What Make Aircon Units For New Build

[pattayapip]

I have already done a few searches on different Aircon Makes and Models, but cannot really find popular current opinion.
I am just building a New Place outside Pattaya which will need 7 Aircon units, Room sizes vary from 25 M2 to 36 M2, am planning 6x 12-13,000 BTU and one 18000 BTU for the 36 M2 Bedroom
Building is full Cavity and ceilings will be Insulated, the 18,000 BTU Unit will be run every night for around 8 Hours aiming to achieve a Temp of 23/24 Degrees
The 2 Questions I have are:
1) Best make and Model to Buy ? (I have Daikin now and am Happy but open to suggestion)
2) Is an Inverter worthwhile ? (I may have already formed an opinion on that after reading recent topics)

Any help or suggestions will be appreciated
Cheers

[pattayapip]

Of the other 6 Units, 4 will hardly ever be used (Spare bedrooms) 1 will be used maybe for a few hours at night (Lounge) and 1 will be used a few hours each day but only when I am home (1 week per Month)

[cooked]

I have Daiken, happy up to now.More iImportant is to buy the stuff at a place that will come and install the beasts and give you a guarantee. We used Homepro and they seem to take things seriously.

[sotsira]

I would go with Daikin all the way.

For the bedroom i would get an inverter if your using it 8hrs a night

it will save you money on the electric bill.

The others can be standard Daikin units if your hardly gonna use them.

[citizen33]

Cooked said: "We used Homepro and they seem to take things seriously."

Most of the big retails subcontract out installation work to local aircon businesses. I found from talking to one installer (in this case working for Homebase) that I could have got a slightly keener price direct from his firm, and buying direct probably gives you a better chance of continuity of service.

Edited April 26, 2013 by citizen33

[pattayapip]

Thanks for the Info, will try and go direct to the Daikin Service Place in Pattaya and see how that goes

[IMHO]

Daikin's 2013 inverters are big improvement over their previous ones for sure, but Saijo Denki Hybrid/Premium Inverters are still the Rolls-Royce of home AC's - substantially more energy efficient than the nearest competitor, and only challenged by top-model Daikin Inverters (at about the same price) for quietness.

You'll have to do the math to work out if/where inverters make sense for your application though. Make sure you factor in a 5% efficiency loss every year too.

Note that the formula for calculating energy usage is: BTU / EER = Watts

examples:

9K BTU

Baseline 5-star = 818 Watts

Daikin R-410A Inverter, 8,500 BTU / 17.06 EER = 498 Watts

Saijo Denki Grand Hybrid Inverter, 9,016 BTU / 19.51 EER = 462 Watts

12K BTU

Baseline 5-star = 1090 Watts

Daikin R-410A Inverter, 11,900 BTU / 14.15 EER = 841 Watts

Saijo Denki Grand Hybrid Inverter, 12,408 BTU / 17.17 EER = 723 Watts

18K BTU

Baseline 5-star = 1636 Watts

Daikin R-410A Inverter, 17,700 BTU / 13.13 EER = 1348 Watts

Saijo Denki Grand Hybrid Inverter, 18,105 BTU / 16.38 EER = 1105 Watts

25K BTU

Baseline 5-star = 2273 Watts

Daikin R-410A Inverter, 23,200 BTU / 12.04 EER = 1927 watts

Saijo Denki Grand Hybrid Inverter, 24,299 BTU / 15.71 EER = 1546 Watts

Note, baseline for a 5-star rating is EER = 11, and is a pretty good guide for those manufacturers that only show star ratings and not EER figures.

As for sizing, if your rooms all have a floor above them, and minimal/no direct sunlight the sizes you have calc'd sound about right. If they have a roof cavity directly above, or catch direct sunlight you would want to revise the number upwards IMHO, like so:

25m2 = 18,000 BTU

36m2 = 25,000 BTU

Edited April 26, 2013 by IMHO

[Naam]

I would go with Daikin all the way.

For the bedroom i would get an inverter if your using it 8hrs a night

it will save you money on the electric bill.

The others can be standard Daikin units if your hardly gonna use them.

keeping 36m² with 18,000btu/h at 23-24ºC (OP's choice) an inverter will not save much energy.

[IMHO]

I would go with Daikin all the way.

For the bedroom i would get an inverter if your using it 8hrs a night

it will save you money on the electric bill.

The others can be standard Daikin units if your hardly gonna use them.

keeping 36m² with 18,000btu/h at 23-24ºC (OP's choice) an inverter will not save much energy.

Yep, unless it has a floor above it and doesn't catch any sunlight, 18K BTU will be running at very high duty cycles and struggling to keep it cool on warmer days.

[wpcoe]

I would go with Daikin all the way.

For the bedroom i would get an inverter if your using it 8hrs a night

it will save you money on the electric bill.

The others can be standard Daikin units if your hardly gonna use them.

keeping 36m² with 18,000btu/h at 23-24ºC (OP's choice) an inverter will not save much energy.

Yep, unless it has a floor above it and doesn't catch any sunlight, 18K BTU will be running at very high duty cycles and struggling to keep it cool on warmer days.

Even if only used at night? During the day, I could see the unit chugging along non-stop practically, but at night the temperature differential should only be 4º to 5ºC (or less), no?

[pattayapip]

In light of the replies received I will probably go for the 25,000 Btu for the bedroom and may even upgrade the office one to 18,000 Btu

Appreciate the feedback Thankyou

[IMHO]

I would go with Daikin all the way.

For the bedroom i would get an inverter if your using it 8hrs a night

it will save you money on the electric bill.

The others can be standard Daikin units if your hardly gonna use them.

keeping 36m² with 18,000btu/h at 23-24ºC (OP's choice) an inverter will not save much energy.

Yep, unless it has a floor above it and doesn't catch any sunlight, 18K BTU will be running at very high duty cycles and struggling to keep it cool on warmer days.

Even if only used at night? During the day, I could see the unit chugging along non-stop practically, but at night the temperature differential should only be 4º to 5ºC (or less), no?

Cavity roofs hold hight heat levels for several hours after sundown, even with a cool breeze prevailing. So plenty of AC load even if switching on at 6PM.

A ladder and back of your hand against the ceiling will tell the story

[DMC1]

Daikin gets my vote

[thaicbr]

I would go with Daikin all the way.

For the bedroom i would get an inverter if your using it 8hrs a night

it will save you money on the electric bill.

The others can be standard Daikin units if your hardly gonna use them.

keeping 36m² with 18,000btu/h at 23-24ºC (OP's choice) an inverter will not save much energy.

Yep, unless it has a floor above it and doesn't catch any sunlight, 18K BTU will be running at very high duty cycles and struggling to keep it cool on warmer days.

Even if only used at night? During the day, I could see the unit chugging along non-stop practically, but at night the temperature differential should only be 4º to 5ºC (or less), no?

Cavity roofs hold hight heat levels for several hours after sundown, even with a cool breeze prevailing. So plenty of AC load even if switching on at 6PM.

A ladder and back of your hand against the ceiling will tell the story

So insulate and vent the loft!

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

[IMHO]

I would go with Daikin all the way.

For the bedroom i would get an inverter if your using it 8hrs a night

it will save you money on the electric bill.

The others can be standard Daikin units if your hardly gonna use them.

keeping 36m² with 18,000btu/h at 23-24ºC (OP's choice) an inverter will not save much energy.

Yep, unless it has a floor above it and doesn't catch any sunlight, 18K BTU will be running at very high duty cycles and struggling to keep it cool on warmer days.

Even if only used at night? During the day, I could see the unit chugging along non-stop practically, but at night the temperature differential should only be 4º to 5ºC (or less), no?

Cavity roofs hold hight heat levels for several hours after sundown, even with a cool breeze prevailing. So plenty of AC load even if switching on at 6PM.

A ladder and back of your hand against the ceiling will tell the story

So insulate and vent the loft!

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

Sure, that would help if you live in an area that gets cool at night I guess. BKK and coastal areas don't though - and no matter what you do, you're not making your ceiling cavity cooler than ambient

I stand by my assertion that it will take 25,000 BTU to effectively cool a 36m2 room to low-20's with mid-high 30's ambient.

OP has already stated by their username that they are in Pattaya BTW

Edited May 1, 2013 by IMHO

[Ace of Pop]

20 years and Ive tried all of the brands,well up to you. Now i realise you can go too small. . Just added a 24Bthu L.G.non inverter alongside a 5year old 25 Bthu inverter.30 K fitted . Bedroom 8 by 10. Super Cold now.Not convinced an Inverter saves what they boast.

[thaicbr]

20 years and Ive tried all of the brands,well up to you. Now i realise you can go too small. . Just added a 24Bthu L.G.non inverter alongside a 5year old 25 Bthu inverter.30 K fitted . Bedroom 8 by 10. Super Cold now.Not convinced an Inverter saves what they boast.

Bedroom 8m x 10m. 80 square metre bedroom. Wow:D:D

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

Edited May 1, 2013 by thaicbr

[IMHO]

20 years and Ive tried all of the brands,well up to you. Now i realise you can go too small. . Just added a 24Bthu L.G.non inverter alongside a 5year old 25 Bthu inverter.30 K fitted . Bedroom 8 by 10. Super Cold now.Not convinced an Inverter saves what they boast.

yep, 50K BTU sounds right for 80m2.

I can vouch for inverters saving on electricity, but as noted by the Star Trek guy, if they're undersized you won't see any benefit..

[thaicbr]

i'm from Britain not the US so an 80sqm bedroom is alien to me

[luudee]

I have a similar setup house as the OP.

In the main bedroom, living room and office I use cassette type units.

I have recently replaced them all.

I have one Mitsubishi cassette type, and two Daiken.

3 other unit are Diaken Wall mount.

All of them are inverters.

I am very happy with both Mitsubishi and Daiken. The inverters appear to be more

quiet than the non-inverter units I used to have.

Also whenever we have power outages or wild voltage swings (often times we get

only 160V) they seem to just work or shut down without blowing the breakers.

luudee

[IMHO]

i'm from Britain not the US so an 80sqm bedroom is alien to me

Maybe his house has no internal walls, 555