What Is Air Conditioner – What Is Its Types And How It Works 2018

How To Purchase Air Conditioner And Select The Ton Size – 2018

What Is Air Conditioner – What Is Its Types And How It Works 2018Know better about Air Conditioners – Now these days, as the summers are getting hotter day by day, the people are inclining to having an AC rather than a water cooler or fan. And while purchasing they have got lots of questions in their mind about ton size, brand and star ratings. Here in this article we are going to cover all these topics and questions which usually came across your mind when you went to buy an air conditioner.

What is Air Conditioning

Air Conditioning is the process of removing heat and moisture from the interior of an occupied space, to improve the comfort of occupants. It can be used in both domestic and commercial environments. It is also use to cool/dehumidify rooms filled with heat producing electronic devices, such as computer servers, power amplifiers and even to display and store artwork.

What is Air conditioner (AC)


Parts of Air Conditioner

An air conditioner has four parts or we can say components:

  1. An evaporator
  2. A compressor
  3. A condenser
  4. An expansion device.
How Air Conditioner works

Air inside the room comes into evaporator where refrigerant evaporates naturally. This refrigerant absorbs the heat from the air and turns from a liquid to a vapor due to this it gets hot, at the same time the air become colder. This vaporized air then passes in to the compressor, which compresses the vapor to a state of high pressure and higher temperature. Then this hot pressurized gas flows over the third component called condenser. Now here the gas is condensed back into its liquid state as heat is radiated away. Now this cooled off liquid is returned into the home. The expansion device regulates the flow of liquid refrigerant into the evaporator, where again it will absorb heat and so on.

To dehumidify the air, the evaporator coil also wrings out the moisture. Then all this moisture can pool in or drain out of the unit. This whole process makes the room more comfortable, humidity free and cooler.

Types of Air Conditioner (AC)
  1. Window AC: The most common and widely used Air conditioner. In this AC all four components are enclosed in a single box. For Window AC you need to make a slot on the wall or window to install it. They produce lot of noise.
  2. Split AC: The second most common type is Split AC, it comprises of two parts or unit i.e. outdoor unit and indoor unit. Indoor unit comprises of evaporator, expansion device and the cooling fan which is placed on the wall inside the room and outdoor unit comprises of a compressor and a condenser is installed outside the room. They are much quieter than Window AC.
  3. Central AC: Central AC is either a split system unit or a packaged unit. These types of ACs are specially used for cooling a big hall or entire buildings (it could be houses, offices, hotels, shopping malls, movie theaters). In this type, the outdoor unit contains the condenser coil, compressor, electrical components and a fan. The evaporator coil locates inside the room installed on the gas furnace. The refrigerant circulates through the indoor and outdoor unit. And the cooled or condensed air went into the rooms through the duct pipes which act as air tunnels in this centralized AC system. They are also quieter than Window AC.

What does a Ton means in Air Conditioning

You may have heard many times about 1 Ton AC, 1.5 Ton AC or 2 Ton AC. Most of the people are unaware of what does Ton means in AC and while buying an AC they got confused how much ton AC should they buy. So let’s see what does a Ton means.

A ‘ton’ is the cooling capacity of an air conditioning system, where 1 ton is equal to the amount of heat required to melt one ton of ice in a 24 hours period. 1 ton air conditioner is rated at 12,000 Btu per hour and a 2 ton unit would be rated at 24,000 Btu per hour. Typically, residential central ACs can be up to 5 Ton and the commercial central ACs can be range from 3 Ton to 1500 Ton.

What tons size AC do I purchase for my room

This question is very common for everyone who is planning to buy an AC because as ton size increases, the price and power consumption also increases. And who wants to spend money unnecessarily. That is why knowing the correct size is much better. If you buy a less size AC then it will become useless to you and if you buy over size AC then it is also wastage of your money. So we are going to tell what ton size AC will be sufficient for you.

Determining the ton size of Air conditioner for your room is not a difficult task any more. Just measure the length, breadth and height of the room in feet, and calculate it. Now you have the size of your room. According to the standard measurement and environmental conditions an AC can cover upto:

A standard 0.5 ton AC can covers upto the 550 Cu.ft. approx..

A standard 1 ton AC can covers upto the 900 to 1200 Cu.ft. approx..

A standard 1.5 ton AC can covers upto the 1440 to 1950 Cu.ft. approx.

A standard 2 ton AC can covers upto the 2250 Cu.ft. approx.

But you should also have to make some adjustment which depends on the exposure of direct sunlight, number of windows, air flow, electronics items that produce heat such as refrigerator, TV, Desktop computer and etc.

Top 5 Split Air Conditioners in India 2018

  1. Voltas 185 EYR 1.5 Ton 5 Star Split AC:

It is the best Split Ac model in the range of around Rs 30000. This  1.5 Ton AC is featured with 5 star rating, auto restart, LED display on indoor units, LCD remote and timer, Sleep and Turbo mode, Anti-Dust feature, Air vent with a cross flow, hydrophilic Aluminium fin, in place of silver-filters and High EER Rotary Compressor. The only one drawback with this AC is that it has an aluminium coil which makes it cheaper and affordable. Its market price is around Rs 28,999.

  1. LG LSA5PW3A L-Pearl Split AC 1.5 Ton 3 Star:

This Split AC have 1.5 Ton capacity with 3 star Energy saving rating. It works on Himalaya cool technology provides instant cooling to user and monsoon comfort technology which provides the right cooling during high humidity and monsoon season.

Its market price is around Rs 33,900.

  1. Blue Star 3CNHW18CAF/U Inverter Split AC 1.5 Ton:

This is one of the best AC as it has the overall rating of 4.2 out of 5.0. It is a 1.5 Ton capacity inverter Split AC which is an energy saving technology. It has the copper coil which is a far better than an aluminium coil as it is repairable in the future in case of any corrosion. This AC is armored with several features like Antifreeze thermostat, LED display in indoor unit, self-diagnosis, air flow direction, various operating modes (such as Auto, cool, fan, dry, and no heat) anti-corrosive blue condenser fins. It also have several filters such as Catechin filter, silver ion filter, antibacterial filter, anti acarien filter, active carbon filter and dust filter. It will give you the 1 year warranty on the product, and 5 years on compressor. This will make it little expensive, and its cost at market is around Rs 43,000.

  1. Hitachi RAU518HTD Ace CO 1.5 Ton 5 Star Split AC:

It is another one of the best and hot selling model under the Rs 30,000 price range. This 1.5 Ton Split AC has 5 star ratings and powered by several features like auto climate technology, auto fan speed, auto humid control, auto power save mode, auto restart, cool mode, digilock dry mode, filter clean indicator, lower pull down time, wireless LCD remote controller, 4-way air swing, defrosting sensor, on-off timer with advance start-up, silent cooling. The market price of this model is around Rs 27,000.

  1. Kenstar KSM55.WN1-MDA/QDL 1.5 Ton 5 Star Split AC:

This AC is the best for the people who are searching in budget price. As it comes under the Rs 25,000, it can be a good option. This is a 1.5 Ton capacity split AC with the 5 Star energy rating. It will give you the 1 year warranty on the product, and 5 years on compressor. Though its condenser has aluminium coil which is drawback but at the same time it is armored with some advance features like Anti-Bacteria Filter, Auto Clean, Blue Fin Evaporator, Silver ion filter, Dehumidification. Its market price is around Rs 23,990.

Top 5 Window AC in India 2018

The most common AC type seen in India is Window AC. And the main reason behind this is it is cheaper than Split AC, easy to install maintenance and service, best for the smaller rooms as it takes less space.

  1. Voltas 183 CYA Window AC:

Voltas is one of the best and trusted brand in India and this model also justify this fact. Voltas 183 CYA is a 1.5 Ton capacity window AC which offers 3 star energy efficiency rating. It comes with anti-dust filters and copper coil. It also has hydrophilic aluminium Bluefin to protect the condenser from the corrosion. Its market price is around Rs 23,950.

  1. Hitachi RAW312KWD Window AC:

Another second best and trusted brand in India is Hitachi. It offers the good products and the best services to their customers. This window AC model comes in 1 Ton with 3 star ratings. It has copper coil condenser and auto-restart mode with the on-off timer mode. Its silver ion filters efficiently eliminates dust, bacteria, microbes and other germs. Its market price is around Rs 23,350.

  1. LG LWA5CP3A Window AC:

The most trusted and best brand in India is LG which serves the best quality and a vast range of electronic products. This model has 1.5 ton capacity with 3 star energy efficiency rating and copper coil condenser. It also has various features like dual protection filter, automatic fan controller, auto restart features, 4-way air deflection, 2-way auto swing (Left/Right) and manual vanes (up/down). Its market price is around Rs 29,490.

  1. Voltas 185 DY Window AC:

Again Voltas has made the place in this list with its another model, Voltas 185 DY. It has 1.5 ton capacity, copper coil condenser and holds the 5 star energy efficiency rating. It is featured with anti-dust filter, sleep mode with intelligent dehumidification feature. Company provides 1year warranty on the products and 5 years warranty on the compressor. Its market price is around Rs 32,690.

  1. Hitachi RAW511KUD Kaze Plus:

RAW511KUD is another best model from Hitachi for the Window AC in India. This 1 Ton Window AC is featured with 5 star rating, auto climate technology, pre-coated aluminium fins, Kaimin function koukin filter and copper coil condenser. It has 1 year warranty on product and 5 years on compressor. Its market price is around Rs 29,090.


Question 1. What does the star rating means in air conditioner?

Answer: Star rating is provided for customer awareness by Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Department of Energy Saving, Government of India to help them compare energy efficiency of different models which falls under the same category. This rating is on the basis of EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) which is calculated by dividing the Cooling Capacity by Power Consumption in Watts.

For example: A 1.5 ton AC have 5275watts cooling capacity and 1650Watts power consumption, so EER of unit is 5275/1650=3.1 EER.

As per star rating parameters by Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) It falls under the 1 star rating.

Star Rating Plan (Mandatory Phase)

(Valid from 01-01-2018 to 31-12-2019)

Star Rating                    Min. ISEER                    Max. ISEER

1 Star                             3.10                               3.29

2 star                             3.30                               3.49

3 Star                             3.50                               3.99

4 Star                             4.00                               4.49

5 Star                             4.50                               –

Question 2. Which gas is filled in the Air conditioners?

Answer: Hydrochloroflourocarbons (HCFCs) gas is filled in the AC.R-22, R-410A, R-32 and R-407C are the mostly used gases as a refrigerants.

Question 3. What is a Btu, EER, SEER?

Answer: British Thermal Unit (Btu) is a commonly used unit of measure for energy use in heating and cooling equipment. It is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit.

Energy efficiency ratio (EER) is a measure of how efficiently a cooling system operates when the outdoor temperature is at a specified level (95°F). A higher EER means the system is more efficient and will use less energy for the same cooling output.

Formula for EER = (Btu/hr of Cooling at 95°F) / (Watts used at 95°F)

Seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) is a measure of efficiency over an entire cooling season, as opposed to a single outdoor temperature. Residential units are rated in SEER. SEER is used as a more practical measure, since the temperature outside is not always 95ºF.

Formula for SEER = Seasonal Btu of cooling / Seasonal watt-hours used

Question 4. Who invented the Air Conditioning unit?

Answer: In 1902, the first modern electrical air conditioning unit was invented by a 25 year old engineer Willis Carrier in Buffalo, New York.

Question 5. How many square feet a 1.5 ton air conditioner can cover?

Answer: A 1.5 ton (18000 Btu) AC unit can effectively cool a 1000 square-foot residence.

Ton size Table for a Room (Square Feet):

Ton Size (Btu)                                   Room Size (Square feet)

0.5 Ton (6000 Btu)                          150-250 Sq. Ft.

1 Ton (12000 Btu)                           450-550 Sq. Ft.

1.5 Ton (18000 Btu)                        700- 1000 Sq. Ft.

2 Ton (24000 Btu)                           1400-1500 Sq. Ft.

Question 6. What is Auto Climate technology in Air Conditioners?

Answer: It is a smart technology feature that distinguishes temperature and humidity in your surrounding environment and regulates the temperature and the fan speed in order to offer contented cooling.

Question 7. Why Kaimin function is used in Air conditioners?

Answer: Kaimin function makes sure sensible usage of electricity and prevents power consumption. It allows the Air Conditioner’s temperature to mechanically increase and sets the temperature every hour to preserve the ease level of the environment.

Question 8. What is the difference between non-inverter AC and Inverter AC?

Answer: 1. Inverter AC’s compressor motor will always remain on while in the Non-Inverter AC it switches On & Off.

  1. The electricity consumption is less in Inverter AC as compared to Non-Inverter AC.
  2. In Inverter AC it reach to desired temperature quickly while it takes time in Non-Inverter AC.
  3. The appliance lifetime is high in Inverter AC while in Non-Inverter AC it is moderate.
  4. An Inverter AC is highly expensive than a Non-Inverter AC.

Question 9. Do HCFCs are harmful to our environment and deplete the Ozone layer?

Answer: Yes, but HCFCs are less harmful to the environment as compared to CFCs and cause less damage to the  stratospheric ozone layer in comparison to CFCs. Even though HCFCs have a zero-Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), in some cases it has a Global Warming Potential (high-GWP).

Question 10. Why Copper coil is better than Aluminium coil?

Answer: Copper is a better heat exchanger and has a better heat transfer coefficient than aluminium. Copper coils can also be easily repaired and are stronger and durable than Aluminium coils. But aluminium coils are difficult to repair, and when they are damaged, they have to be replaced.