When choosing the best air conditioner for his home or office, he will consider the popular inverter and non-inverter air conditioner choices.
Everyone wants the best efficient, eco-friendly, and budget-friendly air conditioner to live comfortably and breathe clean, quality air.
Numerous air conditioners are sold yearly, and an average household spends approximately 10 per cent of its utility bill on only cooling units.
This brings the question of how to choose the best air conditioning unit. There are quite a few elements that affect one’s decision. Still, one of the most significant parts to consider before purchasing one is how to choose between the two technologies: inverter and non-inverter.
Key Takeaways
- Inverter air conditioners use variable-speed compressors to adjust the cooling output, making them more energy-efficient and providing consistent room temperature.
- Non-inverter air conditioners use fixed-speed compressors, which turn on and off to maintain the desired temperature, resulting in higher energy consumption and fluctuations in room temperature.
- Both inverter and non-inverter air conditioners are designed to cool indoor spaces, with inverter air conditioners offering greater energy efficiency and more stable temperature control than non-inverter air conditioners.
Inverter vs Non-Inverter Air Conditioner
Non-inverter air conditioners operate by turning the compressor on and off, resulting in temperature fluctuations and higher energy consumption. Inverter air conditioners use a variable speed compressor to adjust cooling or heating capacity according to the room’s temperature, making them more energy-efficient and providing more comfortable.
Comparison Table
Parameter of Comparison | Inverter Air conditioner | Non-inverter air conditioner |
---|---|---|
Cost | It is more expensive than a non-inverter air conditioner. | It is comparatively less expensive than the Inverter air conditioner. |
Life span | It has a longer lifespan than non-inverter air conditioners. | Its lifespan is comparatively less than inverter air conditioners. |
Noise | Inverter air conditioners are quieter when running. | Non-inverter air conditioners make noise while running. |
Energy efficiency | They save more energy than non-inverter air conditioners because of their sophisticated mode of operation. | They consume more energy than inverter air conditioners. |
Technology | Its compressor runs at full speed to regulate the temperature as required. | It operates either at full or no power when turned off. |
What is an Inverter Air Conditioner?
An inverter is an energy-saving technology that eliminates unnecessary operation in air conditioners by effectively managing the speed of the motor.
Air conditioners sustain the desired temperature by cooling when the room temperature rises above the desired temperature and heating when the room temperature drops below the desired temperature.
An inverter air conditioner has a varying-speed compressor motor that changes the refrigerant flow inside the unit to manage its cooling and heating capacity as needed. The speed of the compressor motor is directly proportional to the frequency of the power supply.
It uses a variable-frequency sensor to manage the speed of the motor, which regulates the refrigerant flow inside the inverter to supply the right amount of heating or cooling as required.
This helps to get rid of the start-stop cycles, hence improving the air conditioner’s energy efficiency.
The benefit of Inverter Technology:
Every air conditioner has a maximum peak load. A 1.5-ton Air conditioner is suitable for a particular size of room and 1 ton for another size.
A normal air conditioner of 1.5ton capacity will run at an optimum power requirement when the compressor runs. It will run continuously but will pull out only that much power needed to keep the desired temperature.
So, it automatically adjusts its capacity based on the requirement of the room in which it is cooling. Thus, the main benefit of inverter technology is that it draws quite less power and consumes fewer units of electricity than non-inverter technology.
Although the air conditioners with Inverter Technology adjust according to the room temperature requirement, getting the right-sized air conditioner installed in the room is essential.
What is a Non-Inverter Air Conditioner?
An air conditioner unit having a constant-speed compressor motor is a non-inverter air conditioner. Unlike an inverter air conditioner, the compressor automatically goes on and off instead of running at full speed throughout.
The compressor goes off when it reaches the set temperature and resumes again after the temperature increases. Because of the repeated on-off cycles, the compressor always works at high power, which thus creates a lot of noise while running.
It uses more electricity, making the air conditioner less energy efficient than the inverter ones.
Main Differences Between Inverter and Non-Inverter Air Conditioners
- The compressor of the inverter air conditioner runs at full speed constantly to maintain the required temperature. The non-inverter air conditioner runs on an ‘all or none’ based principle, i.e. it operates at either full or no power.
- The inverter technology saves more energy than the non-inverter type because of its effective method of operation. The non-inverter technology uses more electricity because of the constant on-and-off frequency.
- The inverter air conditioner uses a variable frequency method to maintain the speed of the motor and the compressor. On the other hand, a non-inverter has a constant speed compressor that automatically goes on and off all the time.
- The inverter technology does not make a noise while running. The non-inverter air conditioners make a lot of noise while functioning.
- The life span of inverter air conditioners is more than that of non-inverter air conditioners.
- Inverter air conditioners are more expensive as compared to non-inverter air conditioners. The non-inverter air conditioners are less costly than the inverter ones.