Disadvantages of an Inverter Air Conditioner
An inverter AC is very often marketed as a magical product. The propaganda is very obvious that it uses less power, is more economical, quiet in operation, environment-friendly and so on. However, there are a few factors which a consumer should consider before jumping to the conclusion of buying an inverter AC.
- High Upfront Cost:
An inverter AC often costs nearly 20-25 % higher than normal AC of same rating. So unless the usage is not very heavy or the electricity cost is not that high, it may take up to 5-7 years just to recover high upfront cost of an inverter AC.
However, this Daikin 0.8 ton AC on Amazon is one of the cheapest yet one of the best inverter ACs on a budget.
- High Maintenance cost.
An inverter AC consist of very sophisticated circuitry and relatively higher number of moving parts, so the maintenance cost of inverter AC shall turn out to be higher.
- High operation cost in case of frequent opening and closing of room.
In an inverter AC, the compressor adjusts its speed according to the heat load in room. If there is intermittent leakage of cooling from the room, the compressor shall run at higher speed thereby increasing power consumption.
If the operation and electricity costs are your concern though, then going with this Sanyo 1.5 Ton inverter AC with hundreds of reviews on Amazon may be your best bet as it’s a 5 star rated inverter AC with much lower costs than many other similar options.
- Inadequate dehumidification.
Dehumidification is one more advantage of air conditioning. It is achieved when the air comes in contact with very chilled air heat exchanger (indoor unit). However, in inverter AC, the degree of chilling achieved is varied according to heat load rendering it inadequate for dehumidification in case the set temperature is not very low.
- Initial cooling delay.
The compressor paces up to desired speed with some programmed lag.
There is some requisite amount time for an inverter AC to achieve a desired degree of cooling in initial stage.
- The over and under-capacity effectiveness.
If an inverter AC has lower capacity than requirement, the compressor runs at higher speeds for longer duration of time thereby increasing power consumption. On the other hand, if an inverter AC has higher capacity than heat load, it will run for short cycles and render the room over cooled and uncomfortable. However, these issues shall also persist with a normal AC as well.
- Specialized technician required.
An inverter AC consist of very sophisticated mechanisms. Often local, less qualified technicians are unable to comprehend the issue and end up escalating the problems rather than resolving them. Therefore, it is advised that one should only get it serviced/repaired from original equipment manufacturer’s technician which often is costly if the unit is not under warranty. Moreover, the availability of technician is also something important to be considered.
- Inadequate cooling in case the outside weather is very hot.
It has been particularly reported in the areas where temperature reaches above 45oC that the cooling achieved by an inverter AC is inadequate due to insufficient heat removal from outdoor unit pertaining to high ambient temperature and low compressor speed.
- Uncommon refrigerant.
Often inverter ACs use R410A as a refrigerant instead of very common and popular R134A. This makes service and repair of an inverter AC very difficult in tier 2/3 cities where this refrigerant is not easily available. That said, however, R410A is environmentally good refrigerant and is free from CFC.
If you’re looking to learn more about how does an inverter AC and a normal AC stack up against each other, you can read our detailed comparison here.
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Is inverter really that bad?
Well, a lot depends on the exact inverter AC you’re buying. Simply by doing a little research and choosing the right model you can avoid most of the issues mentioned in this post.
It is worth buying hot and cold ac of godrej at 25 k 1.5 ton or whirlpool inverter ac 1.5 ton ?
Unless you really need the heating feature in the Godrej AC the Whirlpool inverter AC would be a better choice.
It is also said that if the room is facing direct sunlight, one should buy fixed speed compressor AC (Non inverter). Is that true? If yes, suppose I can afford it, so what will happen if an inverter AC is bought for a room with east facing wall and getting direct sunlight? Will it consume more power than non inverter AC or the only downside is that I won’t have extra savings?
I believe direct sunlight is going to affect both fixed speed and inverter ACs. I don’t think it would only affect an inverter AC and not a fixed speed AC.
As for what I personally feel about this, if it isn’t getting too hot, I wouldn’t worry too much about it. However, if there’s serious heat, then you may want to try and avoid direct heat on at least your outdoor unit’s condenser part.
If the condenser is not directly exposed to a lot of heat, I think it may not lead to any serious issues. Some people who have the outdoor unit of their house on their terrace protect it from heat using some kind of closed enclosure (not permanent installation).
With that said, this Panasonic 1.5 ton inverter AC (Amazon link) may turn out to be the best choice for you. This is because it offers 10 years warranty on the condenser coil, so even if the heat damages the condenser it will have you covered.
In addition, it also offers a 5 year warranty on the PCB which is great as the expensive repair cost for the PCB is otherwise the biggest issue with inverter air conditioners. It has some other cool features as well.
I have a 2 tonne cap Inverter Daikin A.C. to be used in room aprx. 20ftx20ft x11 ft. As mentioned in your article it takes some more starting time but once starts cooling even set at 28degrees (outside 35 to 40 degree temp.) It chills. It is an unit about 10 yrs old. Recently I found after 3 to 4bhours use the mcb trips (40 amp). I get hissing sound occassionally. Kindly guide the cause and sort out problem.
I’m afraid you will need to call a technician to look into the issue. I doubt if anyone would be able to offer specific guidance without physically checking the unit.
Bought bluestar 1ton 3star non inverter…is it a gud choice
Do not buy inverter AC. Period. Why ? Because there is a software inside its chip that intentionally stops the AC from working after a predermined period. AC Technicians call this as “PCB failure”. And new PCB cost is almost equal to price of new AC! Buy inverter AC for shops and offices. Not homes.
Google “Planned obsolescence” to understand the funda
Thanks for your comment, Pratod. I do not see that way, though. While PCB failure is a real issue with inverter ACs — especially in certain areas and regions — the theory that a software chip stops the AC from working after a pre-determined period is too far-fetched and theoretical in my opinion.