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Air Conditioner: Buying Guides

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How to find the Air Conditioner that's just Right for you?

With rising mercury and excessive humidity levels, beating the summer heat can be tough. At times like this even the fan and cool colas from your refrigerator fail to beat the heat. While most of us work in air conditioned offices throughout the day – stepping out can make you sweaty and parched by the time you reach home. Given the high temperatures prevalent, your body tends to fight to maintain its balance. Hence there is bodily fatigue and your mind tends to be stressed thereby reducing immunity.

On a hot summer day when you are back home from a hard day's work - what with commuting in the local trains or bus, an Air Conditioner provides bodily comfort. Not only does it make you feel calm, and relaxed, thereby avoiding fatigue but also makes you feel energetic enough to spend quality time with your family. Moreover, a cool environment is also known to be beneficial in combating respiratory problems.

First Consideration: SPLIT v/s Window

First let's get the simpler things sorted. Among all types of air conditioners available for homes, the two most popular are the Window AC and the Split AC. You would have invariably seen both types in several residential apartments or in numerous TV commercials with film stars serenading them.

S.no.	Split AC	Window AC
1	Sporting a sleek design, the Split AC comes as a set of two units – indoor and outdoor	Ideal for cooling large rooms, Window ACs fit into the window in your room. The controls face the room while the condenser unit looks outside.
2	The indoor compartment houses the cooling coil and cooling fan. The outside unit of the split AC contains the hot and noisy parts like the compressor, the condenser and the expansion valve	If there are no windows in the room, these ACs can also be installed into a wall by cutting the right size of hole in it.
3	Less noisy and compact	Compared to split ACs, window units are quite noisy, are bulkier and will block an entire window in the room.
4	Depending upon their tonnage, these units are ideal for cooling one or two rooms. These ACs are available in larger sizes that are more powerful in comparison.	The window AC units are restricted in its size by the dimensions of the window and hence come with a limited capacity.
5	Due to the flexibility of placing the split ac units the installation time is longer	Since it comes as a single unit, the window AC is easy to install. All it requires is a power source close by.
6	Aesthetically designed, split ACs are available in many colours to match with your room's decor. Compact-sized split ACs are ideal for home and office use.	Newer models are relatively smaller in size and have elegant designs.

*P.S: Click here for a detailed comparison between Window AC and SPILT AC.

The wide array of brands and models of air conditioners available is really flattering to the first time buyer. With this you have an array of convenience features that help customize the usage of the AC per your needs -more on that latter. Arriving at a decision beyond mere convenience features means getting down to brass tacks.

Next Step: Find the RIGHT sized AC

Would you be comfortable wearing an oversized shirt? What's that got to do with ACs?

Take a larger size AC and you could end up living in a freezer. A size smaller - you could end up cranking the AC and still not getting the right cooling. To find the right-sized AC for your room, you would have to making sense of some jargons.

TON or TONNAGE
- Ask anybody for advice and you would hear the refrain that you should get a 1 TON AC or a 1.5 TON AC for your room. Does that mean the AC weighs 1 TON (1000 Kgs!).
- Thankfully, here it is used as a measure of Energy and not Weight! In air conditioning systems it is used to measure heat absorption. Since primitive versions of air conditioners used ice for cooling instead of refrigerants – so heat equivalent to converting 1 TON of ice to cool air came to be associated with AC capacity. And, a BTU is the power or heat required to convert 1 TON of ice to cool air!
- 1 ton is equal to 12,000 BTU/ hour

BTU or British Thermal Unit: An air conditioner unit's cooling capacity is measured in BTU. The higher the BTU of the unit, the higher is its cooling power. As the BTU of the unit increases, so does its size, weight and price. Considerations that influence BTU/hr include:
- Room size and ceiling height
- Size and number of windows,
- Available insulation and shade,
- Direction of the room,
- Number of people using that room,
- Number and type of appliances (such as computers, printers, etc)
- Local climate

Area To Be Cooled (square feet)	Capacity Needed (BTU's per hour)
100 to 150	5,000
150 to 250	6,000
250 to 300	7,000
300 to 350	8,000
350 to 400	9,000
400 to 450	10,000
450 to 500	12,000
500 to 700	14,000
700 to 1,000	18,000

Having understood what Cooling Capacity or Tonnage is best suiting your room size, we must now move on to the energy/power costs.

Let's understand cost of running an AC

Among all electrical appliances in any household ACs consume 40% of electricity costs! Should that deter us from buying one? Certainly not! It should on the contrary make us look for ways of optimizing the costs.

To optimize on costs we need to look at 3 variables:

EER (Energy Efficient Ratio): Indicates the ratio of the unit's cooling power output (BTU/hr) to that of its Power consumption (Watts) & is a measure of Air Conditioner's efficiency at maximum load. EER is generally calculated using a 95 F outside temp and an inside temp of 80 F with 50% relative humidity. The AC unit with a higher EER is costlier but more energy efficient, which means it, will incur low electricity bills in the years to come. The EER rating on most ac units range from 8 to 14.
COP (Coefficient of Performance): This is the ratio of Output Power to Input Power in Watts and is unit less. COP's are rated at 47 F & 17 F. This indicates the efficiency with which energy is managed. A higher COP means a more efficient system
STAR Rating: BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) has instituted a STAR rating system that enables us to identify which AC has the right EER or COP to facilitate lower running costs and hence help us save on electricity costs! The higher the STAR rating the more the efficiency. Each AC being sold at Reliance Digital has the STAR rating labels stuck on them. We would advise you to always go for 5 STAR ACs that which may have higher initial cost during purchase – but rest assured your running costs would be lesser by approximately 24% compared to a 1 STAR AC.

*P.S: The STAR Ratings have been updated recently (Jan 2012) by BEE. This update has effectively raised the bar on EER/COP & STAR Ratings. Watch out for the Green coloured Power Savings label on each AC unit, which indicates the latest version.

In any AC unit it is advisable to look at these 3 variables and make a decision regarding AC with regards to working efficiency and cost savings.

Convenience Features:

Whether you are buying a split AC or a window AC, here are some essential features to look for: A remote control, a sleep timer, an adjustable thermostat, an adjustable vent and an exhaust vent; two fans with energy efficient setting, easy to remove and clean electrostatic filter and low noise levels. Besides there are several new SMART features such as human activity sensing technology, sunlight detection, anti-bacterial filters and intelligent Inverter based technology that varies the speed of the compressor to offer improved performance and lesser running cost. Check out the latest developments in ACs.

Installation and Warranty:

Opt for an AC unit that comes with a long term manufacturer's warranty along with a full replacement guarantee in the first year. Do not forget to take extended warranty to cover any unanticipated maintenance expenses. Go for a trusted installation and service support partner.

Final Word:

So before you venture to make a purchase make sure you know the size (TON) needed, check for the EER/COP ratios and finally consider the STAR ratings. Armed with this knowledge you can then set about drawing comparisons between the various brands, models, features and prices. If you are a first time buyer, we recommend you consult with an expert who will suggest the Right AC for you. Please note that estimating the size of an AC is not an exact science. There are many factors that can affect the size of the air conditioner that you need and it is best done by a qualified personnel. The RIGHT AC besides keeping you comfortable provides for efficient ventilation, so that you stay refreshed all day as well as get a restful slumber.

So, now wakeup rejuvenated and go seize the day!

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