Looking for input before I buy A/C unit

[Catseye]

my AC

I have a KTC split type inverter AC.  I love it, it's more than enough for my bedroom which is about 20x20 with a vaulted ceiling that is 15 feet in the middle.  It's 12,000 BTU.  I run it every day.  After about a year of daily use, one day there were some drops of water falling off the unit inside my room.  I just put a towel under it and called an AC guy the next day.  The drainage tube was clogged up with slime and he cleaned it all out and said it should be done every 6 months or so.  I'll probably just wait until it drips again and then do it myself.  It looked easy enough to do, just remove the front plate and another smaller one inside and clean out the goop.

I think I bought this at Plaza Lama.  I had actually picked out the next smaller model and at the last minute I said wait, give me the next size up.  My room is really big and I wanted to make sure I was covered. The next smaller unit was a 110v.  This one is 220v.  I wanted a 110 because I wanted to be able to use it with the inverter on hot days when there's no electricity.  That's pretty rare in my neighborhood now but still . . . So they ring it up and say delivery is the next day.  The girl that made my order didn't say anything about 220 and when they came the next day is when I was told.  My original intent was to replace my old split level with this new energy saver one.  But now I was looking at not being able to use it on the inverter!   I know this isn't Wal Mart, I know I can't exchange it or anything.  So I told the guy to install it next to the old one!   So I have two ACs on my wall!  On the rare times when I want AC really bad and there's no power I just flip a switch and run my old 110v on the inverter.

I read the KTC's usage on the EDE meter one day and saw that it used 8kw in a 16 hour period.  So I can run this as often as I like and it's very affordable.  I bought it 2 years ago, model CE9V-12CRDN1.  I don't remember how much it cost.  I'm still using it every day.

 

[wilywes]

I bought new TGM Inverter 22 SEER ACs even though the old non inverter models still worked fine.

12,000 BTU is enough for your room size. If you can close off the room, you'll notice a temp drop within minutes. Get the highest SEER rating you can afford. An over sized unit will cool the air a bit faster but offset some savings with increased runtime energy use over a smaller unit. In such a small space the slight decrease in cooling time should not end up being a significant factor justifying the extra electricity usage.

Here with the cost of electricity I would not purchase a non-inverter AC less then 20 SEER. Harder to find the higher SEER models sometimes so sales people try to steer you towards a product that do have. When I was looking, 22 was the cost vs savings sweet point. I have already saved the extra cost in electricity savings.

Installation costs should be exactly the same and not dependent on what unit you purchase. There should be no cost to remove the old unit as they will be reusing the same holes and electrical connection for the new one I assume.

I would ask that the line set included with the new unit not be used and the installer use a new copper line set instead.

That is some great input. Thanks for taking the time to write all that. 

 

[Mauricio]

Thanks for the input Mauricio. May I ask why there is the need to buy a larger Inverter type A/C unit than the conventional?  The size calculations I used were based on the climate in Florida, which is a similar climate to the DR in my opinion, but maybe I'm wrong????

Refricentre (Refripartes American branch from Florida) recommends a 9000BTU unit based on my size. Funny though, cause refripartes in DR says 18,000BTU. Hence why I am asking on this forum .

The guy who installs my A/C's (I don't buy them from him) insists it's better to buy them a size bigger than needed if inverter, because according to him the way an inverter A/C works it's better it cools the room fast and then maintain it 'no forzado' at that temperature. I have a 24btu inverter in my bedroom, which is probably 35 m2. 18k should do but I listened to him and bought 24. I also do the same as someone mentioned here, open the door to cool an adjacent room. 

 

[JD Jones]

The guy who installs my A/C's (I don't buy them from him) insists it's better to buy them a size bigger than needed if inverter, because according to him the way an inverter A/C works it's better it cools the room fast and then maintain it 'no forzado' at that temperature. I have a 24btu inverter in my bedroom, which is probably 35 m2. 18k should do but I listened to him and bought 24. I also do the same as someone mentioned here, open the door to cool an adjacent room. 

I've heard as well again and again it's better to go a little big than not big enough.

The unit will cool faster and run less. The more your A/C cycles on and off, the more efficiently it should cool rather than having a unit that never stops running.

Setting your A/C at a reasonable temperature will really save in the long run as well.

And any A/C guy here will tell you the TGM's are the Toyotas of the A/C world. Parts are really easy to find.

 

[JD Jones]

I've heard as well again and again it's better to go a little big than not big enough.

The unit will cool faster and run less. The more your A/C cycles on and off, the more efficiently it should cool rather than having a unit that never stops running.

Setting your A/C at a reasonable temperature will really save in the long run as well.

And any A/C guy here will tell you the TGM's are the Toyotas of the A/C world. Parts are really easy to find.

As a follow up:

I just called my A/C guy right now. He got me a TGM 10K BTU inverter split A/C for 19K, and another 3K for the cage for the exterior compressor.

I'm going to have it installed in my smallest bedroom I'm using for an office.

I've got a very good A/C guy here in Santo Domingo if any of you are looking for someone good, economical and fast. (A rare combo indeed)

Watch this space to see how long it takes him to have me up and running.

 

[ohmmmm]

I am not a big fan of the inverter because it does not make as much cost savings as you will think and because they are difficult to repair. The inverter units have two card controllers that need to talk to each other. One in the unit in the house and one in the outside condenser unit. The card in the outside condenser unit is not well protected and in a year (if you are by the ocean) or a few years the card will oxidize and fail. The cards are expensive and sometimes hard to locate. Also, most repair people do not know how to program a new or repaired outside card to communicate with the inside card in your home. It is beyond their experience and expertise.

 

[Kipling333]

I have just replaced two AC machines TGM and 18 btu ... this new model TGM works very quietly and seemingly without effort .. purchased from the very good AC store in Ave Bolivar ..

 

[ExDR]

18,000 btu's would be too big for your room size. Get a more efficient 12,00 Btu unit.

 

[bigbird]

I think I would play it safe and go with the 18k for a couple of reasons.

Better safe than sorry.

You are trusting the installer to install so I would trust his sizing recommendation.

Your ceiling height of 9.5 feet.

Two walls with four foot windows.

A south or south-east facing wall.

Installing in the Caribbean vs North America.

Repeat, better safe than sorry.

 

[bigbird]

@ OP which would you rather be saying?

This A/C may be a bit too large but it sure keeps this room nice and cool even on the hottest days.

or?

SMH, I should have gotten the next size larger because on those really hot humid days this A/C just doesn't do the job.

Over the years I have learned my lesson the hard way.

 

[windeguy]

TGM Quantum Series?

I have just replaced two AC machines TGM and 18 btu ... this new model TGM works very quietly and seemingly without effort .. purchased from the very good AC store in Ave Bolivar ..

Are your the TGM Quantum series model?

I spoke to Refricentro, the TGM hub in Florida. Spoke to a guy with 18 years of selling AC units. For my 16 X 22 foot room with 10 foot high ceilings, three 4 X 6 foot window used as my music studio, the recommendation pushes me to a 20 SEER, 24,000 BTU unit. TGM model is MWFTS/MRFT24AS . That unit is $800 US list price in Florida. Refripartes in Puerto Plata quote 47,000 $RD including installation with a potential for some negotiaion on the price.

By the way, an LG unit with 24,000 BTU capacity from Refricentro in Florida is $2,175 US list price. No wonder TGM is getting so much business.

 

[Uzin]

I am not a big fan of the inverter because it does not make as much cost savings as you will think and because they are difficult to repair. The inverter units have two card controllers that need to talk to each other. One in the unit in the house and one in the outside condenser unit. The card in the outside condenser unit is not well protected and in a year (if you are by the ocean) or a few years the card will oxidize and fail. The cards are expensive and sometimes hard to locate. Also, most repair people do not know how to program a new or repaired outside card to communicate with the inside card in your home. It is beyond their experience and expertise.

The guy who came to give me a quote told me exactly that as well, specially if you are on the coast, he said you end up buying cards and doing nightmare repair so often that the inventor defeats the saving you made on electricity.

 

[Mauricio]

The guy who came to give me a quote told me exactly that as well, specially if you are on the coast, he said you end up buying cards and doing nightmare repair so often that the inventor defeats the saving you made on electricity.

All my a/c are inverter. 2 are 6 years old (ciac), 1 is 2 years old(Carrier) and 2 are 1 year old (Panasonic). Never had a problem. 

Just had maintenance done at the oldest ones, only cleaning. Everything else was fine. 

 

[windeguy]

I have a 9,000 BTU Samsung inverter unit that is going to be 2 years old in September. So far so good. I am not directly on the ocean, but about 200 yards inland. I do recall the guy who installed it mentioning the card failure issue as well.

 

[Cdn_Gringo]

I bet some of you are inclined believe the used car salesmen, all of the lawyers in this country and everything the highly educated professional sales staff here tell you.

You are being fed a line or two and a half truth. The profit potential on the sale of a conventional AC is higher because the base wholesale cost is lower. An inverter AC that is really an inverter AC with a comparable rating will always use less electricity than a conventional AC. How much energy savings you can achieve is completely a function of the SEER rating (well not really, but let's use that).

An 18 SEER conventional AC is more energy efficient than 10 SEER conventional AC. An 18 SEER inverter AC is more energy efficient than a 18 SEER conventional AC. A conventional AC has only one condenser running speed - full tilt - can cool a space a little faster but that's because they are running in overdrive all the time.

Energy efficiency in an area with high electricity costs allows one to run the appliance more often for longer before you go broke. Except when they initially start up, inverter ACs run at a slower speed than a conventional unit so one can make the argument about less operational wear and tear over time.

The board failure stories are a red herring perhaps attributable to a particular manufacturer or maybe is a sales pitch intended to help move the larger inventory of conventional units that are stocked because more people can afford these. Really high efficiency inverter ACs are expensive but like solar, if you make the up front investment, after you recoup the cost difference in electricity savings, like solar power, you are much better off in the long run. So in the end, conventional or inverter AC, a higher rated unit is always more efficient than a lower rated unit. An oversized unit uses more electricity than necessary but if that gives you piece of mind, that's your decision to make.

Sure the moist humid conditions here can have an impact on the longevity of any appliance, be it a control board in a LG stove, an AC, a TV, Stereo or even a microwave. I have not been told by the gringo installers I communicate with of any rampant board failure problem. There have been some and those seem to be concentrated around installations within spitting distance of the ocean where the corrosive effects of sea air and salt deposits are more pronounced anyways.

It all comes down to how you wish to allocated your money. Do you wish to give it to the AC guys upfront or the electric company on a monthly basis? Do you wish to use your AC often, occasionally or just for a few hours at night to get you to sleep. There is a point at which the cost, benefits and practicality begin to swing in a less favorable direction. That point is different for just about everyone. Don't automatically believe the claims of salespeople that cannot be independently verified by a preponderance of the available information. Just because someone somewhere may have bought a lemon doesn't automatically mean that you will get one too unless the sales person has one he is keen to offload to a customer he thinks will accept it. The correct info is out there it just takes a bit of time and effort to read enough to be able to form a knowledgeable conclusion.

 

[windeguy]

The trade off will always have me going for a split inverter model of AC unit with a good SEER rating.

 

[caribmike]

Who is selling the TGM brand in Santo Domingo? Plaza Lama? Can not find them on their website.

 

[caribmike]

Who is selling the TGM brand in Santo Domingo? Plaza Lama? Can not find them on their website.

NM. Found it. It is Refripartes. Thank you.

 

[Uzin]

All my a/c are inverter. 2 are 6 years old (ciac), 1 is 2 years old(Carrier) and 2 are 1 year old (Panasonic). Never had a problem. 

Just had maintenance done at the oldest ones, only cleaning. Everything else was fine. 

That's reassuring, good to know, specially the make (I assume you're near the ocean). The guy who came to see me was a reputable Brit and he only dealt with TGM types... (27k pesos all in installed for a non-inverter 12000BTU, last year price, I think he said that is for a new model with copper tubing etc.)

But I never installed any A/C split so far, so no experience - still using the tiny 5000 BTU on the window edge occasionally....

 

[windeguy]

As others have mentioned and I have noticed, TGM is the most common brand used on the north coast by far. The "Toyota" of AC units in the DR.

I confirmed while talking to Refricentro in Florida, that EXCELL is the same unit as TGM, just private labelled as EXCELL for some vendors in the DR who wanted a different "brand" to sell. So you could also look for any vendors selling EXCELL as well as TGM to get a price quote. I would tell them to beat the TGM price since their EXCELL module is a virtual unkonwn.