Find Your Croma Store We help you buy BUYING GUIDE FOR AIR CONDITIONER Soaring temperatures and a rise in the standard of living has made air conditioners an integral part of the Indian family. Once considered as a luxury, the air conditioner is now available in an economic range. Over the years, the air conditioner has evolved into more than just a machine that cools. Technologically enhanced, the air conditioner has seen many innovations. Today, this machine serves multiple purposes that too in an efficient manner. From controlling humidity to purifying air, the modern air conditioner does a lot more than just cooling. Go through the following guide to zero-in on the right air conditioner for you. Who is this buying guide written for? This guide is ideal for: Buyers who are looking for an ideal cooling device Buyers who are looking to upgrade their existing air conditioner Buyers who are exploring new type of air conditioners Buyers who want to save energy and money

How Do Air Conditioners Work Air conditioners (AC) work on a scientific principle known as phase conversion. It states that when a liquid converts to gas, it absorbs heat. Thus, in the absence of heat the surroundings becomes cool. The AC circulates air evenly across all corners to maintain the cool temperature. In an air conditioner, the onus of phase conversion is on a liquid called as a refrigerant. During the continuous phase conversion process, this refrigerant cools the surroundings by absorbing heat and sending it outside. Thus, the basic functioning of an air conditioner depends on a scientific principle and efficient engineering. Important parts and components of an AC are a Compressor that is known as the heart of an AC, Condenser Coil, which is a network of tubes, an Evaporator that absorbs heat, an Air filter, an Air Handling Unit featuring a fan to dispense air outside and an efficient Drainage system. Copyright © 2015 Infiniti Retail Ltd. Package air conditioner is a bigger version of the window air conditioner.

However, unlike window air conditioner or PTAC units, it has a higher cooling or heating capacity and is usually able to cool an entire house or a commercial building. The nominal capacities ranges from 3 tonne to 15 tonne. The conditioned air are transferred to the space to be conditioned through ducting which is usually hidden in the ceiling and wall of the building. The unit is placed outside the house, a special room in a building or even on top of a roof. This unit is factory assembled and skilled technicians are needed to install this type of unit.Protection devices such as High/Low pressure switch, overload relays for all motors, water flow and air flow switches are included in the units. The compressor have winding protection thermostat built into the winding to disconnect the circuit in the event of overheating.There is an interlocking circuit with the evaporator fan motor starter to ensure that the compressor can only start if the fan motor is running. This self contained unit is assembled in a casing where all the air conditioning componenets are housed.

Rooftop Air-Cooled Package Air Conditioner.Package Air Conditioner Condenser TypeThe condenser used in a package air conditioner can be air-cooled or water-cooled type. Air-cooled type is usually for capacity below 5 tonne and water-cooled for capacity above 5 tonne. components of ac unitThe capacity of air-cooled type is lower than that of water-cooled condenser using the same compressor.what air conditioning unit should i buyThe water-cooled type can be completely factory assembled, tested and charged with refrigerant before being installed in the field. air conditioning unit cost priceThis is advantages because less man power is needed in the field to do the installation hence cost saving.The air-cooled type cannot be factory assembled or charged as the laying of refrigerant piping, pressure testing, charging and evacuation have to be carried out in the field.

In the air distribution, centrifugal fans are usually provided at the evaporator side which can develop higher static pressure. The higher the static pressure, the better the air throw to the room is. Air distribution is done through ducts and grills. The air quantitites are usually in the range of 10-11.3 cubic meter/min (350-400 cfm) per tonne.In critical application such as computer room which need higher rate of air flow, higher capacity fans with air flow up to 550 cfm are provided. This usually need to be factored in during the design of the system.In some units, two independent refrigeration systems are included in the package. In this case, the cooling coils have a common tube sheets though the two systems are independent. The tubes of the coil are entwined. Two separate water-cooled condensers or a condenser with an internal partition that forms two independent condensers are used. The water side is common to both the independent condenser portions.It is a common practice to have one compressor running all the time with the other compressor control by a single-stage thermostat.

In this case, the capacity can be controlled either to 50% or 100%. However, newer units have two-stage thermostat that can control the capacity from 0%, 50% or 100%. Back To Package Air Conditioner Home PageFEW of life's finer moments can compare to walking into a centrally air-conditioned home on a hot, humid summer day.Unfortunately, not every home or apartment has central air.The alternatives to central air-conditioning each have their own advantages, limitations and requirements. '', a heating and air-conditioning supplier in Southbury, Conn. ''You can have a window unit, a portable unit or a combination indoor-outdoor unit called a ductless mini-split that is similar to central air but doesn't need interior ductwork.''The most important thing to remember about air-conditioning, Mr. Abdella said, is that air-conditioners do not create cold air, they just move heat from one place to another. ''So somewhere along the line, your air-conditioning system has to interact with the outdoors,'' he said.

With most air-conditioning systems, Mr. Abdella said, the air is cooled by removing both heat and moisture.With a central air-conditioning system, he said, the parts of the system that do the most work and make the most noise -- the compressor and condenser -- are located outside the house. With such a system, Mr. Abdella said, refrigerant circulating through the system is compressed by the compressor and then is pumped into the evaporator coil -- which is inside the house -- where it quickly expands, changing from a liquid into a gas. That rapid expansion, Mr. Abdella said, enables the refrigerant to absorb heat from the air inside the house. In addition, he said, air flowing over the cool evaporator coil gives up its moisture, thereby decreasing the humidity in the home. With a window air-conditioner, Mr. Abdella said, all three components of the system are enclosed in a single unit. Since such a unit is installed in a window (or in a hole in an exterior wall), it is possible to exhaust the heated air and moisture to the outside while using a fan to blow the cooled air inside.

Window units, he said, range in cooling capacity from 5,000 B.T.U.'s to about 24,000 B.T.U.'s, with prices ranging from as little as $100 to more than $1,000.A portable air-conditioner also has all of its working components encased in one unit. Such systems, however, use a vent hose -- similar to the vent found on a clothes dryer -- to expel the heated air outside the house. ''You can vent it out a window, up a fireplace or through a hole in an exterior wall,'' Mr. Abdella said. He added that with the most efficient portable air-conditioners, the moisture that is extracted from the air is stored in a tank inside the unit. That tank must be emptied manually or pumped outside the house or into a nearby drain. Portable units range from 5,000 to 12,000 B.T.U.'s, with the largest models costing about $700. The third alternative to central air-conditioning -- known as the ''ductless mini-split'' air-conditioner is a hybrid, of sorts, between a window unit and central air. With mini-split units, Mr. Abdella said, the compressor and condenser are outside the home and are connected by tubing to an evaporator coil and air circulator mounted on a wall inside the home.''

It's as if you slammed a window down on an air-conditioner and sliced it in two,'' he said. ''Half the unit is outside and the other half is inside.''With mini-split air-conditioners, Mr. Abdella said, it is possible to connect multiple interior air-circulating units to a single exterior compressor, thereby providing most of the benefits of central air-conditioning without installing ductwork.''A mini-split system is the most efficient alternative to central air, but it is also the most costly,'' Mr. Abdella said, adding that installing such a system to cool a large room like a living room-dining room combination would start about $2,500 installed.Mr. Abdella said that both portable and mini-split systems are suitable for use in homes with few windows or small windows or those built with masonry, which will not easily accommodate duct systems.Regardless of the type of air-conditioning system used in a house, the most important consideration is installing the right-sized unit. ''Bigger is not necessarily better,'' said Jonathan Shaw, manager of corporate communications for the Carrier Corporation, an air-conditioner manufacturer in Farmington, Conn.

Mr. Shaw explained that since air-conditioners cool a room by removing heat and moisture from the air and by blowing the cooled air into the room, using a unit that is larger than necessary will waste energy and allow too much moisture to remain in the air.''An air-conditioner that has a higher B.T.U. capacity than is required may cycle on and off too frequently and won't dehumidify the room,'' he said, adding that rooms that have not been adequately dehumidified will have a cold, clammy feeling. ''It's kind of like wearing a pair of wet socks,'' he said. Generally speaking, Mr. Shaw said, the B.T.U. capacity required for a particular room is determined primarily by the size of the room to be cooled. But not all similarly sized rooms are equal. The number of windows in the room -- and whether those windows are exposed to direct sunlight -- will affect the sizing of the air-conditioner. And when a room is connected to another room by a permanently open door or archway more than five feet wide, the air-conditioner must be big enough to cool both rooms.''

Even the number of people occupying the room will have an impact on air-conditioner sizing,'' Mr. Shaw said, adding that while one person in a room will have a minimal impact, ''three kids in a bedroom give off a lot of heat.''Dick Toder, executive director of T/S Associates, a heating, air-conditioning and plumbing consultant in Manhattan, said consumers shopping for a room air-conditioner should avoid shopping by price alone.''You can go to a local home center and buy an air-conditioner for a $100, but the unit runs a mile a minute and doesn't cool the room because it's too small,'' Mr. Toder said. ''And most people don't take into consideration the noise factor. On some of these low-priced air-conditioners, the noise is horrendous.''A basic rule of thumb for sizing a room air-conditioner, Mr. Toder said, is to have 6,000 B.T.U.'s for every 200 square feet of floor space.And Nadav Malin, editor of Environmental Building News, a newsletter published in Brattleboro, Vt., said consumers should pay close attention to the energy rating label that is affixed to all air-conditioners sold nationwide.

Energy efficiency ratings range from about 9 EER to about 12 EER. Units at the lower end of the range consume more electricity and are more expensive to operate and those at the upper end are more energy efficient.Mr. Malin said that homeowners can sometimes make a significant difference in their air-conditioning needs by taking relatively minor preventative strategies. ''We always encourage people to keep in mind where heat is coming from and how to manage that heat,'' Mr. Malin said. For example, he said, getting heat out of the house will reduce the need for air-conditioning. ''Kitchens and bathrooms should have adequate ventilation,'' he said.It is also wise to make sure that the attic is adequately insulated and vented. ''You can put more insulation in the attic ceiling or floor to keep the heat out of the living area,'' he said. ''And putting in an automatic attic fan often makes a big difference.''And while curtains or Venetian blinds will keep out some of the radiant heat from sunlight, Mr. Malin said, it is usually better to prevent the sunlight from getting through the windows in the first place.''