Inverter air conditioner saves electricity: Is the reality as advertised?

When buying air conditioners, consumers will getSales staff advise to buy inverter air conditionerfor the reason of saving electricity effectively. So, how much electricity does inverter air conditioner save, is it suitable for everyone?

Inverter air conditioners are simply understood as air conditioners that use modern digital technology. Accordingly, the entire cooling regulation in the room of the machine is controlled through an intelligent microprocessor electronic circuit instead of the technology using thermal sensor relays of conventional air conditioners.

Compared to conventional air conditioners, inverter air conditioners have the advantage of being able to control room temperature very precisely, maintaining a stable temperature and cold air flow. Inverter air conditioners are also more comfortable, healthier and have energy saving features.

But are they really that superior? This is the concern of many families when they are considering buying inverter air conditioners to save electricity this summer.

In the summer, many families are considering buying inverter air conditioners to save electricity.

According to research, for inverter air conditioners to fully exploit their advantages, inverter technology requires the air conditioner to always run at full capacity until reaching the pre-set temperature. This also means that the maximum capacity of the machine must meet or exceed the conditions and volume of the room.

In case the capacity of the inverter air conditioner is smaller than the volume of the room, the power-saving inverter feature will not be effective and will only operate like regular air conditioners.

For example, a machine with a capacity of 9,000BTU will be suitable for a room with an area of ​​less than 15m2, a ceiling height of about 3m, a room from 15-20m2 should use a 12,000 BTU machine,... Apply this formula to calculate the choice of inverter air conditioner capacity suitable for the room.

Notably, inverter air conditioners often save electricity effectively with a continuous usage time of 6-8 hours. At that time, the amount of electricity consumed by inverter air conditioners is only half that of conventional air conditioners. Therefore, inverter air conditioners will maximize their power saving feature when installed in offices, restaurants, hotels, because these types of rooms have continuous and long stay times of dozens of hours.

For rooms with a short stay of less than 6 hours, the inverter feature will not have enough time to be effective.

In fact, inverter air conditioners are only effective when used properly.

In addition to running continuously, another condition for inverter air conditioners to promote their power saving feature is that the outdoor temperature is not too hot (usually below 38 degrees Celsius).

If the outside ambient temperature is too high, the machine will have to run continuously at 100% capacity, then the inverter air conditioner will not save electricity compared to the non-inverter machine. In other words, when having to run at high load, the inverter air conditioner will not save electricity, and will even consume more electricity due to the power consumption for the inverter switch.

In addition to the rather strict operating principle to be able to promote the power saving feature, if you want to choose an inverter air conditioner, users also need to know that this type of air conditioner uses modern digital technology (inverter), so their price is often 2-4 million VND/unit higher depending on the brand compared to regular air conditioners.

Not to mention, the replacement and repair costs of inverter air conditioners are also more expensive than regular air conditioners. The reason is that they are mostly controlled by electronic microchips, so they are easily damaged when exposed to extreme weather.

According to air conditioner repairmen, when a breakdown occurs, the rate of successful repair and finding replacement parts is low. Because most air conditioner suppliers today only sell the whole machine, not individual parts. Therefore, replacement parts are often old parts screened from old air conditioners.

According to VNN