Looking forward to buying an AC for your home? Then you are in the right place as we are on a mission to make decision-making easy for our readers.
Top 10 things to consider while finalizing the right Air Conditioner for your home.
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| Top 10 things to consider while buying an AC for your home |
1. Capacity: The first thing you need to consider is what tonnage of AC is right for your home. Several factors affect your air conditioner tonnage calculations like your room size, roof and walls are shaded or it gets direct sunlight? in which directions your home windows are and what size they are? How many persons would be inside the room?
A rough calculation based on room size is 120 ~140 sq. ft. area will need 1 ton, 150 ~180 sq. ft. area will need 1.5 ton and 180 ~240 sq. ft. area will need 2-ton cooling capacity air conditioner. You should add 0.5 ton to it if your roof gets direct sunlight or users are more than 2 + 1 (kid). You can opt for convertible or adjustable air conditioner's that can adapt to tonnage as per requirements up to 0.5 tons. So if you have a 1.5 ton AC and there are a few persons around it will consume less (approx 1-ton usage) vs. crowded (max. usage) without much compromising on cooling.
2. Energy Efficiency: You should always look forward to higher energy efficiency models. Also, a key thing to note is that standards of efficiency are raised every year hence a 2021 5-star model would be more energy-efficient than a 2020 model.
Electricity charges per unit are on a higher side hence you will save the money in 2-4 years vs. the premiums paid initially but if you have a Solar Power plant at home that produces access units of energy then you can save money by buying a 3-star rated air conditioner. If you have not set up a solar power plant yet you should consider getting one to save huge on your electricity bills. Know more about solar panels for home here.
PRO TIP: If you plan to use AC for 8 to 10 hours a day only for summers (3 to 4 months), it is recommended to buy at least a 3-Star rated air conditioner. In case you intend to use Air Conditioner for 5 to 7 months in a year, it is advised that you go for a 5-Star rated AC. Planning to use it extensively for round the year or over 10 months? Go for a 5-star inverter or dual inverter air conditioner. If you are from North India where winters are extreme go for Hot & Cold Inverter AC for maximum power savings.
3. Split or Window AC: Window AC's are cheaper. They are easy to install and maintain but Window ACs are more energy-efficient, looks aesthetically good, comparatively quieter in operations (makes less noise) and provides better air distribution. So, if budget is not an issue go ahead with a Split AC.
4. Your Budget i.e Price range: Your budget or the amount of money you want to invest definitely limits the search for the best AC. Even though we might be aesthetically inclined towards a specific product or feature we have to let go of it considering the price premiums we have to pay. Ex. if your budget is in low or mid-range then we can simply skip WiFi enabled AC's as it does not adds to the basic functioning of air conditioner i.e cooling and can be easily skipped for mid-budget ranges. If you have a good budget then go for WiFi-enabled AC, connect with your smart home control devices and control your ac through voice commands.
Common Mistake to avoid: Please do not buy a low tonnage AC when your actual room size needs a higher one. This mistake will lead to improper cooling, higher bills and maybe you will end up wasting more money.
5. Air Quality: Are you living in cities where air quality is not good? then you should consider air conditioners with air quality filters like PM 2.5, HD filters etc. In case, your city has a very high level of air pollution and your indoor air is compromised you should consider buying an Air purifier with a True HEPA filter than relying on your AC for air quality.
Know this: A good quality filter not only ensures clean air but also improves the cooling performance and energy efficiency of AC by preventing the choking of evaporator coil due to dust particles. Please clean your filters at regular interval of times.
6. Service Warranty: Off-course, always look for maximum service warranty. The only reason we listed here is that we often miss on this. Warranties you should look for 10 years on compressor, 5 years on PCB. Comprehensive product warranty is mostly 1 year but consider add-on extended warranties.
Some online shopping portals like TataCliq, Amazon, Flipkart do offer additional extended warranties at an additional charge. Buying offline? Ask your retailer for it.
You may consider adding them. During seasonal sales extended warranties might be available even for Free like TataCliq often provides a free extended warranty on TATA owned brand Voltas.
7. Antibacterial and Antiviral filters: Considering the current pandemic situation buying an AC with additional antibacterial and antiviral filters is a lucrative offering but its efficacy in stopping the spread of corona-virus is a matter of research especially if the virus is already present inside the room. The filter can kill the viruses passing through it but will it kill the viruses already present in the room? A detailed research may give a clear picture. Generally, avoid air conditioner usage if you are living with a covid patient as it may spread the virus through air circulation. We conclude that antibacterial and antiviral filters are good to have but not to rely on them and keep practising all covid guidelines and basic home hygiene practices.
8. Noise Levels: We often miss this important parameter hence we have added it here. The lower the noise dB levels the better it is. We have often seen a 40K AC having 45+ dB level noise while a 35K operating under 40 dB. So while choosing ac see noise levels too as we all want peaceful living ;-)
9. Authorized service centers near you: Always check for authorized service centers near you. Give priority to a brand that has a service center near you over others. AC is heavy equipment carrying it to service centers is an expensive deal, see if an authorized service center near you would be servicing your air conditioner at your home. If an authorized service center is far away they may charge you extra or deny servicing especially after the warranty period is over. Also, ACs are like cars, and they need regular servicing to remain in the best condition and optimum performance. Once installed, there should be regular servicing, preferably quarterly.
10. Multipurpose: Do you live in a location where winters are too cold? then Go for Hot and Cold air conditioners that cools you down in summers and makes you hot in winters ;-) And yes, Hot & Cold Air Conditioners are up to 35% more energy-efficient than heaters.
We hope this helped you and you will make a wise investment.
And if it did, please help us by sharing this post.
Help us further by making a generous donation to nsrsc@upi so that we can continue our research and grow further to offer you with more helpful contents.
Best Regards,
Navneet Singh Chauhan
Founder, Kharidega.com
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