LOL, they will revolutionize the way remote control is done. Jog dial temperature and fan speed. Smart home enable with Airport, integrate with your iphone when gas runs low or there's a leakage. Or Siri enabled voice command.

As kimsim mentioned, floor dimension plan will determine what HP to use based on the room orientation, etc. I have shared this in a another post #1213 in this thread.

Another point to note which is not normally a concern but because yours is a 3 storey house. The issue where the compressor will be placed relative to the rooms has to be considered esp in a tall dwelling. For up to two storeys, this is not much of an issue as most houses have ledges where compressor is placed there.

The concern is where the compressors will be sited and how long the pipe runs vertically. Some owners can be quite particular in that they prefer AC compressor be placed alongside one side of the house at a certain height for easier maintenance. Most will just use the AC ledge if built with the dwelling. Assuming that your compressor is placed outside the balcony/AC ledge no issue. But if it's going to be lower like just above the first floor level (for easy servicing and maintenance reach) then take note how high the pipe runs vertically to their outlet esp to the units of the upper floors like the 3rd floor.

The reason is even if the HP is sized correctly per room, the compressor may not last or perform according to spec if the max height difference is exceeded. Different AC compressor have different max height tolerances (how far up they can pump the refrigerant into the indoor blower unit) according to their HP and whether inverter or non-inverter model.

I give some example here but not all models listed as they don't have this info available and and newer models spec subject to change.

Max vertical height/piping length for both 1 HP and 1.5HP single split AC unless specifically indicated
Panasonic 5m/15m (inverter)
Panasonic 5m/10m (1.0HP non-inverter)
Panasonic 5m/15m (1.5HP non-inverter)
Sharp (1.0 HP non-inverter) 3m/15m or 5m/15m
Sharp (1.5 HP non-inverter) 5m/15m or 7m/15m
Sharp (inverter) 7m/15m
Samsung (non-inverter) 7m/15m
Samsung (inverter) 8m/15m
Hitachi (inverter) 10m/20m
Hitachi (non-inverter) 10m/15m
Daikin (inverter R22&R410a, non-inverter) 15m/25m

Max vertical height/piping length for 2 HP single split AC
Panasonic (inverter) 15m/20m
Panasonic (non-inverter) 20m/25m
Sharp (inverter) 10m/15m
Sharp (non-inverter) 10m/15m or 10m/20m
Samsung (inverter) 15m/30m
Samsung (non-inverter) 7m/15m
Hitachi (inverter) 10m/20m
Hitachi (non-inverter) 10m/15m
Daikin (inverter R22 & R410a) 20m/30m
Daikin (non-inverter) 15m/30m

Max vertical height/piping length for 2.5HP single split
Panasonic (inverter) 15m/20m
Panasonic (non-inverter) 20m/25m
Sharp (inverter) 10m/15m
Sharp (non-inverter) 10m/15m or 10m/20m
Samsung (inverter) 15m/30m
Samsung (non-inverter) 8m/20m
Hitachi (inverter) 20m/30m
Hitachi (non-inverter) 10m/15m or 10m/20m depending on model
Daikin (inverter) 20m/30m
Daikin (non-inverter) 15m/30m

Max vertical height/piping length for 3.0HP single split AC
Panasonic (non-inverter) 20m/30m
Hitachi (non-inverter) 10m/30m
Daikin (inverter R22 & R410a) 20m/30m
Daikin (non-inverter) 15m/30m

Some specs shows why certain AC is expensive. It's the ability of the compressor to deliver refrigerant vertically. They were a spec of market environment where homes in the old days when transitioning from window AC (merged compressor and blower unit) to split blower/compressor units. Sometimes the compressor is placed very far below the blower because in those days the houses lacks a dedicated ledge or even an available balcony to locate a compressor as they are designed today (AC ledges) and hence compressor placement has to run very far below or above along the outer structure of the building.

Again, this is not something 98% commonly experienced with our dwelling but older apartments and tall houses (more than 2 stories) with certain design feature lacking or wanting to uniformly place all compressor at a certain height may encounter.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Aug 1 2014, 02:38 PM

Yes, an important advice.

Mitsubishi Electric (Melco) is one of the brands for single split where 2.5HP is one size up than the rest. 3/8" (9.52mm) vs 1/4" (6.35mm) for liquid (returning to condenser) pipe.

The only other type is ceiling AC where crossing 2HP, have to beware like Melco that liquid pipe (returning to condenser) scenario: one size up.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Aug 5 2014, 09:25 AM

fair share as in to learn that I can't use it with my current piping.

Mitsubishi has new inverter 1.0 and 1.5HP. MSZ-FH25/35 here. I called Melco and was told it cost almost 4K. The COP and input W is impressive though bringing down the annual consumption to 940kWh and 1480kWh which is leagues better than what's in the market.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Aug 5 2014, 03:27 PM

Thanks for sharing about the drain pan issue re:Daikin & York. Ultimately maintainence should be easy.

Another plus on the Melco MSY series inverters 1.0 & 1.5HP, it has the narrowest width compared to Daikin and others. For locating compressors in tight space this is a plus.

One interesting AC compressor tidbit: In HK, a lot of buildings rely on wall mounted non-split AC. As the trend gives way to split ACs there's an interesting requirement for their market where they re-use the old AC ledge. The connections to the flarings are behind and not on the side. See link here.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Aug 7 2014, 01:52 PM

The MSZ is also found overseas. Google the model and it's also a heating and cooling.

In Thailand, Saijo Denki (literally Best Electrical or Best Denki if you will) produce a 1 HP at 17.57 EER. It's listed in Singapore's NEA Database of Registered Goods has the 1HP rated at 5.72 and 5.47 for full load and part load. The annual consumption is 987kWH.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Aug 8 2014, 02:41 PM

Also need to take note of the following factor when owing R410a: Refrigerant pre-heating during standby consumes around 20-80W depending on model. Link here.

Reading through the thread gives an insight why AC compressor dies prematurely.

Your experience bear out w other brands like Hitachi I suppose. You manage to get the MSY-GE10VA last 3 months. Is it still available? The GJ10VA still underperforms compares to it.

Thanks for sharing. You've convinced me to narrow down further

Which other ACs you've seen that has easy to reach drain pan in the indoor unit besides ME and Pana? Would you consider Pana? What about Fujitsu?

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Aug 8 2014, 05:32 PM

Fujitsu not common but electrical dealers can order. Thanks again, seems like my choices are now simpler.

Set it to 28 with 1 or 2 speed fan. Humid enough that the lungs don't dry out but cool enough that the body doesn't feel too sticky. My kids room is set to this temperature for 4 years and the eldest one don't suffer from asthma. The aircond still works and is clean due to it's self-cleaning function.

ME Kirigamine arrive in SG?

What's the retail price in SG?

Looks quite ok. Black is good color though even for the extra price. Timeless. Most whites will yellow over time.

If you're in your place for the long haul....

The west/southwest wall is always problematic. It's going to bake the occupants as if inside an oven until 3am. You may need 2-3hp at least to deal with the heat.

To retain the 1.5hp consider the following not so straight forward alternative.
If this dwelling is landed and corner lot, you can:
1. Plant a shady tree but that will take easily a few years. Bushida trees grows fast. [Edit: Alternative a wall of bamboo but inside a long planter box or a series of planter boxes]
2. build an external awning, permanent louvre or say another cladding in front of it with an air gap, that might reduce the need to change air cond.
3. Paint the exterior wall with heat reflective paint from Dulux/Nippon or the best (expensive) Mascoat WeatherBloc.

If condo, the occupant has no control over the exterior so the solution is more or less limited.

A. Internal cladding with airgap
Unless there's a high ceiling like 12' and plaster ceiling is at least 4-6" below the beam with in which case a radical solution below might work:
1. Clad 3"-4" inwards from west southwest wall with insulation like rock wool battens inside and cover with partition board or wood veneer all the way into and past the plaster ceiling. The plaster ceiling must not cover it but rather allow heated trapped air to rise into the ceiling space. At all times the surface of the battens must not come into contact with the partition board. There are techniques for this but all it does is prevent heat from conducting inwards.
2. Have a ceiling extractor fan extract accumulated heated air into toilet ceiling space. This implies opening a 4" hole for ducting to go through.
3. From toilet, the ducting terminates near window over which a louvre is installed.
4. A window extractor fan deals with the rejected heat by extracting it out of the building or the ducting comes down and goes out the window. An extractor fan like this works well.

B. Thick curtains with heat reflective material from ceiling to floor all round the west/south west wall.
The curtains cannot touch the wall otherwise the heat is conducted inwards. An air gap is needed.

C. Mascoat Weatherbloc
Not conventional but doable. Then paint over it.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Sep 22 2014, 11:54 AM

Any comments on usage, how fast it cools the room compared to the model you replaced with? Plasma ions - any headaches experienced, etc?

To achieve equivalent cooling R410a has to be at 1.6 times the operating pressure of R22 which dictates the thicker pipes. If the new refrigerant that replaces R410a requires less pressure then it won't matter if you change to thicker piping. The headache comes when they ratify R32 or R1234yf or R290 as the new refrigerant that replaces R410a (0 ODP but 2088 GWP) and it's operating pressure for equivalent cooling function is greater than R410a.

You can use R22 inverter (Daikin). But if long term is concern and willing to suffer one time pain install good quality AC pipes like Paircoil (Inaba Denko or Smartco) or Armaflex meant for inverters. The thickness should exceed 0.61mm and some are around 0.8mm. Totally avoid China brand types.

ODP = Ozone Depleting Potential. R11 = 1
GWP = Greenhouse Warming Pontential. CO2 = 1
Source: A Step Towards More Environmentally Friendly AC - Systems and Heat Pumps

Sidenote: It seems that R32 is gaining traction in China and other countries. But the refrigerant itself is mildly flammable but has toxicity issues as documented here.

This post has been edited by halcyon27: Sep 24 2014, 01:41 PM

Does the Samsung triangle ac needs an extra wire for it to work?