Review On Choosing an Air Conditioner
 

So you want to beat this summer with an air conditioning equipment? Smart move. But before you rush to your local dealer and the fast talking sales-man makes you buy the one on which the dealer gains maximum commission, please take a moment to read this page.

1) Decide which capacity to go for?
You must choose the air conditioner with appropriate cooling capacity. It is measured in BTU/hr. For a normal sized room (150-250 sq feet), with normal incident sunlight and 3-4 persons occupying the room, 12000 BTU/hr that is, one tonne (1 T) would suffice.

Remember, 12000 BTU/hr is 1 T, 18000 is 1.5 T and 24000 is 2 T.
If you buy higher capacity machine, it'll cool down the room faster than it can remove the moisture and your room will be too humid. And a lower capacity a/c won't cool your room adequately.

There is a very good advice on choosing an air conditioner at:
http://www.fpl.com/home/contents/home_index.shtml

2) Perpare your room:
Insulate your room properly or the cooling won't be adequate. If your room has large glass windows and sunlight is directly incident on it, install a thick curtain there. Close all open vents, outlets etc.

3) Buy an efficient machine.
The efficiency of an a/c is measured in EER (energy efficiency ratio) It has to be over 9.5 or the air conditioner is supposed to be inefficient. With higher EER you not only save electricity but also lengthen the life of the compressor since it has to work lesser to achieve the same cooling.

4) Air circulation.
The air circulation speed is measured in cubic meters per minute (m3/min) Your machine should be able to throw in at least 6 m3 of air per min.

Also, the noise level should be less than 50 dB. Remember this: 60 dB is the noise of general conversation, so a machine making 60 dB noise is as good as a person talking continuously in your room. Well, if you have any ladies at your home you are likely to be used to such noise levels!!! No offence.

About the popular brands:
I've scanned the pamphlets of about 5-6 popular brands models and have observed a few things.

LG models are generally cheaper, but I won't comment on their performance since I haven't experienced them. Voltas a/c s have very powerful compressors so they cool your room quickly and are suited in places like mumbai, chennai etc where the summer is verrrry HOT.

Another thing: If you live in a city where humidity levels are low, a good air cooler would do the job and you'll save a lot of cash (also the running expenses) Check your newspaper and find out what the humidity level is. If it's less than 50%, I suggest you give the air cooler a try.