Need help with a 2 Tn AC(Window or Split??),About 45K Budget

[Ronnie11]

Need help with a 2 Tn Inverter AC-55k-60k(Updated)

Hey guys, so i know there are a lot of threads for these but most of them didn't connect to what i was looking for, so hence i am opening a new thread...So i am looking for a 2 tonne AC(Preferring Split but do have a window ac slot in this room)...my old LG 2Tn AC is not working anymore...so i am planning to buy a new one...Budget is about 45K...Its a big room, hence the 2 tonne requirement... Not really looking for 5 or 4 star rating AC's...most of these brands i have seen seems to have aluminium tubing and looking for copper based one...Some of the brands i was looking at were O General/Hitachi/Daikin or any other brands you guys recommend...Pls help

 

[Mario]

Hey guys, so i know there are a lot of threads for these but most of them didn't connect to what i was looking for, so hence i am opening a new thread...So i am looking for a 2 tonne AC(Preferring Split but do have a window ac slot in this room)...my old LG 2Tn AC is not working anymore...so i am planning to buy a new one...Budget is about 45K...Its a big room, hence the 2 tonne requirement... Not really looking for 5 or 4 star rating AC's...most of these brands i have seen seems to have aluminium tubing and looking for copper based one...Some of the brands i was looking at were O General/Hitachi/Daikin or any other brands you guys recommend...Pls help

I think Daikin no longer provides copper tubing, not sure though! I know Hitachi still does, Carrier still does, so does, OGeneral and Blue Star!
I will never understand why folks buy ACs from LG or Samsung!
Split or Window --> If you have no issues with 2 units and want a smaller hole in your wall, get Split, else get Window!

My recommendation would be --> Hitachi, Carrier, Blue Dart -- in that order!

 

[Ronnie11]

I think Daikin no longer provides copper tubing, not sure though! I know Hitachi still does, Carrier still does, so does, OGeneral and Blue Star!
I will never understand why folks buy ACs from LG or Samsung!
Split or Window --> If you have no issues with 2 units and want a smaller hole in your wall, get Split, else get Window!

My recommendation would be --> Hitachi, Carrier, Blue Dart -- in that order!

First of all..thanks a lot for the response...am surprised Daikin has stopped with copper now..damn are all moving to aluminium??I have decided to go for split now...so am extending another 5k...so 50K now...
how much do the 2 ton Split unit cost for these??Does anyone here have any experience with these brands?How is the service?

 

[Mario]

First of all..thanks a lot for the response...am surprised Daikin has stopped with copper now..damn are all moving to aluminium??I have decided to go for split now...so am extending another 5k...so 50K now...
how much do the 2 ton Split unit cost for these??Does anyone here have any experience with these brands?How is the service?

Hitachi iClean 2 Ton would be around 52K in Kol - not sure of Mum! Check out other models too!
Carrier/Blue Dart Star would be lesser than this.

About the tubing, a Hitachi distributor I know said even Hitachi is considering not providing tubing with lesser models next fiscal onwards!

 

[Ronnie11]

Hitachi iClean 2 Ton would be around 52K in Kol - not sure of Mum! Check out other models too!
Carrier/Blue Dart would be lesser than this.

About the tubing, a Hitachi distributor I know said even Hitachi is considering not providing tubing with lesser models next fiscal onwards!

Blue dart??You mean Blue Star right??How are they..dont know much about their conditioners...was looking around...most of the hitachi/o general brands have aluminium fins...any with copper?i can extend upto 52K...

 

[Mario]

Blue dart??You mean Blue Star right??How are they..dont know much about their conditioners...was looking around...most of the hitachi/o general brands have aluminium fins...any with copper?i can extend upto 52K...

My bad! Yes, I meant Blue Star, not Dart - corrected!

Hitachi uses CTAF on the evaporators and aluminium on the condensers. Carrier, in India, is similar although I am not sure if the Carrier US models that use full copper are available here, probably not.
Blue Star Mega Splits claim to use Copper on the condensers as well - verify before buying.

In all probability, you will not go wrong with either Hitachi, Carrier or Blue Dart, provided of course, you select the right tonnage and hire a competent installer.

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I just went though the whole thread again and am a little confused - are you asking for copper tubing (the one between the IDU and the ODU) or copper fins (evaporator, condenser coils inside IDU/ODU) ? If its tubing, then Hitachi/Carrier/BlueDart all provide copper ones with very nice padding and if its fins, refer above.

By the way, how long did the LG one last?

 

[Ronnie11]

My bad! Yes, I meant Blue Star, not Dart - corrected!

Hitachi uses CTAF on the evaporators and aluminium on the condensers. Carrier, in India, is similar although I am not sure if the Carrier US models that use full copper are available here, probably not.
Blue Star Mega Splits claim to use Copper on the condensers as well - verify before buying.

In all probability, you will not go wrong with either Hitachi, Carrier or Blue Dart, provided of course, you select the right tonnage and hire a competent installer.

-----------------------------------------------------

I just went though the whole thread again and am a little confused - are you asking for copper tubing (the one between the IDU and the ODU) or copper fins (evaporator, condenser coils inside IDU/ODU) ? If its tubing, then Hitachi/Carrier/BlueDart all provide copper ones with very nice padding and if its fins, refer above.

By the way, how long did the LG one last?

oh sry for the confusion...i forgot to mention the copper fins too...was looking for both tubing as well as fins...in the last reply, was talking about the fins part..so my bad...
thought most of the brands moved to CTAF now...Also how is hitachi/carrier service??Is it good?

LG gave me a hell lot of trouble...from compressor problems to gas leak to every other problem on earth..and they seem reluctant to fix it...their service was horribly bad..even though it was under warranty..hence i want to move to copper fins and tubing...my experience with aluminium fins were bad esp with LG...gets brittle after some time...so want to invest in a product which is not samsung/lg etc etc...

 

[Mario]

oh sry for the confusion...i forgot to mention the copper fins too...was looking for both tubing as well as fins...in the last reply, was talking about the fins part..so my bad...
thought most of the brands moved to CTAF now...Also how is hitachi/carrier service??Is it good?

LG gave me a hell lot of trouble...from compressor problems to gas leak to every other problem on earth..and they seem reluctant to fix it...their service was horribly bad..even though it was under warranty..hence i want to move to copper fins and tubing...my experience with aluminium fins were bad esp with LG...gets brittle after some time...so want to invest in a product which is not samsung/lg etc etc...

Service experience will vary depending on location... my experience with Hitachi/Carrier/Blue Star has been good till now... do something..ask your neighbors if they use ACs from these brands and know what their experience has been like...you will get an idea.

Also, if you can put the ODU under a little shade and take good care of the IDU (regular cleaning - not detailed but just brisk wipe down once or twice per month - most ACs come with some sort of "gimmicky" self clean functions nowadays anyway ), you will have trouble free functioning for at least 5 years. Service once every one or two years, by competent personnel, and you will be good for 10~15 years almost. This goes for Hitachi/Carrier/Blue Star....

Also, beware of "service-houses" - these folks sometimes hire any tom/dick/harry electrician who are not qualified to handle any sort of ACs, let alone the complex ones - you don't want your 50K investment ruined in the hands of some morons - insist on checking their credentials when company service engineers come to visit.

---------------------------------

Just had this thought: A colleague of mine (about couple years back) got a very good deal on a pair of Blue Stars he bought (direct from distributor, so he saved around 7~9k). Now, he knew (and obviously had some rapport with) some guy in his office who is in charge of procuring hardware for that branch of their organization. He purchased from the distributor as well as got some dealer stamp on the warranty card for the sake of the warranty, all through this office guy. Just letting you know, in case you can arrange something similar - I know, probably improbable but worth mentioning, I guess. BTW, this colleague has not had a single issue ever since, and this is in Delhi.

-----------------------------------

Another thought: And this one is even more improbable - if you simply MUST have copper fins everywhere, you need to get a hold of some retired service engineer - I knew one once (retired Hitachi senior service engineer) and this guy actually built a custom basic split AC for himself, with copper fins in the ODU and IDU. Obviously, you will not have the "gimmicky" functions like self-clean and other thingies, (unless your guy can get hold of the company chips as well or can actually program a chip), but you will have pretty good cooling at much lower price, without any warranty (of course, your guy needs to be pretty competent and he can provide the "warranty service", if and when required). The custom AC cost came up to around 16K, this was some 5 years back.

 

[The Incinerator]

I would say since you have the budget get a Sharp AH-XP24MV. The best price for that AC after bargaining should be Rs 51000. Hitachi dosnt make Inverters. Daikin Inverter I didnt like much. The only other worthwhile Inverters are made by General,but the come for Rs 55000 and are very good. But overall the Sharp is better,quality is awesome. Im using the 1.5 ton model. And it cools a room that is 266 sqft and has roof on the top,I only wonder what snowstorm the 2 Ton will bring in!!!Get it eyes closed. I chose it over a Mitsubishi and Trane!!

 

[Mario]

Where are you getting a quote of 51K for the Sharp XP24? The 2 ton model would be at least 58~60K if not more.
Edit: My bad, it should come within 51~53K I found out;

It does cool well though, although "snowstorm" is exaggerating it! Also, it is not as power efficient (neighbor has 1.5 ton model) as tomtommed for inverter ACs, particularly the Sharps!
Perhaps, if OP is inclined towards inverter ACs (I am skeptical of inverters as of now, strictly in the Indian context), Mitsubs would be a better/safer bet as compared to Sharps (given that the all-important compressor in the Sharp is a Mitsub)

BTW, is Trane available in Kol or Mum? I thought its available only in Delhi and Bangalore...

 

[The Incinerator]

Not available in Kolkata. I got a call from them from Bangalore stating that.

You have to know how to operate that Sharp.Thinking its Inverter it will save electricity wont help,here.That AC can work as 1.9 to 2.1 ton capacity. So when you use a temp setting like 20C and full fan ,in the afternoon that will consume 1.9Kw!! Run the AC like that for an Hour and then set the temps to 27/29C and make the fan speed to 2,you will immediately watch the power consumption come down to 0.7/9Kw!!! That way your will maintain the chill without the hefty consumption.Explain that to your neighbour ,give him the demo!!!

My power consumptions are down ,way down over the Hitachis and Carriers that I have. Mitsubishi is good but Mario its their ASS that is a big big problem,Done by dealer/distributor!. Be careful.

Right now my AC is consuming between 0.4/0.6Kw!!! that is within 600 watts!

 

[Mario]

Not available in Kolkata. I got a call from them from Bangalore stating that.

Thanks for the info.

You have to know how to operate that Sharp.Thinking its Inverter it will save electricity wont help,here.That AC can work as 1.9 to 2.1 ton capacity. So when you use a temp setting like 20C and full fan ,in the afternoon that will consume 1.9Kw!! Run the AC like that for an Hour and then set the temps to 27/29C and make the fan speed to 2,you will immediately watch the power consumption come down to 0.7/9Kw!!! That way your will maintain the chill without the hefty consumption.Explain that to your neighbour ,give him the demo!!!

This actually goes for all inverter air cons (well, not the cheapo/crappy ones, of course). Actually I might have not effectively stated what I meant. What I meant to say is, while inverters are power efficient (of course, like you have said, only when one knows "how" to use them), they will NOT automatically result in huge savings over non-inverters for everyone. I still feel, inverters are primarily ideal where you need 1. both cooling as well as heating, (kind of why place like Tokyo/Syd would mostly have inverters) 2. provided you are accustomed to running your air-cons for pretty long durations - that's where they return that tom-tommed figure of 30~50% savings over non-inverters.
When you need just cooling (and mostly dehumidifying, like in our country), an efficient non-inverter (and compressor tech has come a long way, its not as straight as non-inverter=switch on/off today) would give you equal payback for your investment in terms of bills/comfort quality and the extra you pay upfront for inverters (upfront higher expense in some cases, costly parts, etc.) cannot really be justified. There was this other thread that was pushing inverters like non-inverters are complete crap <-- I am all for VFM -- but things should have proper context. The guy even says all aluminium fins are better than Copper or CTAF??!!!! Non-inverters use the latter to cut costs????????? That's sh1t of the highest order! There's a reason why CTAF usage started in the first place! Anyway, to each his own, I say!

By the way, the thing with the neighbor is, he has tried all these "settings" like the ones you have stated, after some RnD on the net, and his bills are nowhere flying off the handle - just that he gets pissed when some of the folks around him using non-inverters get similar or lesser bills than him! Dude, you and I can't really decide why this is happening without checking out what other stuff he's using or the make of his room etc etc. So as far as I am concerned I just love having some fun at his expense sometimes (you know what I mean) - he's in a way similar to the guy in that other thread, pushing inverters and bashing all non-inverters!

My power consumptions are down ,way down over the Hitachis and Carriers that I have. Mitsubishi is good but Mario its their ASS that is a big big problem,Done by dealer/distributor!. Be careful.
Right now my AC is consuming between 0.4/0.6Kw!!! that is within 600 watts!

Good to know (about your power bill). Which Carrier/Hitachi models are you using? Frankly, what I love about these two brands is how darned hardy some of their models survive in utter abuse and still provide what they did at the time of purchase!! This is one of the reasons of my being a trifle skeptical towards non-inverters, maybe one day I would make the move too, but till then, its wait-n-watch.

Mitsub A.S.S.? Do they ever need any? Darn things are built like rocks! But yes, when A.S.S. is not good (goes for any company/any product), it will cause a lot of frustration, especially when folks like us spend this amount of money!

 

[Ronnie11]

sry for the late reply...i am utterly confused...i did read that sharp inverter review & although there were few things i disagreed with, esp in terms of aluminium ones, it has got me utterly confused..i didn't have an inverter in mind...thinking of considering one now..i do agree that inverter saves a lot of power...but aren't inverter's required in places where there are voltage fluctuations??Or am i wrong here..pls help..In mumbai, there is no probs of voltage fluctuation...

i am willing to spend...but will inverter be a better option?? My thinking was to make a one time investment on a A.C and hopefully the AC will run trouble free for minimum 5 years..Also in that sharp review...how is it possible to have dc motors in an inverter..i thought these AC's would anyway convert it from DC to AC...

 

[Mario]

^^ No, no, you are probably confusing "inverter air cons" with "Power Backup inverters". (voltage fluctuation part)
This wikipedia page will clear up your confusion.

I am assuming you did go through the posts that Inci and I made above - you may have also googled "Inverter vs Non-inverter air-conditioners" and realized that the jury is still out on this! You will find tons of urls for both sides.

First forget about the crazy-figures of saving 1 lac in power bills in 10 years you might have read somewhere or that aluminium is a better conductor than copper - when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is! Now decide on what YOU need - not what some other persons requirements were! Understand that, longevity of non-inverters has been spoken of (not including LG/Samsung/Koryo), longevity of inverters not so much (so, that inverter ac might not even last a day above 5 years). Also, understand you live in India (where dehumidification and cooling are more important) and not Tokyo (where cooling and heating are equally important). I am sure you are getting all of these references!

What you are looking for is hassle-free cooling without infarction-inducing bills for at least 5 years!

Now, if you are going to run your air con for long hours (18 instead of 12) and for longer durations (10 months instead of 4/6), do go ahead and get a inverter air-con.

Keep in mind, upfront expense might be higher, parts being costly, repair will be higher as well, if/when required. Bills may not be lower than your non-inverter ac-using neighbor's (as a matter of fact, if you run your inverter ac in the usage pattern of a non-inverter, bills might actually be much higher), depending on how you use your ac and how it is setup. Note that, servicing these systems is complex (as compared to servicing non-inverters) - so, if your service guy is a noob, you will have a 50K dud in your hands!

If you don't give a sh1t about "how to run my a.c. so that I optimize my power bill" and just want efficient comfortable cooling when you hit the on-switch, stop bothering, get a non-inverter a.c. (of course, not a LG or Samsung) Servicing is comparatively easier (so, noob-risk is reduced), parts are not as expensive either. Power bills are not crazy-high either, again depending on usage.

Definitely do one thing before buying - find out (ask neighbors, dealers, whoever) how the service is wherever you live for whatever brand you are considering. This should be a big point in your final decision, irrespective of whether you go for non-inverters or inverters.

IMHO, (and this is my opinion, not stating a fact), and strictly in the indian context, inverters are good for commercial purposes, non-inverters are ok for homes for regular usage! I personally feel the inverter air-con-40%-savings-in-power-bill is a trumped-up thing, much like most things these days.

Every brand will tom-tom something, every tech. has its pros-cons - read, but don't read too much into all of this - end of the day, neither I, nor you, nor Inci work in Hitachi or Sharp, so we are all repeating what these vendors have published mixed with our own experiences and emotions

 

[The Incinerator]

I paid Rs 41K for that Sharp AH-XP18MV Inverter AC. That was more like the final thing that concluded the buying decision. Now a 5 star quality AC say a Daikin/Hitachi/General/Mitsubishi/Toshiba were well above Rs 40K and at the end of the day were non Inverters and even not using R410a gas but using the almost phased out R22!!! So taking all these in to consideration and of course the quality and Technology given by Sharp at 41K made my decision a no brainer. Before buying the AC I had done tiring research over aluminium vs copper and visited and called up every dealer from Trane to Mitsubishi. Finally I concluded upon the Sharp. The build quality is next to none and only a Mitsubishi Electric Zen can give it competition.Secondly Sharps after sales is excellent.Forget about the indoor unit even the outdoor unit makes so less noise you will be fooled in to thinking that it is switched off! Theres plasmacluster which does actually kill bad odour ,even perfumes sprayed in to the room disappears! Looks awesome too. The only gripe,the remote is not backlit. Pain.Real pain.

I have a Hitachi Atom/Kaze/Window (the old Japanese remote one]
Sharp AH-AP18LMT /And the new Inverter one
Carrier Window/HiWall Split probably Duracool 2 Ton.

Mario,Inverters does save electricity upon using it properly.Even me a meager user using it for 8 to 12 Hrs have gained. And then look at the pricing, will you buy a Rs 44000 Hitachi 5 star over a cheaper Sharp Rs 41000 Inverter?

The aluminum tubing in AC is the best. GE did it and Trane and Goodman perfected the art. The problem was the joining of the aluminum tubes with the copper tubes of the compressor.Now Trane solve it by adding Nickle between the two and the leaking problem was gone forever. Now Trane as we all know is one of the biggest AC manufacturing companies in the world doing huge projects and are using aluminum over copper because of the durability of aluminum over copper. But yes you are right too,it does save cost and can be a cost cutting measure too by el cheapo AC brands who do it without the quality or expertise of the big established brands.

 

[Mario]

I paid Rs 41K for that Sharp AH-XP18MV Inverter AC. That was more like the final thing that concluded the buying decision. Now a 5 star quality AC say a Daikin/Hitachi/General/Mitsubishi/Toshiba were well above Rs 40K and at the end of the day were non Inverters and even not using R410a gas but using the almost phased out R22!!!

Most of the brands you quoted above have moved on to R410, well, at least the higher variants have - can't say if all models have though. BTW, OP should know that R410 is also costlier to refill than R22 is.
Sharp's pricing right now looks great - guess they are trying to gain a significant share of the pie!

So taking all these in to consideration and of course the quality and Technology given by Sharp at 41K made my decision a no brainer. Before buying the AC I had done tiring research over aluminium vs copper and visited and called up every dealer from Trane to Mitsubishi. Finally I concluded upon the Sharp. The build quality is next to none and only a Mitsubishi Electric Zen can give it competition.Secondly Sharps after sales is excellent.

This is heartening to hear - let's hope they keep it up!

Forget about the indoor unit even the outdoor unit makes so less noise you will be fooled in to thinking that it is switched off! Theres plasmacluster which does actually kill bad odour ,even perfumes sprayed in to the room disappears! Looks awesome too. The only gripe,the remote is not backlit. Pain.Real pain.

Eh, can't see this one as a huge positive - any ac worth its salt should be able to do this - non-inverters do this just fine too!

I have a Hitachi Atom/Kaze/Window (the old Japanese remote one]
Sharp AH-AP18LMT /And the new Inverter one
Carrier Window/HiWall Split probably Duracool 2 Ton.

Mario,Inverters does save electricity upon using it properly.Even me a meager user using it for 8 to 12 Hrs have gained. And then look at the pricing, will you buy a Rs 44000 Hitachi 5 star over a cheaper Sharp Rs 41000 Inverter?

Agree! but that is a big "Upon..."! Trust me, there are folks who just want to hit the switch and forget about it - keep their ACs in auto mode forever and let the AC decide what should be done based on current room settings. For them, more than inverter/non-inverter tech., efficiency is paramount. Of course, this should not be misinterpreted as me saying, "inverters are inefficient" - but you know, if not used in their proper usage patterns, bills will rocket with inverters!

The aluminum tubing in AC is the best. GE did it and Trane and Goodman perfected the art. The problem was the joining of the aluminum tubes with the copper tubes of the compressor.Now Trane solve it by adding Nickle between the two and the leaking problem was gone forever. Now Trane as we all know is one of the biggest AC manufacturing companies in the world doing huge projects and are using aluminum over copper because of the durability of aluminum over copper. But yes you are right too,it does save cost and can be a cost cutting measure too by el cheapo AC brands who do it without the quality or expertise of the big established brands.

Actually, in terms of cooling/heating performance, Al can never ever beat Cu (just the way of the universe).
Why the HVAC vendors started looking at Cu variants is because of formicary corrosion (and also rising Cu costs - its always about the money) - thin Cu walls are eaten up by formic acid relatively faster - Al is tougher in that respect - its also, however, prone to other damages and difficult to repair if a fin got bent or got a hole somehow as compared to pure Cu.
[This is where CTAF/Cu micro-groove strikes a nice balance - which is why it is also used so widely by a lot of vendors on IDU evaporators - in fact, I think I have seen CTAFs on older sharps as well, but I am not sure of this]

I was recently at a client's house in Freemont and he was getting his Trane spine-fin replaced (the second time), this time with a sigma-flo coil (also from Trane but used in their B2B sales).
The first time he had to do the replacement was because of the service guys accidentally denting his fins, which they then could not fix (and also because of some corrosion from pet urine )!
This is a big deal which the vendors do not highlight! (but any HVAC repairer worth his salt will tell you how tough it is to "effectively repair" Al stuff as compared to what you could do to patch Cu stuff)
And guess what the sigma flo was made of?!!

I have seen those graphs from the Trane study (spine vs plate fin) - they do mention that the study conditions included - no cleaning - now, in real life who's gonna go 5 years without servicing his 50K cash-down!! Not to belittle the spine-fin, but if it would have been the Cu-killer, you wouldn't see Trane making sigmas or even Cu-variants of the Prima coils! [I always take these "studies" from vendors (electrical/pharma/almost all industries) with generous doses of salt - you know what I mean ]

------------

Anyway, my point is not that I want to sway OP towards or away from inverters/non-inverters - just that he should get unbiased views on both, so he can decide his priorities and make an informed decision - which I guess is also your objective.

This has been a nice discussion (unlike most others I see on this forum nowadays - name-calling and fights :meh: ), I think OP has enough information now to decide.

@OP: Now buy an AC and post pics!

 

[The Incinerator]

Indeed a very enriching conversation.

Yes OP pull the trigger now!

 

[Ronnie11]

^^ No, no, you are probably confusing "inverter air cons" with "Power Backup inverters". (voltage fluctuation part)
This wikipedia page will clear up your confusion.

I am assuming you did go through the posts that Inci and I made above - you may have also googled "Inverter vs Non-inverter air-conditioners" and realized that the jury is still out on this! You will find tons of urls for both sides.

First forget about the crazy-figures of saving 1 lac in power bills in 10 years you might have read somewhere or that aluminium is a better conductor than copper - when something sounds too good to be true, it usually is! Now decide on what YOU need - not what some other persons requirements were! Understand that, longevity of non-inverters has been spoken of (not including LG/Samsung/Koryo), longevity of inverters not so much (so, that inverter ac might not even last a day above 5 years). Also, understand you live in India (where dehumidification and cooling are more important) and not Tokyo (where cooling and heating are equally important). I am sure you are getting all of these references!

What you are looking for is hassle-free cooling without infarction-inducing bills for at least 5 years!

Now, if you are going to run your air con for long hours (18 instead of 12) and for longer durations (10 months instead of 4/6), do go ahead and get a inverter air-con.

Keep in mind, upfront expense might be higher, parts being costly, repair will be higher as well, if/when required. Bills may not be lower than your non-inverter ac-using neighbor's (as a matter of fact, if you run your inverter ac in the usage pattern of a non-inverter, bills might actually be much higher), depending on how you use your ac and how it is setup. Note that, servicing these systems is complex (as compared to servicing non-inverters) - so, if your service guy is a noob, you will have a 50K dud in your hands!

If you don't give a sh1t about "how to run my a.c. so that I optimize my power bill" and just want efficient comfortable cooling when you hit the on-switch, stop bothering, get a non-inverter a.c. (of course, not a LG or Samsung) Servicing is comparatively easier (so, noob-risk is reduced), parts are not as expensive either. Power bills are not crazy-high either, again depending on usage.

Definitely do one thing before buying - find out (ask neighbors, dealers, whoever) how the service is wherever you live for whatever brand you are considering. This should be a big point in your final decision, irrespective of whether you go for non-inverters or inverters.

IMHO, (and this is my opinion, not stating a fact), and strictly in the indian context, inverters are good for commercial purposes, non-inverters are ok for homes for regular usage! I personally feel the inverter air-con-40%-savings-in-power-bill is a trumped-up thing, much like most things these days.

Every brand will tom-tom something, every tech. has its pros-cons - read, but don't read too much into all of this - end of the day, neither I, nor you, nor Inci work in Hitachi or Sharp, so we are all repeating what these vendors have published mixed with our own experiences and emotions

yeah my bad about the fluctuation part..No i did not google anything like that although i should... ..see let me repeat, i am not looking for those 5 star rated AC'S..not looking for those save lakhs in inverter thing etc...i just want an efficient cooling system which will not give me problems like gas leak/compressor issues etc...

i just never looked at Inverters as an option..so was intrigued by it...LG AC gave me nightmares...one of the worst experience i have ever had & i also have Tata voltas which have been relatively better than freaking LG...so service is an important aspect..Ahh yes didn't think about the spares...how much difference is the cost of spares...do we need to change parts often with inverters??

I paid Rs 41K for that Sharp AH-XP18MV Inverter AC. That was more like the final thing that concluded the buying decision. Now a 5 star quality AC say a Daikin/Hitachi/General/Mitsubishi/Toshiba were well above Rs 40K and at the end of the day were non Inverters and even not using R410a gas but using the almost phased out R22!!! So taking all these in to consideration and of course the quality and Technology given by Sharp at 41K made my decision a no brainer. Before buying the AC I had done tiring research over aluminium vs copper and visited and called up every dealer from Trane to Mitsubishi. Finally I concluded upon the Sharp. The build quality is next to none and only a Mitsubishi Electric Zen can give it competition.Secondly Sharps after sales is excellent.Forget about the indoor unit even the outdoor unit makes so less noise you will be fooled in to thinking that it is switched off! Theres plasmacluster which does actually kill bad odour ,even perfumes sprayed in to the room disappears! Looks awesome too. The only gripe,the remote is not backlit. Pain.Real pain.

I have a Hitachi Atom/Kaze/Window (the old Japanese remote one]
Sharp AH-AP18LMT /And the new Inverter one
Carrier Window/HiWall Split probably Duracool 2 Ton.

Mario,Inverters does save electricity upon using it properly.Even me a meager user using it for 8 to 12 Hrs have gained. And then look at the pricing, will you buy a Rs 44000 Hitachi 5 star over a cheaper Sharp Rs 41000 Inverter?

The aluminum tubing in AC is the best. GE did it and Trane and Goodman perfected the art. The problem was the joining of the aluminum tubes with the copper tubes of the compressor.Now Trane solve it by adding Nickle between the two and the leaking problem was gone forever. Now Trane as we all know is one of the biggest AC manufacturing companies in the world doing huge projects and are using aluminum over copper because of the durability of aluminum over copper. But yes you are right too,it does save cost and can be a cost cutting measure too by el cheapo AC brands who do it without the quality or expertise of the big established brands.

tbh i am still surprised that many AC models in India still use R22 gas even though it has been banned...Will definitely look at sharp as an option...i am in need of 2 ton AC...so any different models to yours?Personally not a fan of aluminium tubing because it tends to get brittle and also leads to cracks after a couple of years..had problems with aluminium fins too..but i heard nowadays they are aluminium alloys...aluminium is also quite cheaper than copper in the market..my guess is thats the reason y they moved to aluminium...

Seriously this has been a wonderful discussion...hopefully i will start doing market research from Saturday...

 

[Mario]

Good good, at least we got you started

Market research and peer research too - only people can honestly tell you about service quality, so ask "people".

Also, I just found out that Trane is available in Mumbai, so check them out too - do not forget about "service" part. ATB!

 

[Ronnie11]

so i had gone to do some market research on inverter AC's and wow..its hard to find 2 ton Inverter Ac's...Even stores like Croma only keep a max of 1.5Ton inverter(The sharp model which was reviewed here)...they were not too keen on selling it either..they were pushing normal split units saying inverter Ac's are not useful for Mumbai...

Its really hard to find 2 ton Inverter AC's here...sigh..will keep looking tom too...