I recently decided to install an air conditioner in my study. Naturally, caring about the environment (but not enough to forego my comfort) I chose the most energy efficient model on the market (the only 6 star split system).[1] Got a phone call yesterday – the importer is out of stock until mid-December. Apparently they so misread the demand for this unit that they have none to sell during the peak sales season!
[1] Search on www.energyrating.gov.au if you are interested (and not in a hurry).
What has this got to do with the carbon tax?
rossco, you are being deliberately obtuse and unobservant. Clearly the officers of the department of Climate Change are roaming the Simpson Desert with great big bags of corks when they should be at their desk ordering air conditioners.
The Mitsubishi Heavy Industry machines have a reputation for going the distance under heavy workloads, they tend to be popular for server rooms and building sites. They also quote higher outside noise than a Daikin (which is not the most efficient but does have a reputation for quietness).
Strangely, these figures are always rubbery.
http://www.comparison.com.au/air-conditioners/Daikin/FTXG25FVMAW-RXG25FVMA
The comparison site quotes the Daikin at 47 dBA, and the MHE at 60 dBA outside ambient sound. However my Daikin outdoor unit has a compliance plate indicating 62 dBA. So I check a site like this:
http://www.sengpielaudio.com/TableOfSoundPressureLevels.htm
They mark 60 dBA as normal conversation at 1m, or a noisy lawnmower at 10m and there is no way in the world my unit runs anywhere near as loud as that. I’d put it closer to 50 dBA based on my own observation. Maybe you want to get a chance to listen to the MHE in action, rather than just read the stats. Speaking of which, the efficiency stats appear to be based on the unit running full tilt, which is not realistic either. I run mine full tilt for about 10 minutes to get the room under control, and after that it just ticks over on low speed, so I would guess that actual energy consumption depends very much on circumstance.
Remember, if your neighbours hate you, there’s a chance you won’t survive long enough to see the Global Warming Catastrophic Armageddon Meltdown…
Tel, the subjective ‘loudness’ of a sound is only partly related to the SPL(dBA). Frequency also plays a massive part, due to our frequency-selective hearing. See Fletcher and Munson for more.
To summarise though, an airconditioner’s noise is mostly low frequency. A 60Hz tone hitting your ears at 62dBA would be a low hum, easily ignored, while 1kHz at 62dBA would be quite annoying.
So a ‘conversation’ (occupying roughly the band between 250Hz and 10kHz) would sound much louder than an airconditioner at the same instrumentally measured SPL.
Rossco: I’m implying that the prospect of a carbon tax has dramatically increased the demand for energy efficient air conditioners (or at least a/c systems that promise energy efficiency).
Whether the advertised most energy efficient system (the MHI system) is the best system is another question. Tel thinks it is not because of noise issues. My understanding is that the efficiency ratings are calculated at some performance level below ‘full tilt’ (but that might make them even more rubbery).
Bruce
I think you are drawing a long bow to make that link on the basis of trying to buy one model air conditioner. Could be right but I would want to see a lot more evidence.
If people were really concerned about a link between the carbon tax and increased electricity costs the demand for air conditioners generally would be in decline. Haven’t seen any sign of that as yet