Useful tips for choosing an air conditioner 2018
Types of cooling systems
First, a brief look at what types of devices exist today. So, in the home appliance store you can find the following types of air conditioners for an apartment and a house:
- Window. Most likely, you will not even find such an option on store shelves, as window devices are almost never used. This is due to the fact that the case occupies most of the window (as can be seen in the photo) and also the equipment has an increased noise level. Of the advantages, only low cost, high cooling capacity and simplest care can be distinguished. If you want to choose an air conditioner for home use - bypass this option. The only place you can put it is in the country, if the budget allows you to buy only a used model of an economy class.
- Split system A more modern version of devices for cooling rooms, which can be chosen not only for a private house and apartment, but also for the office. Among the advantages of a split system, a low noise level, the possibility of remote control, small dimensions of the case and the presence of various intelligent modes are distinguished. The disadvantages are requirements in a professional installation, mandatory annual maintenance by specialists and the increased cost of devices. Despite this, this option is very well suited for small houses and one-bedroom or two-bedroom apartments, so choosing a split system would be a reasonable decision.
- Multi split system. Performance-enhanced version of the previous version. The difference is that the internal wall blocks that cool the rooms, in this case, can be from 2 to 5. In the previous version, one block is installed on the street (external) and one inside the housing (internal). Quiet multi-split systems have one significant drawback - the temperature of the supplied air is not regulated separately for each room, so air will circulate throughout the living room at the same temperature. We recommend choosing this option for an air conditioner for a three-room apartment, a spacious private house or a cottage. The cost of the system, as you know, will be higher than that of alternative options.
- Mobile.If you want to choose a compact air conditioner in 2018 for domestic use, give preference to the portable version of the case in the form of a monoblock. In this case, the equipment is mounted on wheels and can move from place to place. The only thing that prevents free movement is a flexible duct, which will have to be pulled out and secured to the window of the nearest room. The advantage of floor products in the low price and ease of installation. Disadvantages: high noise level and low power (and, accordingly, low performance). If you want to cool only one small room, for example, a bedroom or a kitchen, we recommend that you choose this option. At the same time, there is not enough mobile air conditioning for two rooms or the entire apartment.
There are also varieties of the listed air conditioners. Basically, they relate to split and multi-split systems. External and internal blocks can be not only wall, but also channel, cassette and even columned. We did not consider them, because for a house and an apartment, this option of a cooling system is not rational to choose. This is due to the high power of the equipment, the increased cost and complexity of the installation. These types of air conditioners can be used in commercial premises and office buildings, but not in everyday life!
Power
We told you about which air conditioner is better to choose in an apartment and a house. Now we’ll delve deeper into this topic and tell you how to choose the right air conditioning for power, which is closely related to the area of the rooms. It would be more correct to call a specialist who will make an accurate calculation depending on the area of the room, the size of the windows, the features of the housing structure, etc. If you do not want to spend extra money and are confident in yourself, you can calculate the necessary system power yourself. The calculation formula is that for 10 square meters of space you need at least 1 kW of power. Total, if you want to choose a conditioner for a bedroom with a square of 20 m2, the equipment should be no less than 2 kW and at the same time for 50 squares you need a 5-kilowatt air conditioner.
The rest of the conditional values for choosing a household air conditioning system according to the area of a room can be viewed in this table:
Manufacturers
A very important point that you need to pay attention to is the manufacturer of the equipment. The life of the device, ease of use, performance and, of course, price will depend on which brand you prefer. We recommend that you choose an air conditioner in 2018 from the following manufacturers (ranking of brands by price and quality):
- Elite class. Japanese companies Daikin, General, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Mitsubishi are leading the market, the price of which, as you know, is also high.
- Middle class. European, American and Korean quality, which is ideal for home and apartment. The top 5 manufacturers are Aermec, Samsung, LG, Hyundai and Haier. On thematic forums, they have many positive reviews from customers.
- Economy class. Budget companies such as Zanussi, Electrolux, Midea, Jax. The equipment of these manufacturers is inexpensive, but you should not hope for good quality and a long service life with such a purchase.
So we provided air conditioner manufacturers rating. Now you know which brand is better and therefore more expensive.
Additional features
Well, the last thing you should pay attention to yourself when choosing a good air conditioner for your home and apartment is what set of functions is present in it. So, the models of 2017-2018 may include the following features:
- Winter-summer mode. It is present even in low-cost split-systems and allows to supply warm, not cold, but warm air into the room during the off-season. A very convenient addition, which, in fact, is an electric heating system.We draw your attention to the fact that in winter the heating function will not be able to work due to low temperatures in the street. The only time you will be able to test the system with heating is in spring and autumn, so think about whether it is needed at all. Maybe it will be better choose an oil heater for the home.
- Inverter air conditioner. It allows you to save up to 30% of energy due to the fact that the inverter will turn off the system when it reaches the set temperature mode, as shown in the picture below. As you already understood, an inverter is a kind of control unit that not only makes the equipment economical, but also protects it from voltage drops. If your financial capabilities allow, we recommend choosing an air conditioner with an inverter in an apartment or a private house.
- Ionizer. Allows to clear air of microbes. Actually not very useful function for which you can significantly overpay. Better go around the side of the device with an ionizer, in fact, as with a humidifier, which manufacturers also recommend using for air purification.
- Dehumidifier. Allows you to remove excess humidity from the room, while not affecting the temperature of the room (maximum decrease by 1 degree). We recommend that you select an air conditioner with a dehumidifier only if you will use it in a humid room.
- The presence of a timer will allow you to set the operation mode of the air conditioner, which will minimize contact with it.
- Management via Wi-Fi. Modern models are designed in such a way that they can be controlled from a smartphone through a special application. A very handy feature that is becoming increasingly popular.
- The presence of a motion sensor that works when motion is detected in the room and thereby gives a signal to turn on the air conditioner. The motion sensor saves energy, as in the absence of people cooling the room will not be involved.
- The deodorizing element will refresh the room and eliminate unpleasant odors. It is recommended to choose a model with such a function to get rid of the smell of tobacco smoke or cooking in the room.
- The plasma filter effectively purifies up to 95% of the air. If there are children at home, it does not hurt to take care of their health and choose an air conditioner with a plasma filter.
- Energy efficiency class. The higher it is, the more economical the air conditioner model. Make your choice on models with energy efficiency class A and higher (A +, A ++, A +++).
The best models
Finally, I would like to highlight the 10 best air conditioners for apartments and houses. Rating models compiled based on reviews and customer ratings. So, if you do not know which air conditioner to choose in 2018, so as not to overpay and be happy with your purchase, we recommend that you pay attention to the models below.
The best air conditioners up to 20,000:
- Haier AS09NS4ERA / 1U09BS3ERA
- Electrolux EACS-09HPR / N3
- Zanussi ZACM-12 MP-III / N1
- Ballu BSAG-07HN1_17Y
- Timberk AC TIM 07H S21
If you are willing to spend over 20,000, we recommend choosing one of the following participants in the rating:
- Haier AS09NS4ERA / 1U09BS3ERA
- Mitsubishi Electric MSZ-LN25VG / MUZ-LN25VG
- Electrolux EACS-12HPR / N3
- Hisense AS-09UR4SYDDB1G
- Toshiba RAS-07BKVG-E / RAS-07BAVG-E
That's all the recommendations for selecting the optimal model of technology. We hope that the several valuable tips provided above were really useful for you and now you know how to choose an air conditioner for the apartment and which is better in 2018 in terms of power, room area, brand.
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Thank you very much from the bottom of my heart for the excellent article with tips. Itself would never have thought of all the subtleties.Shop consultants often hide a lot.
Good afternoon! I plan to buy an air conditioner. Thank you very much for the recommendations, because many stores advertise products that are only available to them. I hope that I can buy a good, high-quality and not expensive one.
It depends on where, what area, budget, etc. Many factors are the same. But the manufacturer can already recommend - Mitsubishi Electric. The most reliable. The Classic Inverter series, for example, is not very expensive, but the air conditioners are equipped with everything necessary. They work quietly, reliably, energy efficiently. They are of different capacities, you can choose for your area