Ceiling/wall AC in a new apartment?!

Taiwan Living in Taiwan
1

Hello and thanks in advance for the help. I am new here and spamming the forum with questions at the moment. Everyone has been helpful and nice, which is much appreciated!

Looking at apartments in Taipei, and like one except for this one thing - it has a wall/ceiling device as opposed to a duct/central AC system. Would not have expected that in this budget (decent expat package).

The concerns are 1. high electricity consumption 2. noise 3. condensation dripping and 4. blasting cold air in only one spot in the room.

It seems like a cheap solution to an otherwise nice/high-end property. Or is this not not such a big deal?

Picture of one device:
Ceiling_AC

2

As far as I know that kind of air conditioning is the norm in mid-range places. I guess there are probably apartments with central AC out there, but I don’t think I’ve ever been to one.

They have adjustable vents and we’ve never had problems with them blasting one area of the room. Nor is noise an issue with newer units.

3

I now prefer these individual units. I think is probably best to not have those air ducts which get dirty (and moldy).

We love our new Hitachi air conditioners with heat function. Quiet and seem to not use much electricity.

4
  1. noise

Not if its new

  1. condensation dripping

Didnt see this problem with ours, and recently homeowner has put outdoor unit outside balcony window so any dripping goes downstairs. (Split AC)

  1. blasting cold air in only one spot in the room

If your room is too big that could be an issue. Otherwise its fine.

5

These are common, even in high end buildings. You may find them more efficient and cost effective than central air, ymmv of course. I wouldn’t be put off by it.

6

Actually, it is considered a fancy model. However, SAMPO is a local and not too good brand, so it may have problems down the road. As said, HITACHI or any other Japanese brand is best.

7

Many thanks for the info and pointing out a few issues I had not considered (dusty and moody air ducts).

We were also worried about the quality of the brand, but assuming we get this place we hope it should be ok for the few years we are here. If we have problems we should be able to contact our real estate agency to intervene.

10

Clean the filter once a week. Send the whole machine for cleaning once a year. Should be OK.

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11

good to know in advance - thank you

12

We took another look at the place with these and it seems that only some of the rooms that have a device that produces heat (Sampo Inverter):

Can anyone confirm?

13

Eh, inverter does not have to do with producing both cold and hot air. It is just an energy saving technology.

The dual capacity depends on the model, so you would have to look it up.

14

I see, I have at least one model number from that one - looks like it should be heat/AC. (AM-QC28DC)

That is in the small bedroom, but it seems that the one in the master bed room and living room is only AC.

:fearful:

(afraid of dying of hypothermia in the winter!)

15

It doesn’t (normally) get any colder than 10C here in the winter. I would be more concerned about humidity levels getting too high than the temp getting too low.

In other words, you’ll be fine without heat in the other rooms.

16

Indeed. In winter, a good, reliable, safe dehumidifier -again, look for Japanese brands- is far more important and useful. Important in the sense that humidity breeds mold, and that is really bad.

Lately winters have not been that cold. A good conforter is more than enough, unless you live in the hills of Xindian, in which case they sell very nice gas heaters.

1 Like
17

This is reassuring - thank you.