Air Conditioner Purchase

[mild7even]

Found a thread under the "homes" category regarding air conditioners, and the consensus seems to be Mitsubishi Electric and Daikin models are the best.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Air-Conditio...air+conditioner

Here in Chiang Mai... anyone buy an air con recently and care to share the experience? Where did you buy, what did you buy, how was the install, and how are you getting it maintained?

I'm replacing the old unit in my bedroom--I've never used it, but it is old and probably rather energy inefficient. For my 12 square meter or so room, I'm figuring on a 9000 btu unit. Probably will only run it on the hottest of days or nights.

My first impulse is to buy at Siam TV, as I've had okay experience there in the past, but would like to hear from others first.

[earlofwindermere]

I bought one about 5 months ago. 9000 BTU for 12 000 baht including installation. From my experience, air conditioners are all pretty much the same so it's not really worth fretting over. Costs may vary slightly but not enough to spend a lot of time researching and visiting lots of places.

[sleepyjohn]

From my experience, air conditioners are all pretty much the same .......

Not quite true.

There has been a considerable improvement called an "inverter" aircon.

By changing the AC to DC and back again at chosen frequency it can run an induction motor at any speed.

What does this mean to you?

Normal aircons switch themselves on or off to control output.

Inverters run continuously at the appropriate speed to control output.

The second is better.

[geleen48]

From my experience, air conditioners are all pretty much the same .......

Not quite true.

There has been a considerable improvement called an "inverter" aircon.

By changing the AC to DC and back again at chosen frequency it can run an induction motor at any speed.

What does this mean to you?

Normal aircons switch themselves on or off to control output.

Inverters run continuously at the appropriate speed to control output.

The second is better.

Sounds great and have been wondering what an "inverter" means. Maybe you can say it in laymen s terms or can one read up about it. Not sure what you mean by "changing the AC to Dc and back again"? Thanks!

[Naam]

From my experience, air conditioners are all pretty much the same .......

Not quite true.

There has been a considerable improvement called an "inverter" aircon.

By changing the AC to DC and back again at chosen frequency it can run an induction motor at any speed.

What does this mean to you?

Normal aircons switch themselves on or off to control output.

Inverters run continuously at the appropriate speed to control output.

The second is better.

true! but much more expensive and more prone to develop technical problems and therefore higher repair cost. as usual the question is "bottom line?"

[Naam]

I did get an inverter, and the first time I turned it on, I got angry, as I thought it was not working, but it was on, just so dam quite!!

there is no difference in noise level as far as the inside unit is concerned Vibe. the only difference is the compressor sound level of the outside unit when the RPMs of a DC driven compressor are low. at full cooling capacity no difference in outside decibels can be realised.

[Naam]

Sounds great and have been wondering what an "inverter" means. Maybe you can say it in laymen s terms or can one read up about it. Not sure what you mean by "changing the AC to Dc and back again"? Thanks!

aircon "inverter" units run on DC (direct current like the current from batteries). "normal" units run on AC (alternating current, our normal power supply). AC motors are "triggered" by the alternating frequency of alternating current and cannot not cope with variable speeds except when frequency converters are used. DC motors can run on (nearly) any speed and this advantage is used by inverters (which change AC to DC) and therefore enable the unit to run at most efficient rotations according to the demand of cooling capacity.

[Ajarn]

I've been using Siam TV's aircons the past few years with no problem at all. Currently, my house has 3 aircons, all Toshiba, Minimum 14,500 to 21,000 btu. For me the best are the bigger sizes. I had a 9000 btu for a few years, but upgraded because on the hottest days, 9000 btu was not powerful enough for my 4m x 5m office. I like a nice chill

[WinnieTheKhwai]

Mitsubishi.

For example from Siam TV.

[mild7even]

Went to Siam TV today and had a look around... they had Mitsubishi Heavy Industries air cons, but no Mitsubishi Electric; according to the other thread, there is a difference--the ME air cons are better.

Also looked at the Daikins. 9000 BTU without inverter was 13,900; one with inverter was 23,400.

Will do some more research...

[BigSnake]

Service wise Siam TV might be a good choice, price wise I would check out a Marko or Tesco Lotus or maybe even a Global House store. Good Luck, may I suggest go for it now it will be very hot in a month or so and the price of Air Con might rise a bit.

[mild7even]

VIBE, thanks for the info and the offer of the phone number...

I ended up getting the Daikin 9000 btu inverter model from Siam TV. Priced at 23,400 with a 3,000 baht discount, total 20,400. Bought in the afternoon and they offered to have it installed that evening, but I chose the next morning as it was more convenient for me. Installers arrived while I was at the gym and when I got back, the wife told me it was all done. Looks well-installed and it works so far, though it is only the second day. Ran it last night and it was too cold for the wife--had it set at 25 degrees. I'll wait until later this week when it gets hotter to really put the thing to the test.

Bottom line: too soon to tell for sure, but looks like it was a good purchase. Can't wait to see what it does for the electricity bill.