non-stop without ever requiring any attention apart from regular cleaning.

[Crossy]

The standard Thai guesstimate which does tend to over-size somewhat is 6-700 BTU per m². 

 

I'd put around 10,000 BTU in the master bedroom next size up if you like it arctic. Guest bedroom say 7,000 or whatever the smallest you can get is.

 

For the rest, start off with 18,000 at the lounge end, if it's not enough add 12,000 at the kitchen end.

 

 

[bankruatsteve]

As for brand, you should check the nearest service place for brand you like.  Inverter is the way to go but if the nearest service for the brand is 200 km away, you will end up paying big if/when there is a breakdown.

 

FYI:  This forum has several complaints about Samsung inverter with Daikin a favorite.

[sometimewoodworker]

We have found that 500 BTU per m2 is easily enough and that is without good wall insulation, though we don't like to freeze either.

[JonnBKk]

Thank you all for the recommendations, will have a look at the units on the weekend!

Jon