Is it a lot of money to save when using an inverter aircon? Is it practical to invest in this high priced aircon? How much savings on inverter aircon in reality? These are just few questions the consumer may interested to know the answer from the experts. Well, I am not an expert, but I will share to you what I learned about this matter. Continue reading to figure out how much inverter aircon savings.
Basics Regarding Aircon Units
Before going to the figure of how much inverter aircon savings, let us talk first the basics that will be relevant to this main topic. Aircon or air-conditioned units are rated in terms of horsepower (hp). It can be 0.5 hp, 0.75hp, 1hp, 1.5hp, 2hp and so on. When someone ask you what the size of your aircon is, these are the answers they are looking at. These sizes should be derived to your room’s area. You don’t need to worry about how to select the right aircon size compatible to your room as nowadays there are many articles in the net telling this. Suppliers are also providing the right information. For reference, I put a simple guide below.
Above values are good reference that I found in the net and I proved this in actual. I own a room that size is close to 24 square meters and not high ceiling; just a typical room of a house. I selected a 1.5hp inverter aircon.
My expectation is correct. The room able to cool in a very short period. The very good thing is that I noticed that only little amount added to my monthly electric bill. Amazing! If you have a very good budget, you can even upsize a bit. Let us say for instance a room size of 22-25 square meter, you may consider buying a 2 hp. In this case, you can maximize the savings on monthly bill for sure as you can attain the set temperature in less time which means only a short period of time the aircon operating on its full speed. The speed needed to maintain the set temperature is very low that means a very small power needed. However, do not also exaggerate the size as inverter aircon price always comes with the horsepower size. It will take you too long to get the ROI you desired.
How Much Savings on Inverter Aircon Really?
So, here we are; how much inverter aircon savings? Is it 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%…etc…These percentages are in reference to using the same horsepower non-inverter aircon or the conventional aircon. For instance, a 30% percent savings means that when I use a non-inverter aircon my electric bill is 100$. But if I used an inverter type aircon, my electric bill will only be 70$.
[(100$-70$)/100$] = 30%
Are above percentages for real? It is hard to tell how much savings on inverter aircon. But if you follow below tips, it is surely there is improvement.
- Select the right aircon horsepower for a room size
- Choose and aircon brand with an energy saving certificate
- Ensure that the room has no escape path for the cold air
- Ensure that sun light cannot inter the room during daytime
- Minimize the heat generating equipment inside the room
When above tips are considered and the aircon is operated more than 8 hours a day, surely there is a saving compare to a conventional aircon. However, I don’t want to discourage you, but I am hesitant to believe a saving of more than 40% as some manufacturers or suppliers claim. In their testing, they may consider the favorable conditions like very optimized aircon to a specific room, less to no heat generating appliances and so on that we cannot exactly duplicate in our homes.
When the ROI Attained?
It is certain that inverter aircon has higher purchase price as compared to the non-inverter type. So, it takes time before the savings be realized. I tried checking online of an aircon brand, and I found below price comparison:
From the table, the price difference is in the range of 280$ – 300$.
20% Saving Assumption
Assuming an aircon size of 1.5hp. Let us also assume to operate the aircon just 12 hours per day and a kW-hr cost of 0.22$. Based on below table, it will take 16 months before start realizing the savings. This is because inverter type has higher purchase price.
30% Saving Assumption
It will take 11 months to realize the savings based on below table.
40% Saving Assumption
It will take 8 months to realize the savings based on below table.
50% Saving Assumption
It will take around 6.5 months to realize the savings based on below table.
Let us summarize how much savings on inverter aircon…
- No doubt that inverter type aircon is more efficient than the non-inverter type aircon. The actual figure on how much inverter aircon savings you can get will rely on the discussed factors above.
- Inverter type aircon operates in variable compressor speed technology wherein just enough speed has been provided to maintain the set temperature
- Non-inverter aircon has fixed speed (max level) and will turn off compressor once the set temperature has reached. It will turn on again once the sensed temperature is out of the set level. The turn off and turn on process will repeat continuously.
- The numbers advertised for saving when using an inverter aircon is not accurate. It always depends to the actual scenario.
- There will be no savings if the aircon is too small for a given room area
- There are guides on how to size the aircon with respect to the room area, but one can upsize the aircon a bit if the budget permits to maximize the monthly saving