Has AC energy efficiency increased drastically in the last decade?

[rdst_1]

Natural circulation is only good enough between temperatures of 30-35 degrees and then too sometimes an air cooler would be required. As soon as you enter the 40s,you start feeling the need of an AC and then it doesn't matter whether there is air circulation or not. Same goes for high humidity areas/months.
As for the above method, it would be cheaper or at least at par if one gets a false ceiling filled with insulation. It will be much better option, if feasible.

 

[technofast]

mine is window one only. its not low voltage issue as it cant be low voltage since past 3 months daily right. it barely cools as cold as it did earlier

It might be gas leakage also but since you say it takes time to cool there might be problem with the capacitor or even the fan motor or last thing would be a dying compressor.

 

[technofast]

This is like building a shed on your terrace with open sides. So pillars and roof frame made of hollow pipes and sheets on top of it. I would recommend steel sheets instead of cement sheets though. Cement sheets are very heavy and have less life as compared to steel sheets and they will be a PITA to get to the top floor because of the weight.
So basically it is a covered terrace so that sun rays don't directly hit the roof of the room.

Something like this - View attachment 80503

Similar to these I've seen in villages down south they do this with coconut leaves as a temporary shelter during the summer month.

 

[adventureguy]

Leaving aside all the technical discussion and measuring which is the right way to go, the situation right now is so bad in the really hot places that it will be difficult to rely on just on star rating and efficiency. Other factors have to be considered.
To give you an e.g, I stay on top floor and the room temperature is 43 here in Noida. My new 1.5 ton Hitachi window AC ( 3 star ) is struggling. not only during day but night.
My friend who in similar situation, I told him to buy a Ogeneral window no matter what. And turns out it was the right decision as it does a much better job. Sure the investment was higher but its worth the ROI. We couldnt buy split as its rented accomodation so with everything in mind, its best to invest in best possible efficient , tonnage, brand and technology upfront. The situation is going worse heat wise and I see no other way thesedays.

My apartment is top floor so I went 1.5t even though recommended is 1.2T. I bought a voltas 1.5ton 3star inverter AC and it barely takes 10 mins to cool the whole room.

 

[blr_p]

Similar to these I've seen in villages down south they do this with coconut leaves as a temporary shelter during the summer month.

Simpler, cheaper, safer, better looking and as effective

 

[sauravghosh]

Have you measured this with some watt meter ?

Nah. My power metre isn't a 15V unit, 5V only. It doesn't set in the AC plug. I checked directly on the installed metre by my electric company. Just kept the AC on with no other equipment for six hours and measured.

Forget what the label says. Their testing conditions and your use case can be very different. As can be the case with the guy in the video. You both could have the same AC but the power consumption values may differ for the same settings. How big the room is, did he mention how big his room is in the video ? How big is yours ? how many times doors are opened. heat sources in the room etc. Which direction room faces, top floor, below, how much sun does it get etc. How humid. How many people in the room. AC's also remove moisture, more moisture longer they work. Many variables can influence power consumption with an AC.

Nah they never say what is their room size and all that. Nor whether the room is on top floor or ground or whatever. You are right, lots of variable here.

A fridge is simpler in this regard and even here i'm finding my power consumption values higher than what the four star sticker claims based on yearly consumption.

Yes, true. I have talked with some friends and relatives with these star rated fridges and they all say that the actual consumption is more than the printed chart. So I am sure for AC it will be same. But what matters to extent the difference will be.

How much did you pay for your window unit. Compared to how much more you would have had to pay for an inverter unit back in 2011 ?

Hard to recall but something like 24-25k I paid for the Windows unit back in 2011. Now even if I opt for the Carrier model it will cost me like 35-36k, and if Daikin or Mitsubishi then north of 46-47k.

In any case, I have done a bit of research, by almost entirely reading the Bijlibachao website and discussing with one relative who works in a top tier international power company. And I have decided to go for the best possible brand I can get in budget (looking at Daikin or General or Mitshubishi), and with the maximum possible ISEER rating. Right now one Hitachi is there with 6+ rating, but not sure about other models. It's 2019. I have been told that in India AC manufacturers don't give a two cents **** about power efficiency compared to western world. So I will get the best power efficient model available in India. I find it rather despicable to pay for high electricity consumption due to old tech. And I really don't need that chilling effect from a AC either. I keep it running whole night and I don't use a sheet or anything to cover myself, I found even 27 degrees cool enough for me.

 

[blr_p]

Nah. My power metre isn't a 15V unit, 5V only. It doesn't set in the AC plug. I checked directly on the installed metre by my electric company. Just kept the AC on with no other equipment for six hours and measured.

So that's a reliable way of getting energy consumption. What surprised me is you said it consumed exactly what the label you posted said it consumed. Is this true, something like 1400 something Watts/h ? so times 6 hours is 8.4 units ? Do another test for the same duration and post what you get.

Hard to recall but something like 24-25k I paid for the Windows unit back in 2011. Now even if I opt for the Carrier model it will cost me like 35-36k, and if Daikin or Mitsubishi then north of 46-47k.

ok so my point is how long is the payback time ?

Let's say it consumes half what your present unit is consuming. How much savings is that per month for you ? how many years until those savings amount to Rs.10k and Rs.20k

Because it is only past either of those two points that your savings will accrue

In any case, I have done a bit of research, by almost entirely reading the Bijlibachao website and discussing with one relative who works in a top tier international power company. And I have decided to go for the best possible brand I can get in budget (looking at Daikin or General or Mitshubishi), and with the maximum possible ISEER rating. Right now one Hitachi is there with 6+ rating, but not sure about other models. It's 2019. I have been told that in India AC manufacturers don't give a two cents **** about power efficiency compared to western world. So I will get the best power efficient model available in India. I find it rather despicable to pay for high electricity consumption due to old tech. And I really don't need that chilling effect from a AC either. I keep it running whole night and I don't use a sheet or anything to cover myself, I found even 27 degrees cool enough for me.

See previous question(s), then we will see if it makes sense to change AC. Clearly you are not interested in any features of these new models just the possibility of saving money on power consumption.

 

[adder]

It makes sense to go for the most efficient machine at the time of purchase. Electricity prices are only going up and glad I bought a 5 sta 1.5ton daikin with ISEER 5.2 ac back in 2017. Bescom keeps increasing the prices(another 39paisa/unit increase incl tax from next month) and even after changing all bulbs, fans etc to the most efficient ones possible the electricity bill has only increased thanks to bescom.

 

[sauravghosh]

It makes sense to go for the most efficient machine at the time of purchase. Electricity prices are only going up and glad I bought a 5 sta 1.5ton daikin with ISEER 5.2 ac back in 2017. Bescom keeps increasing the prices(another 39paisa/unit increase incl tax from next month) and even after changing all bulbs, fans etc to the most efficient ones possible the electricity bill has only increased thanks to bescom.

Wow 5.2 back in 2017? Kindly mention the model no. sir.
And same here. I live under CESC coverage and the electric bill has only gone upwards in last 5 years. I somehow manage to maintain it under 300 units for the per unit charge to remain at 7 rupees per unit. Above 300 units its like 10 rupees per unit. Jesus.

Wish I had the solar stuffs set up in my home. In fact that's what I am planning to do anyway the moment my financial condition restores.

 

[adder]

It was the daikin jtkm series now replaced by jtkj series.

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I was looking at mitsibushi heavy srk13yvs-w6 ,1 ton, 5.9 iseer for downstair room, no one has them in stock, same for the hitachi iseer 6.2 model (very pricey compared to daikin and mitsibushi heavy)

Godrej also has iseer 6.15 model but they use r290 which is propane, considering the pathetic installation in our country, thats a potential explosion or fire.

 

[nitin_g3]

Bumping this thread to ask for suggestion on a device which I can directly plug into my socket and read my inverter ACs power consumption on different modes. I want to be able to read live power usage in watts.

I found a few in amazon but wanted to ask everyone here if they can suggest in case any better and reliable option is available. Listing both smart plugs with power monitoring feature and devices with display.

Acasa 16A Wi-Fi Pro Smart Plug

Amazon.in

Meco Energy Meter https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07D2DFBJJ

 

[lockhrt999]

Bumping this thread to ask for suggestion on a device which I can directly plug into my socket and read my inverter ACs power consumption on different modes. I want to be able to read live power usage in watts.

I found a few in amazon but wanted to ask everyone here if they can suggest in case any better and reliable option is available. Listing both smart plugs with power monitoring feature and devices with display.

Acasa 16A Wi-Fi Pro Smart Plug

Amazon.in

Meco Energy Meter https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07D2DFBJJ

AC might burn 16A smart plugs. You need higher amperage wattmeter.

I have been meaning to buy this from a long time > https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0827J1YL9
There's some manual setup required.

Otherwise you can also install regular single phase electric meter just on the AC line.

 

[nitin_g3]

I have been meaning to buy this from a long time > this https://www.amazon.in/dp/B0827J1YL9
There's some manual setup required.

Thanks for the link.
This one is not a ready to use like the one I was looking at.

Guess I'll have to do some DIY and fix it in a box like some user did:

EDIT: Decided to go with it, will do some DIY and create an extension box like in the image.

 

[lockhrt999]

Thanks for the link.
This one is not a ready to use like the one I was looking at.

Guess I'll have to do some DIY and fix it in a box like some user did:

EDIT: Decided to go with it, will do some DIY and create an extension box like in the image.

I'm also going to do the same in near future.

 

[nitin_g3]

Built an extention with energy meter, works as expected:

 

[lockhrt999]

This is my version. Couldn't get modular box and faceplate that could fit the energy meter so went old school. Installed everything on an acrylic plate. This is one of the best electrical investment one could do. I have been meaning to test everything that's electric with this.

So far I have only tested my computer so far. The results are quite amazing. As shown in the photo, UPS is hooked up to it and it's measuring everything on it.
Total system consumption is only ~130W under normal circumstances.

UPS > ~20W when turned off batteries not charging and ~45W when batteries are charging
PC/cabinet: off/sleeping/hibernate + other peripherals like speaker > ~20W
PC/cabinet: idling/normal usage > ~30
Monitors > ~50 W with full brightness and ~35W with night time brightness

It was quite surprising to see the PC only consumes 30 watts under normal usage.

With GTA 5 or 3D rendering, total system consumption shoots up to ~200W
With Prime95, it goes till ~230W
All in all, the system consumes 5 units of electricity in 3 days.

This total system consists, APC 1100 UPS, 600W smps, quad core xeon haswell proc, GT 1030, 2x 24 inch monitors, 6.1 sound.

I've attached electrical wiring photo if anyone's interested. Wires are 2.5 sqmm.

 

[sauravghosh]

Wish I had the balls or skillset to make a device like that, but as it is I cannot change a fuse wire. So for us monkeys, is there a device which can measure AC consumption? I am aware of Wipro or similar smart plugs, but I assume these smart plugs need constant wifi connection or something and I happen to turn my router off at night. So any good old MECO kill-a-metre which can handle AC?

 

[blackscorpio]

I made one too with 15amps socket (supports both 5amp & 15amp plugs, only missing is 2 pin plug support) only, no switch. You don't need a switch as 99% of the times the input socket to which this will be connected will have one.

Wish I had the balls or skillset to make a device like that, but as it is I cannot change a fuse wire. So for us monkeys, is there a device which can measure AC consumption? I am aware of Wipro or similar smart plugs, but I assume these smart plugs need constant wifi connection or something and I happen to turn my router off at night. So any good old MECO kill-a-metre which can handle AC?

quick search returned this

Meco Energy Meter : Amazon.in: Industrial & Scientific

Meco Energy Meter : Amazon.in: Industrial & Scientific

www.amazon.in

 

[ssslayer]

How can this device measure kWh
I mean does the device have a timer counter that it uses to multiply with volts and amperes on real time and integrates over a period of time?

 

[lockhrt999]

I mean does the device have a timer counter that it uses to multiply with volts and amperes on real time and integrates over a period of time?

Yes. It's exactly like how regular electricity board meter works. Except you get an option to reset it to zero.