Are inverter AC’s anymore efficient compared to normal ones? I mean how much more?
I ask this because those inverter AC’s cost basically twice as much as normal ACs. You also almost can’t find it used, and honestly given that their control circuit is proprietary (normal AC’s can use universal control circuits because the design is simple, supply electricity to the compressor and it runs). Meaning if the control circuit is bust on a used unit, the unit is scrap because they’re made specifically to that compressor.
I’ve been thinking about the 20,000 NT unit at Costco. It comes with basic installation, and it’s inverter and has heat pumps too.
It depends on how large the area you plan to cool is.
The thing about inverter AC’s is that it saves more power when you have a bigger room to cool and as such require a more powerful AC.
When the rate of rotation (RPM) decreases, the electric current required decreases by a power of 3. So if your inverter AC decides it no longer needs to run at full speed, and cuts RPM by 1/2, the current used about be cut by 1/8.
As opposed to a unit without inverters, which would induce high electric current every time the compressor is reengaged, an inverter AC would be much more power efficient, especially when you need a powerful unit for a larger room, and when you are running the AC for a long time.
That’s all theoretical, and that is all I have heard so far.
Presumably if your AC unit is properly sized for the cooling load, a normal AC should work fine right?
Seems inverter is better if you have variable cooling loads, such as restaurants where its cooling load is much lower when there aren’t a ton of customers, and a higher cooling load when customers begin to show up, or if say some idiot leaves the door open wasting cooling power.
I mean if I have a 8000btu unit, one inverter, one normal, and 8000 btu is the correct size for that room, how much savings am I going to get, and how long will I need before the savings will negate the increased (basically double) cost of the inverter unit?
That is one thing salesperson will NEVER answer. Only theoretical reasons why inverter AC saves electricity.
Fine, this is more than what I’d usually share online…
I once rented a place about 13 ping on the top floor of a building, it was super hot during the summer. I’m talking about over 35 degrees with the A.C. off. For a while it was fine because I would just turn the A.C. on when I get home in late afternoon. That soon changed when I picked up my first cat from the streets after a seriously typhoon because she became visibly ill.
I soon realized my room was way too hot for her if I don’t leave the A.C. on during the summer. The A.C. was probably no more than 7 or 8 years old when I was living there. It had no inverter, and the compressor was separated, sitting on the roof. When I leave it on most of the time during the summers, my bill was 5000NTD every 2 month, compare to less than 800NTD every 2 month during the winter. Later on, the A.C. was suffering from the abuse, and began to leak and have all sorts of problems.
I resolved the issue by moving away. So I don’t have a comparison of how an inverter A.C. would do in the same room. My new place is a 3 bed room apartment, with a pretty big living room and it has an inverter A.C., which was also about 7 years old when I moved in, so about 2 years newer than the one at the old place. During summer time, I would set the A.C. to run when the temperature go above 30 degrees. My bill right now is just a little over 1,000 every 2 month during summer. Of course, my new place is not on the top floor, I would never do that in Taiwan again.
I obvious was a more extreme case. I left my A.C. on for my sick cat, leaving poor polar bears out to starve. I have read though, with normal usage, you could recover the cost of an inverter A.C. after 8 years.
It seems kinda a long time to recover any costs, considering you can buy a used non-inverter AC for basically less than 8000nt including installation (for a split unit, window unit is even cheaper). This is of course for apartments that didn’t come with AC units.
I never leave my AC on for the cat by the way. There is no need, cats can tolerate heat much better than we can, unless the temperature exceeds 50 degree inside without the AC on (not likely) just leave plenty of water and the cats will do fine. Cats actually like hot conditions better than cold. Which is why they sleep in dryers or inside the car’s hood… they love the warmth (and this is why you have to check the dryer before starting it).
I guess the only real benefit for me would be the 3000nt I get back in rebate for changing AC units… and having heat pump would be good in the winter.
I’m not even in a ding lou. Just a straight up top floor. 6th floor no stairs. And its already way to hot. Wanna move out but its pretty annoying having a year contract. Doesn’t give such a big window of time to find somewhere plus finding a decent place witj a kitchen here is not easy at all.
While that’s typically true, and my second cat would certainly enjoy a warmer room, my first cat has issue keeping hydrated even when the temperature is at a comfortable 22 degrees.
I think the key is asking the land lord to sign the contract in the room you are planning to rent around 3 or 4 pm in March or October. There’s no way your land lord would want to turn on the A.C. for you, so if you are sweating your ass off even then, just walk away.
Ding lou (頂樓) is the top floor of an apartment. I think most of you are talking about ding jia (頂加or頂樓加蓋), which is a rooftop add-on. The former is legal; the latter is illegal.
I did 頂樓加蓋 for a few years and i liked it, but mine didn’t have one of those tin roofs, no nosey neighbors and it was separately metered (though at a touch higher rate than usual). The last typhoon I spent there was insane though, and climbing up the stairs in summer was like my own private sauna; I swear it was 50 degrees C in the stairwell.
Especially south facing apartments, because the concrete walls accumulate heat during the day and release it over night. In winter they’re sometimes stone cold!
That right there is why I got the cat. I rather have the spider in the cats belly than scurrying somewhere I don’t know only to appear in the worst of all places.
It’s much more likely a she, I think. Most of the spiders you actually get the chance to see in action are ladies. They tend to just eat the guys after mating.
