When buying an air conditioner, most people focus only on the cooling capacity. But there is a choice that often gets overlooked. Whether to go with a regular cooling-only AC or a hot and cold AC that heats your room in winter too? While both look similar from the outside, they work differently, cost differently to run, and serve different needs. If you live in a city with harsh winters like Delhi, Shimla, or Pune, this decision matters more than you think. However, you need not to worry, as in this guide I’ve broken down all the aspects that can affect your decision of buying an AC. Follow along with the article to learn whether you should buy a hot and cold AC vs a normal cooling AC.
A regular AC can be used in summers, as it is capable of cooling your room by pulling heat out and pushing cold air in. Whereas a hot and cold AC, which is also known as a reverse-cycle AC, can be used for both cooling and heating depending on the weather outside.
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A regular 1.5-ton 5-star cooling AC consumes around 1,200 to 1,400 units of electricity per season. In monetary terms it can cost roughly around Rs 8 per unit; that adds up to Rs 9,600 to Rs 11,200 per cooling season.
In comparison to that, the hot and cold ACs use a similar amount in cooling mode. While in the heating mode, they are far more efficient than electric room heaters, which consume 2,000 watts continuously.
A reverse-cycle AC produces 3 units of heat for every 1 unit of electricity consumed, cutting heating costs by nearly 60 to 70 per cent compared to a traditional heater.
Both types of ACs need filter cleaning every two to three months and a professional service once a year. A standard service for a regular AC costs between Rs 500 and Rs 800.
However, hot and cold ACs have additional components like a reversing valve, which can cost Rs 2,000 to Rs 5,000 to repair if it fails. Annual maintenance contracts for hot and cold models are slightly higher, typically Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,500, compared to Rs 800 to Rs 1,200 for regular ACs.
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A regular 1.5-ton 5-star AC costs between Rs 32,000 and Rs 45,000 at purchase. Its daily running cost in summer, at 8 hours of use, comes to around Rs 70 to Rs 90. On the contrary, a hot and cold AC of the same capacity costs between Rs 45,000 and Rs 75,000, roughly Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 more upfront.
Moreover, while the daily cooling cost of both the ACs is similar, in heating mode the device costs around Rs 40 to Rs 60 per day compared to Rs 120 to Rs 160 for an electric room heater, and if you use heating for 90 days a year, a hot-and-cold AC can save you Rs 7,000 to Rs 9,000 annually, recovering the price difference in three to four years.