AC Buying Guide: How To Buy the Best Air Conditioner

Planning to buy AC for this summer? All the small and big companies around the world are building it. With the market flooded with tons of options for different types of ACs, choosing the right one becomes a daunting task for you without having a proper AC buying guide.

After window and split, portable AC is also available in the market. But there is a big dilemma about which AC to buy? What should be the capacity of AC and which will be the better variant? If you are also entangled in these questions, we have the perfect answers for you.

AC Buying Guide: Things To Consider Before Buying a New Air Conditioner

Choosing the right type of AC for your room is like half the battle won. Let’s have a glance at our article ‘AC Buying Guide: How To Buy the Best Air Conditioner’ and check out the available AC models in the market along with their offered features.

This will definitely help to eliminate your confusion and find an impeccable AC for your home.

Type of AC required

Depending on the mounting of blower and compressor, ACs are divided into the following types.

Split AC

As the name indicates, split AC contains two units. The outdoor and the indoor one. Outdoor unit cases condensing coils whereas the indoor unit cases blower and the evaporator coils. Split air conditioners do not require the ductwork, which results in reducing the unnecessary consumption of energy. Split AC is the best-suited option for wall or ceiling mounting.

Window AC

Window AC is mounted on in the frame of a window and the compressor is placed outside the window. This is the simplest form of AC. This AC is also called as ‘Room air conditioner’. This type of AC requires the exact frame of a window to be installed.

Portable AC

Portable ACs are trending these days. The biggest feature with this is it can be placed in any corner of the room or any area of the drawing-room according to the need. Installation is not a mess. You can also shift it from one place to another.

Portable ACs are costlier than Window and Split AC.

AC Capacity and size of the room

Deciding on the AC capacity is also another critical part to be taken care of. If you end up buying a large size air conditioning system than the room’s requirements, a huge chunk of your money will be washed in paying the higher electricity bills.

Likewise, the smaller size air conditioning system will be inappropriate to cool the entire area of your room. You must have the accurate size of AC as per the area of your room.

Generally, the capacity of an air conditioning system is calculated in tons. Higher is the tonnage, greater is the system’s capacity.

Below is the guidance chart showing the ideal capacity of the AC required as per the size of the room.

Ideal AC capacity for various room sizes

Inverter AC

In an inverter type ACs, the speed of the compressor is adjusted as per the requirement, to control the refrigerant flow rate. In simpler words, the Ac compressor is always on, but the power and speed of it are variable and adjusted as per the temperature requirement.

For E.g. when you set it to 25 degrees, the Compressor installed in Inverter AC works in such a way that its Compressor will start working quickly.

But as soon as the room temperature falls between 24-25, the compressor will not shut down, but its speed will decrease and it will run regular mode thereby maintaining its speed at 25-degree temperature.

Due to the inverter, high fluctuations in the load are eradicated, the efficiency of the AC is increased and the parts of AC have a longer life as compared to the non-inverter ACs.

This helps in massive savings (up to 30- 50%) in electricity consumption and energy, resulting in lower electricity bills. The buying cost of inverter ACs are at a higher side than the non-inverter ones, but this is well-adjusted by lower energy bills. 

AC Features

Filters

It is very essential to have a good quality filter in any AC because it provides clean air and makes breathing easier. Ventilation is turned off in the room where AC is installed. In such a situation, the filter becomes imperative for clean and pure air for breathing.

Air Flow

Airflow indicates how much time your AC can cool a room. In order to cool your room quickly, AC should have the fixed cooling speed which ensures good airflow. Most of the companies have started giving these features.

Swing

It is also important to have swing wings or features in AC. AC with multi-features swing is able to spread air to every corner of the room. With this feature, the room also cools quickly.

Timer and sensor

With the help of a timer feature, you can automatically turn it on and off at the fixed time. It is the biggest advantage is to curb power consumption. This is another one of the great features of AC.

The job of the sensor is to fix the temperature of the room. At the same time, it focusses on the airflow on people.

Voltage stabilizer

It is also advisable to buy a voltage stabilizer with AC. This is quite important if you have frequent power fluctuations. If your AC is 0.5–0.8 tonnes, a 2KVA stabilizer will be correct. It would be okay to take a stabilizer of 3KVA for AC of 1.0 ton to 1.2 ton, 4KVA for 1.2-1.6 ton AC, 5KVA for 2.0-2.5 ton and 6KVA for AC for more than 3-ton capacity.

EER ratings (Energy Efficiency ratio)

In order to help the consumer in buying energy-efficient ACs, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has introduced a new method called Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) Ratings for Indian air conditioners.  This rating system is well improved, enhanced and rigorous, keeping in mind the variation of high temperature throughout the country and rates the air conditioners accordingly.

According to this, the higher the rating i.e. stars, the more efficient the AC would be. Means, ACs with higher ratings will consume less power resulting in fewer electricity bills. However, does not mean that you should always opt for 5-star rated ACs. The decision for buying AC should primarily be based on your usage. 3-star rated ACs are best suited if the usage is only for a few hours. Moreover, your room will be cooled faster as the lower star AC has a great circulation rate of air. Likewise, 5-star rated AC should be considered if your AC usage is more than eight hours.

Maintenance and repair charges

Your AC needs maintenance at a regular interval of time. What about the maintenance service of any AC and how much will it cost? This criterion should also be known.

Generally, companies provide free maintenance cost for the first or couple of years. But what if any repair springs up in between? And what about the charges of a visiting engineer especially if the AC is installed in remote areas. 

Always ensure to take care of the above points while selecting the type of AC as in some AC like split one, the maintenance cost is at a higher side whereas, in case of inverter type, the repair is expensive.

Other features to consider

In addition to the above said key factors, you can consider numerous other features that can enhance the quality of cool AC air. Some of them are:

Connectivity through Wi-Fi

With this special feature, you can turn your AC ON through your mobile phone even when you are away and get the cool air when you reach home.

Auto-clean functionality

This functionality prohibits the development of microbes on the inner parts due to moisture. This enhances the quality of cool air and increases AC’s life.

In-Built heater

Some AC models are also available in the market with an in-built heater. Thus you can stay away from chilly winter days. This type of AC will keep you comfortably warm.

Dust Filter

The dust filter is made up of mesh structure and it prevents the duct particles to let in with the cool air. This filter must be cleaned time-to-time in order to achieve maximum and smooth performance.

Anti-bacterial filter

These filters remove microbes like dust mites, bacteria and pollen grains inside the AC parts and improve the quality of cooling air. This surely enhances AC life.

Coil type

While buying the AC type, the option for the type of coil should also be considered. There are two types of coils in AC.

1.  Aluminium Coil
2. Copper Coil

Aluminium coil is the inexpensive one, whereas copper coil type is at a higher costing side. However, always prioritize the copper coil type as these are durable and have a longer life than the aluminium one. Also repairing cost and maintenance charges for aluminium coil are very high.

Final Thoughts

Hope our AC buying guide article has given you an overview of what features to explore while selecting a perfect AC. So buying a new AC for your home should not be a puzzling experience anymore.

So chill out this summer with your new AC. Happy shopping!!!