Advice On Buying An Ac

[pj123]

Bewildered by the choice of ACs. Some advice would be welcome.

First off, the living room is 23 metres square. French windows at one end and windows on 2 other sides. Also an open doorway to the hall. I thought a 13000 BTU unit would suffice but have been advised that I need 18,000. I have used a number of online calculators which advise that 10,000 should be sufficient.

Second. Reliability. I have found this online retailer with ACs 30% cheaper than Powerbuy: http://www.homecoolair.com BUT they don't have the Powerbuy option to extend the warranty to three years. (and you have to pay 2000 baht for installation).

Third. So many features and options. Like filters, etc. Not sure if they are worth considering.

Finally. Energy consumption. I understand how to rate the efficiency of an AC but not sure if an AC with an inverter is worth the premium.

Cheers

[Crossy]

HomePro use a quick-and-dirty table to size your aircon, it makes a vast number of assumptions but here it is anyway. These numbers came from a HomePro in BKK, they may use a different table up north.

BTU - - - - - - - Sq Meters

9,000 - - - - - - 9-15

12,000 - - - - - 16-20

18,000 - - - - - 21-30

24,000 - - - - - 31-35

30,000 - - - - - 40-50

36,000 - - - - - 50-55

OR

Floor area (in square metres) X by 600 gives you the size of the aircon (in BTUs)

I assume your room is 23 square metres, because 23 metres square is more of a sports hall, 18,000 would seem to be the recommended size. Your open path to the hall will be a leak, a curtain would be a smart move.

An inverter unit will only save you running costs if it's not running near capacity, so if you like it a bit warmer than the average 24C then an inverter may be worth the extra.

[Hobc]

Panasonic has the best electronics ie 12000 btu is 3.4 kw and plenty for 26sq should be around 12000 bt 3500bt to install.

[dfp]

I called Carrier and they referred me to the nearest distributor in my area. They came to inspect the house (sales person plus one technician). They made their recommendation and I went one step further up in BTU just to make sure. Result is that our living room is cooled down quite fast and since we bought two big units we can switch off one unit after the room has cooled down. Do not buy too small units. Just a recommendation.

[Hobc]

Have installed some 1000 acs, inverters are DC how they work is they get up to speed and being DC inverted can slow down the same on off like a fridge so save 30%

[Hobc]

Correction ACDC.

[pj123]

Sorry, its 23m2 not 23 metres square!

[xm911e3]

Daikin is no.1 here and the UK. My pal is an A/C engineer who fits them cos he doesn't want any hassle. Go for the Inverter type, more expensive but up to 30% saving on electric bill.

Please note that this is only my personal opinion which I could be wrong.

I'm using inverter aircon and the 'GAS 410' cost a bomb. In fact, inverter aircon cost much more than a regular one.

Ask yourself, how long does it takes to breakeven with the extra amount of money that came out from your pocket to buy the inverter aircon?

It may take up to 5-7 years or even longer to breakeven that amount of money.

By then, it's time to change a new aircon.

To me, the energy saving part is just another marketing gimmick to sell.

Edited March 4, 2010 by xm911e3

[gosompoi]

13000 would cool your room but when it is over 39 and above it will have troubles. 18000 will insure when you want cool it will be cool. I have two 25-27sqm rooms with one using a 13000 and one with 18000. Today it was 40c outisde, the room with the smaller unit was set to 25 and the room temp was 27. The larger room with 18000 was set to 25 and the room was 25.

[stgrhe]

Daikin is no.1 here and the UK. My pal is an A/C engineer who fits them cos he doesn't want any hassle. Go for the Inverter type, more expensive but up to 30% saving on electric bill.

In addition to the energy saving the typical life-length of the compressor is longer since it is less affected by wear because of fewer starts.

The best compressors are made by Mitsubishi Electric (not Heavy Duty) but their inverter units are made in Japan and very expensive here in Thailand so I would say go for a Daikin inverter.

[lopburi3]

I replaced (added as backup) a 9k Panasonic to my 26sm downstairs bedroom last year and have not turned the 18k on since. But have only one window - normal brick walls and cement tile roof with single layer of fiberglass above gypsum ceiling. Room is mostly shaded from sun so probably accounts for little need for larger unit. But expect 12k would be enough for most rooms of this size - old Thai need for food locker temperature within a minute of turning on I believe leads to grossly high BTU suggestions. If you need a room below 25 yes they may be needed - but for a normal 25 they are not good as they will not remove enough of the moisture.

Mine is not inverter but I would buy as a replacement - even at 9k and being used 24 hours a day the compressor is off much more than on so am no where near requiring full use most of the time.

[Tanaka]

Sorry, its 23m2 not 23 metres square!

No. A room with 23 m2 is likely about 4 x 6m =24 m2. While 23 m sq is a room with 23 x 23 m2 making its area 529 m2.

[pj123]

Sorry, its 23m2 not 23 metres square!

No. A room with 23 m2 is likely about 4 x 6m =24 m2. While 23 m sq is a room with 23 x 23 m2 making its area 529 m2.

Room is 3.5 m x 6.75 m