It’s officially the summer season across the entirety of India, and that means the air conditioners in homes are running nonstop. Be it to avoid the scorching heat during the afternoon or to get a peaceful sleep during the night, an AC is a basic necessity. But you’d be surprised to know that not all ACs are created equal when it comes to power consumption, and picking the wrong type could put a hole in your electricity bill every month. Some of the most popular options in India currently include portable ACs, split ACs and window ACs. But which one amongst them consumes more electricity and why? Without wasting much time, let’s find out.
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First and foremost, speaking of the best options, the split ACs are by far the best options if you’re looking to purchase something that is energy efficient. A major reason behind that is that the AC separates the compressor and condenser into an outdoor unit, which allows heat dissipation to be far more effective.
Due to this, the heat exchange is a lot better, and that directly translates to less energy needed to cool the same room. Most modern split ACs also come with inverter technology, which modulates compressor speed instead of switching it on and off repeatedly, and that alone can cut power consumption by almost 30% to 50% compared to a fixed-speed unit.
If split ACs are not in your budget or if you don’t have enough space to get them installed in your room, then window ACs are the next best solution. They house everything in a single unit, which limits how efficiently they can dissipate heat. Along with that, they’re also less likely to feature inverter compressors at the budget end.
That said, though, they’re significantly cheaper upfront when compared to their split counterparts. Not only that, but they’re also much easier to install in comparison, which keeps them relevant for a lot of people who might be living in rental apartments or smaller rooms.
At the very opposite end of the spectrum are the portable ACs, though, which are also the biggest power-hungry appliances. Safe to say that portability does come at a cost, and here it’s pretty big in the form of the actual electricity consumption.
They exhaust hot air through a duct inside the same room they’re trying to cool, creating negative pressure that pulls warm outside air in. This forces the unit to work harder for cooling. While it’s not recommended for a lot of people, but they do sense for those people for whom installing a permanent split/window AC isn’t possible.
In the end, it’s safe to say that if electricity costs are your primary concern, a 5-star inverter split AC with a good ISEER rating is the clear winner. On the other hand, if you’re on a tighter budget, a window AC is mostly acceptable for smaller, less-used spaces. Last but not least, portable ACs should be kept as a last resort, as they’re not the most efficient options out there.
Over a season of regular use, the difference in running costs between a good split AC and a portable AC can easily exceed the price gap between them.
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