10 best tips for choosing an air conditioner for an apartment

Who is the best manufacturer of air conditioners for apartments?
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Electrolux

Mitsubishi

ballu

Panasonic

ARCTIC

Zanussi

ROYAL

Total voted: 2

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The power of the air conditioner is calculated based on the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe room. It takes 100 watts to cool one square meter of a room. For example, for a room of 20 m², an air conditioner with a power of 2000 watts is suitable. Moving in one direction or another from the calculated indicator, you need to take into account the side where the windows go, the presence or absence of thick curtains.It is important whether or not an interior door is installed that can be closed to effectively cool the room.

It makes no sense to take a device with a power reserve - the whole apartment will not cool evenly. It will be very cold in an air-conditioned room, and even the feeling of coolness will not always reach the others.

Installation methods and principles of operation of air conditioners vary. Depending on your needs, you can choose a mobile device, hang a split system under the ceiling, build a convector into the walls or floor.

Mobile. The main advantage is the ability to move from place to place. They can cool any room and even take them with you to the country. A big plus - no need for professional installation with punching holes in the wall. Often has the functions of ionization and air purification. But you will have to take the outlet pipe outside and get used to the noise of the operating air conditioner. In addition, they require space on the floor, and compact models - on the table.

Convector. Thanks to special openings for the entry and exit of air masses, it provides natural air circulation, evenly cooling and heating the room. This is a distinctive feature of convector type air conditioners. They can be built into the wall, and in houses with a large glazing area - into the floor.

split system Works for both cooling and heating. This is very convenient, especially during the off-season, when the house is cold, and there is still or no central heating. It is placed under the ceiling and does not take up space in the room, it does not fall into the hands of inquisitive kids.

Classic models of split systems cool, to a greater extent, the room in which they are placed.In other areas, the process is much slower. But for large apartments and houses, multi-split systems have been created that can cool or heat up to 8 rooms with a total area of ​​​​up to 160 m².

Any of these air conditioners will cope with cooling the room, but they have a different principle of using the power of the device.

Ordinary air conditioner always works with the same power set at the factory. The air temperature can be controlled by the speed of the fans. At high speed, it blows out air quickly, but does not have time to cool it as much as possible. At slow speed - the air comes out colder, but spreads around the room more slowly. Classic air conditioners also work to heat the room, but only when there is no severe frost outside.

AT inverter a smooth change in power is implemented. To quickly reach the desired temperature, it operates at peak power. When the set parameters are reached, the inverter reduces the motor speed and the compressor operates at minimum power, maintaining the desired temperature. Inverter air conditioners are more energy efficient, quieter and can heat a room regardless of the outside temperature. Their only drawback is the higher price compared to the usual ones.

AT monoblock everything is in the case of one device. They, therefore, do not require complex installation. As a rule, their price is lower than split systems. These include mobile, roof and window air conditioners.

Standard split system 2 blocks - outdoor and indoor. They are interconnected by an electric cable and copper tubes through which the refrigerant moves. In these designs, the most dimensional and noisy part of the device with a compressor is placed outside the window, so the air conditioner working at home will not hum much. The indoor unit is placed anywhere in the apartment within the length of communications. A significant plus of split systems is the variety of internal structures. They are wall, channel, cassette, ceiling. True, wall-mounted systems are more often used for apartments. Other options are considered semi-industrial.

AT multi-split system may include 2-5 indoor units, which are distributed in different rooms. In some variants of internal structures, there are more. All of them are served by only one outdoor unit. Thus, you can save the appearance of the facade of the house. The blocks can have different cooling capacities. For example, 2 kW is enough for a children's room, but for the kitchen you want all 4 kW. You might think that it is more profitable to have 1 multi-split system than 5 separate air conditioners. But you need to consider the cost of installation. In a multi-block system, long communications, so the work can cost significantly more.

Most often used in apartments wall air conditioner, which rises under the ceiling near the window. Although this device is visible to the naked eye, the level of comfort that it provides makes it possible not to notice that it covers part of the wall.

But if the device does not fit into the concept of the room, you can stop at canal. Its indoor unit is completely hidden by a suspended or stretch ceiling.

Cassette air conditioner also mounted above a false ceiling. But it distributes air throughout the room thanks to the grate at the bottom of the device. It remains visible, but does not look as bulky as wall-mounted air conditioner models.

Mobile - yes, it takes up space on the floor and affects the appearance of the room. But given the fact that it doesn’t happen very often, it can be hidden from view in the closet for most of the year.

It is important that the noise of the air conditioner does not reduce the comfort level of the occupants. If you plan to place it in the living room or in the kitchen, you can focus on other, more significant characteristics of the air conditioner. A plus or minus a few decibels will not play a role.

In the bedroom it is better to choose quiet models. Many air conditioners have a "night mode" function, in which the "soundtrack" becomes quieter than in normal mode. The noise level for comfortable sleep should not exceed 22-24 dB.

In addition to the primary task of cooling the room, air conditioners, depending on the model, can heat, ventilate and dehumidify the air.

Heat. The air conditioner does an excellent job of heating the room if there is no severe frost outside.Depending on the model, the outside temperature at which this mode can be used usually ranges from -5 to -15 degrees. The best option to survive the off-season waiting for central heating without resorting to additional heaters.

Ventilation. In this mode, the air conditioner circulates the air in the room without cooling or heating it. If the device is equipped with special filters, it purifies the air in parallel.

Dehumidification. Can also work without cooling. This helps to get rid of excess moisture, which negatively affects well-being. While air conditioners are not subject to maintain a given level of humidity. They also do not cope with the dehumidification of the air in the pool room.

Night mode. When it is turned on, the air conditioner fan starts to operate at minimum speed, gradually lowering (or raising) the temperature by a couple of degrees in a few hours. This is the best mode for a comfortable sleep.

Sleep timer helps to fall asleep in a cool room, and not wake up in an ice cave. You can set the operating time of the air conditioner until the room reaches the desired temperature.

In expensive models, there may also be: control via Wi-Fi, a human presence sensor, air humidification, a self-cleaning function, an air purifier. All this helps to get more pleasure from using the device, but also increases the price tag on it.

Using the remote control controls the operation of most air conditioners. Modern remotes have an LCD display on which you can control which mode is activated. When the remote control is not working, you can start cooling from the button on the wall unit, however, with this method, the functionality of the device will be limited to automatic mode.

From a smartphone or PC. Special applications allow you to control advanced models of air conditioners from your smartphone or through a web browser from a PC. Smart control allows you to return to a cool house after a day's work, instead of waiting for it to cool down in front of you.

Split systems are equipped with two types of filters - coarse and fine filters.

Coarse cleaning system implemented in all air conditioners. It protects the device from dirt, animal hair, coarse dust, poplar fluff - a fine mesh does not allow particles larger than 2 microns to enter the device. These filters are designed to last indefinitely, but require regular cleaning.

Fine cleaning system catches everything that could not settle during rough cleaning. They are of several types. adsorbent - neutralize harmful substances that are in the air, and eliminate unpleasant odors. Plasma and electrostatic - get rid of allergens, fine dust, smoke and odors by various methods based on the force of attraction of negative charges. UV and antibacterial also solve similar tasks - disinfect the air in the room, fight bacteria and viruses. BUT photocatalytic - decompose organic and inorganic pollution and toxic substances into harmless components.

This is what manufacturers promise, but many question the ability of air conditioners to purify all the air in the room, because the filter, which occupies no more than a quarter of the total air intake area, will have to pick it up and process it. So we take into account that the air is only partially cleaned. But such a system is definitely not needed if the air conditioner will work in the kitchen - the filters get dirty very quickly from grease.

You can trust your comfort to different brands on the market. Here you should not start only from the price of the device - it is important to take into account its characteristics and the reputation of the company.

Electrolux is a popular brand with a large number of models on sale. High-quality and functional, they have a fairly loyal price compared to others.

Panasonic famous for its variety of split systems and high-quality filtration systems. Among their range, you can easily choose a model with the right power.

Mitsubishi - an expensive but solid brand. Buying its conditioners, it is possible to be sure of its durability and high functionality.

ballu - one of the most affordable brands of split systems that demonstrate high power and functionality. Not without flaws, air conditioners are actively sold due to their performance.

Arctic offers consumers a line of mini air conditioners that gently cool a small space. For example, a desktop or an area around a favorite chair.