Pay heed to running costs of an air-conditioner ::Business Line

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Purchase and maintenance of an AC is a costly affair. You can hire it if you wish to use it for a short period of time.

With summer set to start in a month you may be considering an air-conditioner for your home. Vinayak, who moved to Chennai last year and had experienced the city's heat enquired about air-conditioner prices from dealers in the city. A 1.5 tonne split air-conditioner of a leading brand is Rs 28,000, said the sales boy at a shop. “You even have a monthly instalment option,” he added.

Now, that's not much, thought Vinayak. He was sure he could fund it fully from his savings.

However, assuming that Vinayak would like to replace the air-conditioner after five years, over this period, he would have spent four times the purchase price of the air-conditioner on power and maintenance expenses. Besides, a used air-conditioner has no great resale value. He will be lucky if it fetches a fourth of its actual price when re-sold as the compressor's guarantee would have expired by then. So, some attention to the nuances of the machine will help save money.

POWER COSTS

The power consumed by an air-conditioner is dependant on the cooling capacity (determined by the tonnage of the air-conditioner) of the machine and its energy efficiency ratio (EER). Both of these will be specified on the label (it is mandatory for manufacturers to present this information on the product's label). To arrive at the power consumption, divide the cooling capacity by EER.

Suppose a 1.5 tonne air-conditioner has a cooling capacity of 5271 watts and an EER of 2.5, the power consumption will be 2,108 watts/hour or 2.108 units/hour. At an average of Rs 5 a unit, this air-conditioner will produce a bill of Rs 20,240 for the user in a year! (assuming it runs for eight hours a day and used throughout the year but for the four winter months).

So, to save on high power costs, you must first choose an air-conditioner that is right for your room.

As a thumb rule, a one tonne air-conditioner will suffice for a room of 150 square feet or less; a room of 200 square feet will require a 1.5 tonne air-conditioner. Bigger rooms of over 200 square feet may need a two-tonne air-conditioner.

Also, significant savings on power can be done through buying a high-energy efficient model of the air conditioner. You will know this from the ‘star' rating of the machine.

HIGHER ‘STAR' RATING

The number of ‘stars' on the label of an air-conditioner hold significance for the buyer. Air-conditioners have ratings from a single star to five stars.

These are given by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency depending on the machine's efficiency in cooling given the power it consumes. Higher the star, the lesser the power consumption. Sample this: A 1.5 tonne five-star air-conditioner will consume around 1.7 units/hour against 2.108 units/hour of a two-star rated air-conditioner of same capacity discussed above.

The savings on energy front from the five-star air-conditioner stated above over a year's time (on the assumption that the air-conditioner is run for eight hours a day and eight months of the year) will be about Rs 3,900. Assuming you keep the air-conditioner for five years, you will make a saving of close to Rs 20,000.

Now, what is the difference in the purchase price of a two-star and a five-star rated air-conditioner? Not more than Rs 9,000-10,000 for a 1.5 tonne air-conditioner. Thus, the higher initial outlay can be recovered from savings on power cost during the lifetime of the air-conditioner. Nevertheless, in both scenarios, air-conditioners involve maintenance costs as the free service ends after the first year. While minor works such as filter cleaning will be done for Rs 200-250, re-filling of gas will cost around Rs 1,500-2,000 plus manpower charges. However, if you take an annual maintenance contract, you may, for an outlay of around Rs 2,500 (for a split air-conditioner) a year, get your air-conditioner serviced.

RENTING OPTION

Given that purchase and maintaining an air-conditioner is a costly affair, how about taking an air-conditioner on rent? This helps if you want to use it only for a short period of time, for ad hoc purposes. A split air-conditioner can be hired for Rs 1,000-1,500 a month.

However, professionals such as chartered accounts, lawyer and others can claim depreciation on the air-conditioner they use and set it off against the total income for tax calculation. So, if you fall in this category, buying one may work out better.