Buying An Energy-Efficient Air Conditioner

[Morakot]

Infinitely higher than the running cost of a natural indoor airflow system and sensible solar control through sound tropical architecture.

unfortunately airflow, no matter how sophisticated, cannot cool a home. the same applies to architecture which can only slow down the build-up of heat inside a home.

I thought that's what it is all about: cooling people and reducing the build up of heat in the structure.

[MaiDong]

Anyhow, we're ordering the 18k BTU today, it'll be installed tomorrow

I'll post my comments on it here.

Looks like it wo'nt be installed tomorrow, girl in shop was talking <deleted>

Hopefully Monday.

[yannic]

let us know how long it takes to cool the room down to 20 degrees. My oversized non split type but industrial build in aircon cools down our 50 sqm masterbedroom from 29 to 20 degrees in 20 min. I still have to find out the BTU size of it, guessing at least 100,000...

[Crossy]

let us know how long it takes to cool the room down to 20 degrees. My oversized non split type but industrial build in aircon cools down our 50 sqm masterbedroom from 29 to 20 degrees in 20 min. I still have to find out the BTU size of it, guessing at least 100,000...

If it's really 100,000BTU then it will be drawing about 10kW (45A) from the supply, probably about 3 times oversized for a 50m² room.

If you can't find a BTU rating let us know the power consumption from the rating plate, we can guesstimate the BTU from that.

[jbrain]

And with this recommendation I can see how much Thai you are already. In our new condo they have an aircon which is 3 times to big for the room. It is loud as hell during the night. Of course it cools down the 50 sqm masterbedroom to 18 degrees celcius in no time, but the electricity consumption and the noise is really not good.

please tell me oh wise one which capacity that "3times overdimensioned" unit has that i can see how much (lack of) knowledge you have about airconditioning and laugh out loudly.

for the record: i am living since 39 years in tropical countries and have a wee bit experience as far as airconditioning is concerned

Here we go again. Naam knows everything about anything and everyone else on this forum is stupid.

Since when does living 39 years in tropical country's makes you knowledgeable about airconditioners ?

I have owned 57 cars in the 35 years that I have a driver license, still I'm not a car mechanic.

[Naam]

Here we go again. Naam knows everything about anything and everyone else on this forum is stupid.

Since when does living 39 years in tropical country's makes you knowledgeable about airconditioners ?

I have owned 57 cars in the 35 years that I have a driver license, still I'm not a car mechanic.

some people are indeed stupid, some are just ignorant or not informed.

and then there are "brainy" people like you who might think that a car is driven by electricity because its engine power is expressed in kilowatts. see your "expert" posting:

http://www.thaivisa....25#entry5967030

[Morakot]

Naam, I thought you'll give us the low downs on solar chimneys, roof overhangs, and efficient layouts, so we can all turn off our A/C units. Your expertise is much appreciated and required here.

Edited February 14, 2013 by Morakot

[jbrain]

Here we go again. Naam knows everything about anything and everyone else on this forum is stupid.

Since when does living 39 years in tropical country's makes you knowledgeable about airconditioners ?

I have owned 57 cars in the 35 years that I have a driver license, still I'm not a car mechanic.

some people are indeed stupid, some are just ignorant or not informed.

and then there are "brainy" people like you who might think that a car is driven by electricity because its engine power is expressed in kilowatts. see your "expert" posting:

http://www.thaivisa....25#entry5967030

the fact that you keep insisting that a 9000 Btu aircon uses 0.9 Kw without knowing the SEER rating, indicates that you are just parroting a figure someone blew in your ear and don't actually know how to calculate it.

Energy Input = Cooling Output / SEER

Above is what was written in my post you quoted.Below is yet another proof, probably from someone who also is stupid and know nothing about airconditioners, who explains that you need the SEER rating to calculate the energy consumption.I'm still waiting for you to proof, other than some arrogant remarks, that it isn't so.

http://www.inspectap...d/aircond11.htm

How Much Does It Cost Per Hour to Run An Air Conditioning System

This is an even simpler calculation. Using as an example information from our example air conditioner's data tag,

((5000 BTUH) / (10 SEER)) = 500 Wh

500 Wh x $0.25 = $0.12 per hour to run our air conditioner. Twelve cents per hour is your hourly cooling cost to run your A/C.

Edited February 14, 2013 by jbrain

[bankruatsteve]

I think it's already been pointed out that Energy is not the same as Power but Power over time. In any case, you don't calculate energy "consumption", you measure it. Any calculations otherwise are just an estimate using factors than are not constant over time. If you need to know the cost of your A/C over some period of time, put a meter on it (them).

[StefanBBK]

Does the consumption not also depend on how well the room is insulated, what the starting temperatue is, how big the room is etc.?

It also makes a difference if you cool a room to 25 degrees or 18.

I am not sure, but I would say that even a slightly bigger unit, cooling a well insulated room to 25dgrees uses far less electricity than a tiny unit running full blast all time, trying to chill the room.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[bankruatsteve]

Does the consumption not also depend on how well the room is insulated, what the starting temperatue is, how big the room is etc.?

It also makes a difference if you cool a room to 25 degrees or 18.

I am not sure, but I would say that even a slightly bigger unit, cooling a well insulated room to 25dgrees uses far less electricity than a tiny unit running full blast all time, trying to chill the room.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

First paragraph right. 2nd paragraph not. When talking 25C, smaller is usually more efficient. 18C needs the big one.

[indothai]

I know I posted that I keep my temp room temp at 26C, but by no means do I actually mean 26C perfect. I'm going by the "gauge" on the remote of my A/C unit, and I'm pretty sure it's not accurate.

I see the numbers 18C and 20C being thrown about like it actually means anything, do you guys actually have a decent thermometer to measure your room temp?

[MaiDong]

The shitty Singer unit we have now is mostly on 21c, and sometimes that's not cold enough

Have you ever checked what the actual room temperature is with the the shitty singer on 21

I know I posted that I keep my temp room temp at 26C, but by no means do I actually mean 26C perfect. I'm going by the "gauge" on the remote of my A/C unit, and I'm pretty sure it's not accurate.

I see the numbers 18C and 20C being thrown about like it actually means anything, do you guys actually have a decent thermometer to measure your room temp?

I tested my bedroom temperature last night, first time was about 30 minutes after I turned it on 21c, the temp in the room was 24c, after 2 hours it was 21c surprisingly, here's a picture to (sort of) prove it, it looks like the thermometer is reading 22 but that's just because of the angle I took the photo.

I compared all the thermometers in The Mall Tha Phra and they were all showing 23c in the shop so I assumed they were all working fine, or all inaccurate!

[indothai]

The shitty Singer unit we have now is mostly on 21c, and sometimes that's not cold enough

Have you ever checked what the actual room temperature is with the the shitty singer on 21

I know I posted that I keep my temp room temp at 26C, but by no means do I actually mean 26C perfect. I'm going by the "gauge" on the remote of my A/C unit, and I'm pretty sure it's not accurate.

I see the numbers 18C and 20C being thrown about like it actually means anything, do you guys actually have a decent thermometer to measure your room temp?

I tested my bedroom temperature last night, first time was about 30 minutes after I turned it on 21c, the temp in the room was 24c, after 2 hours it was 21c surprisingly, here's a picture to (sort of) prove it, it looks like the thermometer is reading 22 but that's just because of the angle I took the photo.

I compared all the thermometers in The Mall Tha Phra and they were all showing 23c in the shop so I assumed they were all working fine, or all inaccurate!

21C is pretty cold, but I wasn't trying to disprove anyone. Place where I work keeps it around 21C also, and I find it way too cold... but that's just me.

[MaiDong]

21C is pretty cold, but I wasn't trying to disprove anyone.

No, I agree, I never trusted the temp on the aircon, always thought it was the hopeful temp of the unit!

I'm quite surprised to know that my aircon unit can reach 21c however, the compressor never seems to cut-off now so it's really wringing its guts out to get to 21, if we ever lower the temp to 19 the air comes out warmer than on 21! It really is a piece of shit.

So in effect, we have an inverter because the compressor never cuts in order to keep our room at a constant temp(I'll leave that for Naam tro chew over )

[Konini]

I'm re-bumping this because I've read it and am totally confused.

We've never been able to use air-con as my husband suffers terribly from sinus problems. We always knew evaporative air-con was cheap and wouldn't affect his nose but everyone told us they were no good. We've just stayed with friends in Melbourne who have it and it was OK for us, not icy cold (which neither of us would like) but just enough to take the pain out of the heat, although even they said it was no good when it was humid. They said the only problem they had was remembering to keep windows open, as is the requirement for evaporative coolers (I've heard stories from people with both ducted and portable units who forgot to leave anything open when they went to work and came home to water running down the walls). Is Chiang Mai too humid to consider evaporative? We are renting so would have to buy a portable unit, not a problem and I'm sure I'd remember to fill the water reservoir and we leave all windows and doors open 24 hours a day anyway as we don't use the refrigerated air con units installed so no problems with it getting sauna-like inside.

Simple question from someone with no knowledge of such things; would a portable unit work here in Chiang Mai? I've even seen the stand fans with the water spray attachment in shops so I'm starting to think they might be suitable, but they are expensive so I would need to know that I wouldn't be wasting my money.

I thank anyone for being able to help me with this. I'm dreading another hot pre-rainy season, waking up in a pool of sweat even though I have the fan on.

[bankruatsteve]

I have sinus problems and find the A/C is great for that. Perhaps different problem. So, you've been to a physician and that's why you need something special?

Anyway... by "evaporative air-con" I assume you are talking about what we call "swamp coolers" in the states. My recall is that ChiangMai is not that humid so, yeah, maybe a portable unit would be worth a try.

Edited March 26, 2013 by bankruatsteve

[Konini]

I have sinus problems and find the A/C is great for that. Perhaps different problem. So, you've been to a physician and that's why you need something special?

Anyway... by "evaporative air-con" I assume you are talking about what we call "swamp coolers" in the states. My recall is that ChiangMai is not that humid so, yeah, maybe a portable unit would be worth a try.

He's had problems since childhood and has had 3 operation, the last one 6 years ago. He gets nosebleeds when he flys and when he gets to the top of some hills. Refrigerated air-con really irritates it, so we keep away from it.

Thanks for the info, never heard of swamp coolers, but I would assume it's the same thing. Much better than hanging a wet towel in front of the fan

[bankruatsteve]

Check the blood pressure (hyper tension)? Most people, myself included, don't have symptoms (of which nose bleeds is one) but when checking, find the SYS/DIA way too high. Just to plug an easy to check and medicate problem for a lot of olders.

Cheers

BTW: I saw a "water A/C" in Home Pro the other day - I didn't check it out but maybe that's something you might want to look.

Edited March 26, 2013 by bankruatsteve

[Konini]

Check the blood pressure (hyper tension)? Most people, myself included, don't have symptoms (of which nose bleeds is one) but when checking, find the SYS/DIA way too high. Just to plug an easy to check and medicate problem for a lot of olders.

Cheers

BTW: I saw a "water A/C" in Home Pro the other day - I didn't check it out but maybe that's something you might want to look.

Nah - he's perfectly healthy apart from his nose. When it's really bad he looks like someone has punched him in the nose - top of nose and eyes swollen and black. You can see it straight away, people ask him if he's fallen or something. He's seen ENT specialists in several countries and the top specialist in Australia but there's nothing they can do apart from scraping the bone away every now and again to open up the passages, but the bone grows back.

Over the years he's tried everything from conventional medicine to every holistic cure you can name - the acupuncture was particularly painful for him but he kept at it; 3 times a week for a few months. He's tried various Chinese remedies and concoctions, Indian Ayurveda, South American hoodo-goodo, and homoeopathy to mention but a few. Stuffing mashed papaya up his nostrils twice a day for a few weeks was one of the strangest, but he literally will try anything. We've spent thousands of dollars over the years, had great inconvenience by cutting various foods out of our diets for a couple of months, testing for allergies etc and nothing has worked. High altitude and refrigerated air con are the two worst things to set him off. When flying he has the double whammy , and is usually black-eyed for about a week after a long haul flight.

But we have to look on the bright side - there are a lot of people in the world much worse off than him. And he never complains. Poor baby.