Inverter Air Conditioners save approximately 20-40% energy compared to the normal ones.
What is Inverter Technology?
Well, it is the latest technology available concerning the motors of the compressors. This technology mainly involves the use of Units which have a variable frequency drive that comprises of an adjustable electrical inverter and a microcontroller to sample ambient temperature.
How does it work?
The inverter is used to convert AC current to DC current. When power is supplied to the air conditioner, the inverter converts the AC current to DC current. Simultaneously, a microcontroller in the Unit is used to monitor the ambient temperature. So when the ambient temperature is below or above the set temperature, the unit produces the desired frequency to adjust the motors of the compressor accordingly. The compressor is always on, but draws power depending on the change in ambient temperature in respect to the set temperature.
What are their advantages?
Air conditioners have a designed maximum peak load and it varies depending on their size. Normal or Conventional Air Conditioners will always run at peak power requirement when the compressor is running. But with Inverter Technology installed, the running compressor will draw only that much powerr that is required to maintain the set temperature. For example: A 1.5 Ton inverter air conditioner initially works at 1.7 Ton and once the set temperature is achieved it reduces its functional capacity to 1.5, 1 or even 0.3 Ton depending on room conditions.
They also use ozone friendly refrigerants such as R410a. Compared to other refrigerants such as R22 which contain HCFC (Hydro-Chloro-Fluoro Carbons) along with chlorine components, these mainly comprise of HFC’s (Hydro-Fluoro Carbons).
The several advantages in a nutshell are listed below :
- It consumes approximately 20-50% less energy
- Makes less noise
- More Powerfull
- Far quicker to achieve desired temperature
- Start up time is reduced by 30%
- No temperature fluctuations, maximising comfort level
- No voltage peaks from compressor
- Ozone friendly Refrigerants
Power Consumption of Inverter Air Conditioners
Based on data from BEE in 2017, below is the representative (median) sample of power consumption of Air Conditioners of various tonnage and star ratings:
| Power Consumption Chart | ||||||
| Tons | 3 Star | 4 Star | 5 Star | |||
| Normal A. C. | Inverter A.C. | Normal A. C. | Inverter A.C. | Normal A. C. | Inverter A.C. | |
| 0.75 | 627 | 550 | – | 499 | 576 | 421 |
| 1.00 | 828 | 726 | – | 658 | 760 | 557 |
| 1.50 | 1235 | 1077 | – | 972 | 1130 | 815 |
| 2.00 | 1548 | 1344 | – | 1208 | 1412 | 1005 |
