My AC just died and everyone is telling me to get a new wall mounted one. My broken AC is window mounted and 10,000btu. My room is around 8-9 ping. It would take around 2 hours to cool the room down to 25C. Too long. The wall mounted ones are more expensive, but people are telling me that they are more energy efficient and I should get at least a 12,000btu one to cool the room down quickly. Are there any real advantages/disadvantages between the two kinds? Which companies are good? My last one was Tatung (大同) and I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone. Hitachi seems to be good, but they are so expensive. Any ideas?
After buying the so called Kong-tiao, my electric bill cut in half.
I use a Panasonic inverter. One unit is outside and two are inside attached to the walls. The place is like yours about 10pings.
It’ll cost you about 60K including the installation. In my case, we save more than 15,000 a year and by using two units, I can chose to cool where I work, sit or sleep.
What is a Kong-tiao? 
What is a Panasonic inverter?
What is a Kong-tiao?
What is a Panasonic inverter? [/quote]
kongtiao is AC.
I also recommend adding a fan and/or fan unit with misting capabilities, it further cut my electric bill by a large chunk. I cool first with AC, then maintain with the misting fan in my room.
+1 on wall-mounted
:eh: Ummmm… so wall mounted is better?
more efficient machines, plus you get the added bonus that they are sooo much quieter (fan unit is outside) AND they also dramatically reduce ambient noise getting into the room. I used to live on Fuxing at Fuxing Zhongxiao, so I know of which i speak regarding reduction of street noise!!!
Bit of a bitch to service the motor unit if you live 20 stories up, though.
I’ve heard that the split recycles air more efficiently. Also, I have yet to see a window mounted that has both warm and cool air. I think that for big rooms they do reccomend a “split” or wall mounted. I have window mounted Panasonic and it works all right. I agree Hitachi is expensive, but it is top of the line, if you will stay here forever then o invest. If you plan to move or have medium term plans, get a Panasonic or Heran. There is a sale on Mitsubishi.
Thank you for the help. Now I just need to convince my wife that I/we should spend the extra money and buy a Hitachi. 
Hitachi is a good brand, but Daikin is better. That’s what I’ve had for the past six years. If you want something for the long term, go with Daikin.
I also need to get an air conditioner and it looks like wall mounted is the only option due to window constraints. First I would have to remove the ugly metalwork on the outside of the window. Next I would have to install it in place of the sliding screen which is 1 meter tall by 0.5m wide. But it’s already wired for AC and a small window has been replaced with a wood panel with a hole in it. But there are no marks showing that a wall mounted unit was installed. But the fact that it’s wired and there is a panel to run tubing thru will save a lot of hassle.
I’ll be honest I’m just looking for something cheap. The lease on the house is only for this year but it could be extended. And my plans are only to stay in Taiwan for 2 (or 3 yrs max). And it’s only a large bedroom (4.5 pings). Do the prices at the stores include both the indoor and outdoor part? Are there add’l parts that need to be bought? How much would installation add (it’s wired, good balcony for outdoor unit and there’s a wood window panel)? I did find a split unit on sale at JECO for 8000 but I can’t remember the details. that almost seems too cheap though.
you can take the unit with you when you leave.
we’ve had Hitachi and Daikin, both are good. The Mitsubishi and the Kolin I have had have been noisy and less effective.
[quote=“urodacus”]you can take the unit with you when you leave.
we’ve had Hitachi and Daikin, both are good. The Mitsubishi and the Kolin I have had have been noisy and less effective.[/quote]
on the airplane? Or to a different apartment that might have AC during the 2nd year?
I’ll try to sell it but I’m definitely not going to count on the resale value to justify a higher priced AC unit.
OK, more applicable to long termers… they do actually sell reasonably well 2nd hand. But yes, not really cabin luggage.
Hitachi is a good brand, but Daikin is better. That’s what I’ve had for the past six years. If you want something for the long term, go with Daikin.[/quote]
Do you happen to know the Chinese characters for Daikin?
I think it’s dàjīn 大金.
Seems you can still find some deals, check out here, some models for 30K -though a bit small: gohappy.com.tw/shopping/Brow … =456&sid=2
Hitachi is a good brand, but Daikin is better. That’s what I’ve had for the past six years. If you want something for the long term, go with Daikin.[/quote]
Do you happen to know the Chinese characters for Daikin?[/quote]
Yes, it’s 大金. I guess you don’t watch too much TV, or you must have seen the “Nihong ichibang Daikin” commercials.
Japanese name, but the characters are the same in both languages (big gold? big money?).
Hitachi is a good brand, but Daikin is better. That’s what I’ve had for the past six years. If you want something for the long term, go with Daikin.[/quote]
Do you happen to know the Chinese characters for Daikin?[/quote]
Yes, it’s 大金. I guess you don’t watch too much TV, or you must have seen the “Nihong ichibang Daikin” commercials.[/quote]
Yeah, I don’t watch much TV anymore. 
Thanks for the help.
That’s a great website. Thanks.