Any air conditioning experts here?

Life Technology
1

We need a new air conditioner in our home as the current one is over 20 years old. It actually works fine but the one problem with it is that it’s loud as hell. Very hard to watch tv with that thing pounding away. It’s a through-the-wall type AC.

The AC is for our living room, I don’t know the exact size but it’s your typical living room. It’s also connected to the dining room which is about the same size as the living room. I’m guessing it’s a total of around 6-7 ping.

Now we have this handyman that we use for things like this, my parents know him through a good friend of theirs. He’s your typical ‘Ah-Huang’ type handyman and I don’t fully trust him. So I’m hoping there are people here with expert knowledge of ACs cause I really don’t know that much.

We told him what we needed and he recommended Hitachi, said it was the best. Said that if we wanted a quieter unit then we would need a unit with 變頻. And finally there is the room size factor, I still don’t fully understand it but apparently they measure output here with the unit 噸. Our current unit is 2.x 噸.

So he said there is a Hitachi model, with 變頻, 2.0 噸. We said ok. He was suppose to come and install it last Sunday but at the last minute pulled out because he said it was sold out. Now for some reason he can’t get the 2.0 噸, he can only get a 1.8 噸unit. But per he’s own advice, 1.8 is too small for our home so he recommends a split type AC.

It’s just one problem after another. It just seems like this guy doesn’t fully have our best interests at heart.

I know split types are extremely quiet which would be great for us. But it’s also more of a hassle to install. It would need to be hung on the wall which would require drilling. And then there’s the problem of running the hose outside. We would need to put a hole through the kitchen door, and then another hole on the door leading to the balcony. These holes would then most likely let more noise through. Imo it’s just too much trouble.

Now I’m thinking, instead of having this guy buying the AC and installing it, I’ll just go buy the AC myself first and then have him come install it.

I did some research and it seems like “Friedrich” ACs are the the quietest. But I doubt you can find this brand in Taiwan.

I looked on 3C’s website and they have the complete line of Hitachi 變頻ACs. I’m thinking these two are a pretty good match:

Any suggestions or advice?

2

I don’t really know much about air conditioning, but my impression is that Cankun (the yellow shop you are talking about; “3C” is just a general way to refer to consumer electronics in Taiwan, not its name) is almost always the most expensive choice. Also note that the prices listed on their website are for their “members,” which is something you need to pay them for on a yearly basis. If you are not a “member,” then the price will be higher (either given in small print or not at all).

If you’re OK with that, fine, but I thought it’s always good to know. :slight_smile:

3

If you have a window mount already, buy another window mount. You’ll spend 3 - 5k just on install for a wall mount unit (2 pc)

Also, buying new ACs is a bit of a fools purchase. If buying new is something you won’t budge on than be my guest, but I would suggest heading over to one of the many used AC shops and buying from them. A 7 ping space needs about a 10 - 12k BTU unit.

Use 591.com.tw to find a dealer. They will give you a unit that will last you a long long time.

I think for a space like yours, you could pick up a nice, name brand, lightly used unit (installed) for $10 - 13k NT.

check out this search.

T

4

Carrefour has a good selection and pricing too with partial installation included.
You’d have to knock some holes through yourself though.

Hitachi or any Japanese brand are indeed the best choices. Don’t get anything but Japanese. Split air cons are also more efficient and much quieter than the old type. You need to remember the location of the wiring too. Don’t be so harsh on ah huang!

Buying new you will have a warranty and newer types should be that bit more efficient. Maybe maybe second hand for secondary use unit.

5

Hitachi and Daikin are considered the most reliable. They’re also the most expensive.

Any hole that they put in the wall for a split-type is not going to let noise in, unless they do an awful installation job, because the the holes are small and they should plug any leftover space.

(SOME) New AC’s are significantly more efficient than older models–maybe over a thousand a month off your summer bill if you use it constantly. Also the new one’s often have inverters so you can use them as heaters in the winter (more efficient than space heaters). Check the Tw gov energy rating. It’s a 1-5 scale with 1 being the most efficient, and all models have to list it.

6

Hitachi is top of the line and you won’t regret it. If you buy now -your parents are Taiwanese, I gather?- you get a Government “bonus” as the newer models of AC will save more energy, at least 2000nts or more from taipower to your bank account.

Hopefully, you can get the the split kind that also has hot air circulation in winter. It really saves a lot of energy and will make your winters more bearable.

I also reccomend you to check out 3 places or more, compare models and offers. If they do not throw in at least a free blender, then no, it is not a good deal. Basic installation is usually free, but added holes or other stuff is negotiable.

I usually buy my stuff in elifemall.com.tw/ , because the smaller stores mean better service, even if it is not the cheapest. The difference is often negligible, and in case of trouble, solutions are fast to come.

7

+1 to the people recommending Hitachi. Don’t even think about buying a local brand (I’ve visited one of their factories!).

We have a reversible type (can pump heat either out of the room or into it) and we paid ~70K for two indoor units and an 8kW(th), 3-port thingy that goes outside. Tonnes is an American measurement of refrigeration - it’s equivalent to roughly 3.5kW(th). As other people just said, a split type will be more efficient and a lot quieter. Ours has a rated COP of 4.5 and sometimes you have to actually look at the power light to determine if it’s switched on or not - it’s that quiet.

Your Ah Huang sounds like a pretty solid guy. Don’t buy your own. Most likely, he can get a discounted trade price and he will charge you less for fitting. Just bear in mind that Taiwanese people over-specify aircon because they always set the temperature to about 12 degrees. If you just need to take the edge off (23-25’C is my personal comfort zone) then a 6kW (1.8tonne) unit is more than enough. The heat exchanger in our living room is rated at (IIRC) 2.2kWth and can easily chill the room to below 20’C on a hot day. Our whole system is massively overspecified - it’s never operating at anything like full chuff. The SO insisted on the larger size because she thinks I don’t know anything about aircon, so you might want to take the above advice with a large pinch of salt :wink:

EDIT: they do use room size here to produce a first-order estimate of the required size, and that’s a good start, but it depends on a lot of factors. Do you have a big window that lets in a lot of sunlight, or is it small and shaded? Does your building have dark cladding? I’ve seen a lot of new-build houses going up with slate-grey finish, which is the energy-wasting equivalent of painting crosshairs on your head. How hot does your room normally get, and how quickly, without aircon? Most importantly, how cold do you want it to be? You can use these factors to determine whether your system needs to be smaller or larger than the initial estimate. Larger is rare, because (as above) the standard estimate covers the worst-case scenario.