Air conditioner buying guide : How to buy best window air conditioner ?

I was thinking of buying a air conditioner since a month as temparatures are very high at my place. So I went  to find  the prices of different models and to choose which one will best suit my needs ??After searching a bit on internet and finding out from some of my close friends , I landed myself on two brands - Hitachi and  Ogeneral . Hitachi is known for less power consumption and Ogeneral is the best available in the market with high quality cooling methods and good EER. Ogeneral provides the most efficient cooling system with the highest EER in the industry i.e 9.9 - 10.28 .powered by a Fujitsu Japan Fan motor . ogeneral has got a air circulation speed of 547 CFM.The air conditioner comes in a cream colour [ normal person will think that its a very old white coloured ac ] .The left most one in the second bottom line is Ogeneral

Coming to the costs , ogeneral is quite high than the near competitors . I don't know the model numbers exactly. But the prices of the other window AC's are samsung - 16700 INR , LG 15000-18000 INR , Voltas -16000 ..... Ogeneral has costed 24,500 along with installation costs where as Ogeneral split air conditioner cost is around 43000 where as its nearest competitors , LG has got its highest option at 30000 . But Ogeneral is known for its faultless manufacturing  There are very very few issues reported by the people about these air conditioners .

 

 If you can afford a bit more , Go for Ogeneral or Hitachi , or else all the rest can be considered to be the same . But ensure that there is good EER in the specifications . These days people are claiming that Onida has got good parameters on charts but none has confirmed how onida AC works by using. After buying a stabiliser and a MCB switch all costed me 27,000 bucks .

What capacity you need to buy ??

Not buying anything is not going to serve your purpose . If you buy a low capacity air conditioner for a big room , it will take more time for getting cooled and is directly pruportionate to your electricity bill [:D] . 

There are also other factors that come in, such as, whether there is another floor above the room or whether it is open terrace as typically happens in a top-floor room.A room facing the western direction can also absorb higher heat as it will be exposed to the afternoon sun. As a thumb rule, for every 100 sq. ft. of cooling, a capacity of one-tonne will be required.This capacity increases with factors like house (flat) being on the top floor, having more west facing windows and so on.A bedroom of approximately 200 sq. ft. size should require a two- tonne capacity unit while a hall-cum-dining of 300 sq. ft. would need about three- tonnes of cooling capacity.For a 12*12 sq ft room , I took 1.5 ton . 

How much it will cost to run a Air conditioner ?? 

I found this chart from The Hindu Newspaper . The price/unit might vary at your location 

ogeneral and Hitachi might consume around 1.5 unit per hour. Im not sure about this value but my friends and the shop keeper claimed so.

What other factors you need to look ?

Ensure that good quality and correct capacity of wires are used to avoid any undue fire hazards in the house. Copper wires are the best, although more expensive than aluminium. A metal socket and plug with tripper switch is also advisable at a height safe from children's reach.A good quality stabiliser will protect your equipment from the wide electrical fluctuations prevalent during summer. Do not get carried away by offers of `free stabiliser'. Check the antecedents of the brand. Unscrupulous suppliers to package electrical cut-outs in a box and call it a stabiliser.Before settling on a particular brand, ensure that a good service backup is available from the equipment manufacturer or sales dealer/distributor. Air-conditioner is an equipment that requires regular and good service. Make sure you opt for a maintenance contract after the guarantee period ends. Most companies give very reasonable labour maintenance rates for individual buyers, since the compressor is guaranteed for five years. Do ensure you read the fine print for the additional four-year warranty!

Users if you know any other parameters for buying a good AC or you know any brand which is really worthy or you want to tell How you feel as a AC , publish it as a comment .

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Posted in: Ac,general