Aircon using too much electric?

[Peterw42]

6 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

I dont understand how you guys have your aircons set at 28 - 29 degrees. Thats still hot as balls for an indoor living space. 

It comes down to the humidity, 28 with no humidity feels comfortable. 

[alanrchase]

I had a problem with mine that was noticed when I had it cleaned. As far as I was concerned the unit worked fine. The man cleaning it pointed out that the fan in the outside unit was running at half speed. He replaced a capacitor and the fan ran at full speed. Electric bill was about 300 baht cheaper after the fix.

[Jeffrey346]

I am building a new house and soon will need 4 new AC units. Anyone have any experience with the LG dual inverter AC units.

LG claims they are the most efficient..

[bankruatsteve]

LG used to be dodgy in quality, IMO, but seems to be much better these days.  I would still go with Daikin at this time though.

[Jeffrey346]

1 minute ago, bankruatsteve said:

LG used to be dodgy in quality, IMO, but seems to be much better these days.  I would still go with Daikin at this time though.

I checked Daikin..  They are having a super sale.. I hear their quality is good as well.. Thanks for the tip

[rwill]

2 hours ago, Thainesss said:

I dont understand how you guys have your aircons set at 28 - 29 degrees. Thats still hot as balls for an indoor living space. 

It feels pretty comfortable to me.  One of the main things Air will do besides cooling the room is removing the humidity which makes a big difference too.  And coming in from 38 or more outside it will feel real cool.

[CanadaSam]

Long story short, buy a new a/c, make sure it is an inverter type, and you will probably be paying about a quarter to a third of what you're paying now for electricity.

[Thainesss]

1 minute ago, rwill said:

It feels pretty comfortable to me.  One of the main things Air will do besides cooling the room is removing the humidity which makes a big difference too.  And coming in from 38 or more outside it will feel real cool.

 

No idea what you guys are talking about. Mines on 22-23 and sometimes lower in the bedroom when I sleep. 

 

I would stick to my couch & feel disgusting at 28-29 degree indoor temps.  

 

Do you guys do it to save on your electric bill or something?

 

Typical health advisory "room temperatures" are 22-24. That's what medication and dry goods are to be stored at. "Store at room temperature". 

[Thainesss]

2 hours ago, Peterw42 said:

It comes down to the humidity, 28 with no humidity feels comfortable. 

 

It's impossible that you're at 28 and "no humidity"

[Peterw42]

4 minutes ago, Thainesss said:

 

It's impossible that you're at 28 and "no humidity"

isnt that the whole idea of a good air conditioner, it removes the humidity, thats all the water that pours out of the drain.

[Thainesss]

2 minutes ago, Peterw42 said:

isnt that the whole idea of a good air conditioner, it removes the humidity, thats all the water that pours out of the drain.

 

I know how air conditioners work, what im saying is that its impossible that your aircon is reducing your humidity to nothing or zero. No doubt itll reduce humidity, but set at 28 or 29 its negligible at best. 

[tweedledee2]

Using a 1-hour time frame to establish electrical usage will not be an accurate measure of cost per hour. When first turned on an AC unit will use more energy trying to reduce the interior room temperature which includes the walls, ceiling, furnishings, radiate heat from sunlight infiltration and humid air.  Depending on the room size and what the room temperature was initially, it can take several hours for an AC unit to actually cool the room to your temperature setting. Once the room is cooled it takes less energy per hour to maintain that temperature. The higher the interior room temperature and the lower your AC setting the more energy it will require. 

[cyril sneer]

52 minutes ago, CanadaSam said:

Long story short, buy a new a/c, make sure it is an inverter type, and you will probably be paying about a quarter to a third of what you're paying now for electricity.

I renting a room in an apartment block, not really an option

[lopburi3]

1 hour ago, Thainesss said:

Typical health advisory "room temperatures" are 22-24. That's what medication and dry goods are to be stored at. "Store at room temperature". 

We are not living in UK/Canada?USA for a reason - and for many of us it is because we prefer warm weather.  28 with low humidity and cool airflow of inverter AC is fine when not working.  People do adapt - even to living in the cold of mentioned countries - but for many of us a bit of warmth is preferred and we don't have to prove we can afford to live in an ice chest.

[Thainesss]

4 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

We are not living in UK/Canada?USA for a reason - and for many of us it is because we prefer warm weather.  28 with low humidity and cool airflow of inverter AC is fine when not working.  People do adapt - even to living in the cold of mentioned countries - but for many of us a bit of warmth is preferred and we don't have to prove we can afford to live in an ice chest.

 

So its to save money then? Thats all im asking. I prefer warm weather as well, but not in my living room. 

[Dazinoz]

2 hours ago, CanadaSam said:

Long story short, buy a new a/c, make sure it is an inverter type, and you will probably be paying about a quarter to a third of what you're paying now for electricity.

As others have said on here an undersized inverter unit will cost nearly as much to run as a non inverter.

[Dazinoz]

4 hours ago, alanrchase said:

I had a problem with mine that was noticed when I had it cleaned. As far as I was concerned the unit worked fine. The man cleaning it pointed out that the fan in the outside unit was running at half speed. He replaced a capacitor and the fan ran at full speed. Electric bill was about 300 baht cheaper after the fix.

Unusual. Normally if the capacitor fails the fan will not start. You can "flick" it and will run at normal speed. Also should not affect bill as capacitor only used to "start" fan.

 

Guy behind me in Oz asked me to have a look at his AC. Inverter type and was not working. Quoted too much to repair was cheaper to replace at over $2000. I had a look. Compressor started but soon cut out but external fan not running. Took off cover and got him to start AC. I gave fan a flick in the right direction and it ran ok. a $50 capacitor solved the problem and 6 years later still running.

[emptypockets]

8 hours ago, lopburi3 said:

Your unit is marked 1100w so max usage should be 1.1 units per hour if on full time.

 

Inverter is on full time but running DC motor at much lower wattage than full almost all the time so can not directly compare other than with the eer/seer ratings.  Max usage is 680 watts.

Correction to previous post - my model is the less expensive Daikin with SEER of 20 which is about 14.4 EER.

You have a DC aircon?

[Dazinoz]

1 minute ago, emptypockets said:

You have a DC aircon?

Inverter models run on standard household AC supply but covert it internally to DC and the compressor and fans are DC motors for better speed control.

[Fruit Trader]

59 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

We are not living in UK/Canada?USA for a reason - and for many of us it is because we prefer warm weather.  28 with low humidity and cool airflow of inverter AC is fine when not working.  People do adapt - even to living in the cold of mentioned countries - but for many of us a bit of warmth is preferred and we don't have to prove we can afford to live in an ice chest.

As a half mongrel I can sit comfortably in 30 deg C if humidity is around 65%. Down at 24 I start thinking about adding layers of clothing. Humidity is the killer for most which is why air conditioners set just 2 deg C below ambient makes sleeping much easier for so many. Inverter controlled are a little more effective at reducing humidity at settings close to ambient.

[emptypockets]

3 hours ago, Jeffrey346 said:

I am building a new house and soon will need 4 new AC units. Anyone have any experience with the LG dual inverter AC units.

LG claims they are the most efficient..

Look around for the solar boosted units.

They use less power than any inverter unit and a becoming quite common now. They have a smaller compressor for any given KW rating as they use external heat I.e. The sun or ambient outdoor heat to add energy to the system. They also have much simpler electronics which can cost big money to replace as they are simple constant speed compressor units.

I installed some as a trial about ten years ago at work. Not a problem with them and performed as claimed. When mine dies that's what I'll be installing.

[alanrchase]

Unusual. Normally if the capacitor fails the fan will not start. You can "flick" it and will run at normal speed. Also should not affect bill as capacitor only used to "start" fan.
 
Guy behind me in Oz asked me to have a look at his AC. Inverter type and was not working. Quoted too much to repair was cheaper to replace at over $2000. I had a look. Compressor started but soon cut out but external fan not running. Took off cover and got him to start AC. I gave fan a flick in the right direction and it ran ok. a $50 capacitor solved the problem and 6 years later still running.

My AC unit has a start capacitor and a run capacitor. The run capacitor had failed which affected the speed of the fan.

Sent from my SM-A500F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

[sometimewoodworker]

15 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

$50 capacitor solved the problem and 6 years later still running.

$50 for a capacitor??? That sounds as if you were charged at least triple the real cost.

[emptypockets]

1 hour ago, tweedledee2 said:

Using a 1-hour time frame to establish electrical usage will not be an accurate measure of cost per hour. When first turned on an AC unit will use more energy trying to reduce the interior room temperature which includes the walls, ceiling, furnishings, radiate heat from sunlight infiltration and humid air.  Depending on the room size and what the room temperature was initially, it can take several hours for an AC unit to actually cool the room to your temperature setting. Once the room is cooled it takes less energy per hour to maintain that temperature. The higher the interior room temperature and the lower your AC setting the more energy it will require. 

That's the same principle my old mum used to use with fridge. Used to keep it full with anything, especially tins of peas and baked beans. Her theory was every time the fridge was opened all the cold air fell out She was right..... Maintain the thermal mass!

[khunPer]

22 hours ago, Sheryl said:

Is it a very old machine? They do start to use more juice when they get old.

 

Also check that the filter is clean (if not, clean it) and have a look at the inside slats etc, a lot of Thai landlords (and renters) are very remiss  when it comes to having units cleaned. You can get professional cleaning for about 600 baht and, if the machine was dirty, this can improve performance a lot.

And it might also need coolant refill, or might even be leaking, so the compressor is working too hard. Often coolant check, and refill, is part of a normal service with cleaning filters and indoor unit's grille.

[emptypockets]

21 minutes ago, Dazinoz said:

Inverter models run on standard household AC supply but covert it internally to DC and the compressor and fans are DC motors for better speed control.

If you say so. Some people may say the do motor is actually a variable freque act motor

[sometimewoodworker]

2 hours ago, Thainesss said:

No idea what you guys are talking about. Mines on 22-23 and sometimes lower in the bedroom when I sleep. 

 

I would stick to my couch & feel disgusting at 28-29 degree indoor temps.  

 

Do you guys do it to save on your electric bill or something?

At 22~23 I would be freezing and having to wear too much clothing, even while working 

 

at 28-29 degree indoor with my overhead fans on slow it's comfortable. I came to live in Thailand because I don't like to be cold.

 

At 22~23 I that is a comfortable sleeping temperature with SWMBO in the same bed, lower than that I have to start using blankets or a duvet. 

 

I know that if my BMI goes much over 30~34 then I start to need to have a cooler room.

[alacrity]

7 minutes ago, khunPer said:

And it might also need coolant refill, or might even be leaking, so the compressor is working too hard. Often coolant check, and refill, is part of a normal service with cleaning filters and indoor unit's grille.

Certainly getting the thing serviced is the first step. Detritus on the filaments decreases efficiency. As does a coolant leak. Would get worse over time if either of these. These things along with others are checked out during a proper service.

Unit may not be empirically adequate for the property in question.

Inverter systems mostly save you money if you are renting. They are more efficient (and occasionally noisier) and you pay for the savings in advance when you purchase. There's no guarantee they will last longer than a non-inverter system after the break even point.

[Fruit Trader]

1 hour ago, emptypockets said:

If you say so. Some people may say the do motor is actually a variable freque act motor

Variable refrigeration compressors can have AC or DC inverter controlled motors. DC is mostly more efficient.

[ianezy0]

12 hours ago, faraday said:

Does the outside extractor fan ever need servicing?

 

Coz the fan's in the house (not a/c) get filthed up, & I clean them.

 

I would have thought that the external fans need cleaning also....?

Cyril Sneer, you need to take heed of the above poster. Any gentleman with the name Faraday is more than qualified to discuss the ethics of electrickery ????