Summer is at its scorching best in India right now. The whole North India is on the fire and even other parts of the country are seeing mercury going up. Well, this is exactly when air-conditioners come into the scenes and offer some relief.
Usually here at India Today Tech we write about smartphones and other cool gadgets. But guess what, which is the coolest gadgets of them all. That is the air-conditioner. So, this time around we decided to take a look at how ACs are sold in India and how people should buy them. Here are five tips to keep in mind while shopping for an ACs. This air-conditioner buying tips and guide will help you get the best one in your budget.
Go for better energy efficiency: Higher the rating, lower the electricity bill
It is no secret that an air-conditioner heavily adds up to the monthly electricity bill. Hence, an AC that consumes less power and meets your requirements should be preferred over the rest. The question arises how you should find the energy efficiency rating? This is where start rating comes to play.
Most air conditioners come with star ratings ranging from star 1 to star 5. So, higher the star, lower the power consumption. For instance, a 5 start air conditioner will consume less power as compared to a 3 start AC. So, keeping this is mind the next time you are out to shop for an air conditioner is recommendable.
But there is another bit to note here and that is Inverter ACs. These ACs are, at least theoretically and mostly in real life, consume less power than the ACs use conventional cooling plant. The effect, in some cases can be dramatic. It is so big that Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), which is a government body, rates inverter ACs separately. In other words, in most cases you will find that a 3-star inverter AC will consume less power than a 5-star conventional ACs.
Do keep this in mind, although inverter ACs also tend to be little bit more expensive compared to the regular ones.
Cooling Capacity: Size matters
This is a very important aspect to consider because a miss here and your ACs will either feel insufficient or will chill your room so much that you feel living on the north pole. Usually for a room that is around 100 to 120 square feet, a good 1 ton AC is sufficient. For a room around 175 square feet, you can opt for a 1.5 ton AC. And so on and so forth. Getting the right size ACs also helps you further save the electricity because you will use your AC optimally.
Don't go by features and marketing, basics matter more
In ACs, the most important parts are also the ones that company's don't talk about. This is because it is easy for companies to sell stuff on the basis of some cool sounding features instead of promising people quality stuff, which might be costly. One good bit to ascertain the quality of an AC is to ask the AC manufacturers what sort of coils and material they are using in their ACs. Copper coils are slightly more expensive but are significantly better from performance and reliability perspective compared to aluminium coils. Similarly, ask your AC manufacturer about the efficiency of the AC when it is used in extreme heat and when the sun is beating down on it directly. The good quality ACs will deal with extreme temperatures in a better way. The lower quality ACs, however, perform poorly in extreme heat and they also consume more power.
Consider the noise level, area where the AC will be fit
Nowadays, if you get the split AC chances are that noise will not be a problem. But if you get a window AC it is possible that the noise from the machine may disturb you when you are sleeping. Even with the split AC you should check for the noise and the ask the ask the AC dealer exact noise details (it is in dB) for both outdoor and indoor units. Prefer ACs that make less noise.
Similarly, before you buy an AC be very sure where you want to place it. This will help you avoid the aesthetic issues, especially in India where ACs are often afterthoughts in houses and where the installation process is very amateurish from even well-known brands like Daikin and LG. It will also help you get the AC that will suit your needs best.
Always worry about aftersales
ACs have fairly complex and mechanical technology inside them. This means they require servicing even when they are working fine and there is nothing wrong with them. So always opt for a AC brand that has a proven record of good servicing, especially in your area. If you are not sure about the service record of an AC company, don't hesitate to ask dealers. If required call up the AC brand customer care centre and make inquiries. In other words, don't just buy an AC because you like it. But it because you like it and you are sure that it will be serviced well and at affordable rates after you purchase it. If you are not sure about the aftersales offered by a brand, don't buy its ACs.
