Air Conditioner Buying Guide in 2022 – Select Best Air Conditioner For You
In India, the longest-running season is summer without a doubt. Though in school we read that there are six seasons, however owing to the global warming and the Disrupted Ozone layer, the mercury level only goes down for three-four months. While North India faces most of the heat and humid conditions, other parts of the country are not lagging in the race.
With the rising temperature every year, the need to install an Air Conditioner is becoming a necessity in most of the households. In this article, we will guide you about all the aspects that you need to keep in mind while going to buy an AC for your home.
What is an Air Conditioner and how it works?
Before you buy an air conditioner for your room or the entire house, it is better to understand what exactly an AC is and how it works to cool down the room temperature. So, an air conditioner is as you know as electric machinery for controlling the temperature of a room or any enclosed space. Once you set a temperature on this machinery, generally lower than the actual temperature of the room, it works to bring down the room temperature to that level.
So, when it is scorching heat outside and your room is getting stuffy and hot and humid, you just need to switch it on and set the temperature at some lower level on the AC remote. Then the air conditioner will absorb the heater up air from the room and the refrigerant which is used in the machine (compressor) as a cooling agent (commonly known as Cooling Gas) will help in lowering the temperature of the room.
The chemical (cooling gas) becomes a vapor when comes in contact with the absorbed warm air from the room. The remaining heat in the room gets ventilated through the air conditioner’s exhaustion panel. Wastewater is drained via the indoor unit of the air conditioner while it is working due to the cooling process. The draining water is a sign of the proper functioning of your air conditioner.
Are there different types of Air Conditioners?
Yes, there are multiple types of air conditioners that you can find in the market at present. In earlier times, there were only Window air conditioners, however, now there are Split ACs, Inverter ACs, and even portable ACs.
You can choose any of these depending upon your requirement. We are here discussing a few of the pros and cons of each of them so that you get an idea and buy wisely.
Window AC
- It is a single Unit Air conditioner where the blower is placed inside the room and the machinery automatically is on the other side of the window. Since it is single unit machinery, the installation is easy and cheaper.
- It is also economical for your pocket as it comes within a price of Rs. 25 thousand in India.
- While it is economical for buying purposes, it consumes electricity much higher than other types of ACs.
- It makes noise as well when it runs and also you need to cut your window to fit the same.
Split AC
- It can be fixed anywhere in the room.
- It creates lesser noise.
- It consumes comparatively less electricity than Window AC.
- However, it is expensive. The price range of this type of air conditioner is somewhere between Rs. 20 thousand to Rs. 45 thousand and more.
- It is not portable as well.
Portable AC
- You wouldn’t require a technician to install the portable AC.
- You can use different rooms and anywhere in the house.
- It is highly expensive as of now because it is a new type of products launched recently in the country. There are very few suppliers of the same which is why the price is high.
Inverter AC
- This is altogether with a different type of air conditioner which works on the Inverter technology.
- It saves a lot of electricity
- It is highly durable
- However, it is highly expensive as well.
Factors to consider while buying an AC
When you buy an Air conditioner, you need to keep certain things in mind. You need to check those factors and plan your purchase before you go to the shop/showroom. Here is a list of seven factors you need to consider before buying an air conditioner.
- Capacity of the AC: The primary factor which you must consider is the capacity of the air conditioner. It depends on the size of your room mainly. The bigger the room, the air conditioner’s capacity needs to be higher to cool it down. If you buy an under-capacity AC then, it would not only take a lot of time to cool the room but will also consume a lot of electricity. Similarly, an over-capacity machine can reduce the room temperature fast but again a lot of electricity will be consumed without any reason. The idea capacity of the air conditioner you need for a room of –
- Up to 80 sq ft – 0.75-0.80 tons
- From 80 to 120 sq ft – 1 ton
- From 120 to 190 sq ft – 1.5 ton
- Above 190 sq ft – 2 ton
- Ratings & Electricity Consumption: The second but one of the most important factors to consider is the consumption of electricity. You would not want to pay hefty electricity bills every month. So, you need to choose wisely when buying an air conditioner. The energy consumption of an AC is related to the ratings it has. Higher the ratings, lower the electricity consumption. You will find the stars rating on the body of the AC. These stars suggest how much electricity you save–
| Single Star | No Saving |
| Double Star | You save Rs. 200- Rs. 250 per month |
| Three Stars | You save Rs. 400-Rs. 450 per month |
| Four Stars | You save Rs. 550-Rs. 600 per month |
| Five Stars | You save Rs. 700-Rs. 750 per month |
However, the electricity consumption is different for Window and Split AC. Even for the same ratings, Window AC will consume more electricity than a Split AC.
- Copper or Aluminium – Better Coil for your AC: Coil of an air conditioner is a vital part as it carries the refrigerant for which reduces the room temperature. It needs better heat transfer, it needs to be less corrosive, highly efficient, and have high strength. If you are thinking which coil would be better, then a simple answer to your query would be copper coils. It is highly efficient, has higher heat transfer and other features which are required for the high performance of your air conditioner.
- Outside Temperature: The average temperature of your place needs to be considered while deciding the capacity of the air conditioner as well besides the room size. If you live in the hottest and most humid cities in the country like Delhi, Kolkata, Rajasthan, and others, then you need to install an AC of higher capacity.
- Number of family members in the room: Similar to the last point, if the number of members in the room is more, then the cooling power reduces and it takes time to cool the room. So, in that case, you need to install an AC with the high capacity again so that it cools down your room temperature easily.
- Noise: You must check the ACs before buying as noise can be a great disturbance in your peaceful sleep.
- Budget: Finally, the most important thing to consider while choosing an air conditioner is its price itself. It is not only about the price of the air conditioner, but also about the installation charges, loading and unloading charges and above all, the electricity bill. So, shortlist a few of the air conditioners within your budget. Then compare them and then choose one which suits you and your pocket the best.
Features of a Good Air Conditioner
While the above-mentioned factors are the basic factors to choose your air conditioner, you must also look into these below-mentioned factors for choosing the best air conditioner for your room.
- Air Conditioner Controls: With the advent of technology, you can now control your air conditioner with your smartphone only, isn’t that cool? You can control its temperature, swing and other modes with an application on your phone.
- Eco-Friendly: The most used refrigerant like Hydrofluorocarbons and others contribute hugely to global warming. Being a responsible citizen and human being, you can choose the air conditioners which use environment-friendly cooling agents like R-32 R600A and others.
- Anti-Bacteria Technology: This is a great invention by the engineers, which makes your air conditioner free from bacteria. The air conditioners having this technology got an inbuilt anti-bacterial filter. This not only clears the air in the room from ferms, bacteria, dust particles but also increases the durability of the machine and performance.
- Inbuilt heater: For places where the temperature goes to extremely require heater in the winters like an air conditioner in the summer. So, nowadays, most of the companies are providing an in-built heater for keeping you warm during the winter.
- Four-Direction Airflow: With the new air conditioners, the companies are providing four-direction or 4D airflow technology. This means you can regulate the airflow upward and downward and also to the right and left.
Conclusion
To conclude this AC buying guide for 2022, we would say that you must keep all the basic factors in mind while choosing an air conditioner. You shouldn’t just look for the fancy new technologies that the companies are providing for their sell. You must check the ratings, the capacity of the air conditioner in the first place. Before, choosing one, you must shortlist a few of them according to your budget and then compare their capacity, ratings, features, coil material and other factors mentioned above. This will help you buy the best air conditioner suitable for your room, environmental condition, and your pocket.
