It depends the usage.

If the living room is open space, and poor heat insulation, there won't be much difference between them.

But if the living room is small and more and less a closed space that cool air won't escape easily, inverter will save some electricity and provide a more stable coolness.

It should be no issue, as long as not in touch with wiring side, as condenser coil is wet most of the time when operation.

But pouring water may not solve or help anything one, you need some pressured water or air blower to clean the dirt that attached to the coil.

My mistake of mix up the term.

Inverter sensitive to lighting? means must be operated in dark?
Joking only.

Every electronic board also damage if there is lightning strike on it.

Inverter has an extra electronic board to control the DC motor as compared to non-inverter, that is.
So if when the board fail, then you will have a breakdown.

But to say avoid inverter due to it, is not making a lot of sense.

Unless the SA has experience a lot of similar breakdown on a particular model or batch of inverter, and advise according to it, then it is different story. But this is not about inverter vs non-inverter, but more be specific model or batch problem issue.

It is just like telling modern car has more electronic parts and more complex, hence buyer should avoid modern car as it prone to damage of electronic parts, so better buy a old carburetor engine car instead of electronic injection engine one.

It depends how the air-cond is used.

If undersized aircond which typically in big living area or dining area (whereby you don't have good heat insulation, aka cool air always can escape elsewhere, the inverter saving won't be much.), and air-cond need to work nearly 100% most of the time, then inverter won't save too much one.

But for bedroom that is small, inverter able to work at partial load most of the time, then you will see the saving.

Yes, inverter PCB can be expensive, more than Rm600 per board for 2HP is last quotation made by the repairmen to my company.

My factory got use inverter and PLC board (for machine), they won't last forever, they have their own expectancy lifetime.
Same with our computer motherboard, some may spoil after sometimes.

Sometimes, if the compressor is placed in a more harsh condition, (raining sunshine, dusty etc) it may quicken the lifetime of an electronic board.

There is why we still have 2 type, if one type is way superior and more cost effective, the other will died down quickly one naturally by market force.
But it didn't happen, which mean both have it own market and advantage that people still look for.

2HP is recommend as the living hall and dining area has no partition, your cool air will escape away.

1HP is definitely not enough.

1. Not recommended.
2. Inverter won't save you much in such a condition.
3. Non-inverter will not phase out, but gas R22 will. But you don't worry something 5 to 10 years down the road issue. Technology is constant changing. In distance future there may be newer gas that more environmentally come out, so change all the piping again?

If doing renovation now, then it is wise to choose the piping for R410A (so called "inverter" gas which in actual fact just a gas type, not related to inverter or non-inverter), but if the piping already pre-installed, then it depends on individual choice to redo now or later.

You count total wattage used by the electrical appliance.

Typical most house with single phase is equiped with max consumption about 60A.

And you need to look for individual dedicated wire from the DB as well, typically a single line from DB, mostly use 18 or 20A rated wire whereby you can see CB rating of 20A to protect the overload.

Summarise,
no problem for single phase to install the 4 air-cond.
But you cannot loop it with single wire to supply the 4 air-cond.
You need at least 2 or 3 dedicated wire from DB to supply the current to the 4 air-cond.

No such thing of only use more than 8 hours, then only inverter will save power.
Inverter will save power whenever condition permitted for its to run at partial load.

Just inverter cost is more expensive, hence if it is being used little only, then saving of electricity won't be exceeding the extra cost paying to the inverter, hence the myth of 8 hours being created.

Eg. you use 2 hours per day, potential average saving from inverter (which varied depended how it is used) let say
30%.

For 1 HP non-inverter - 0.75KW, 2 hours use 1.5KWH, so 30 days 45 KWH, if tariff is RM0.50/KWH then it consumes RM22.50 per month.

If change to inverter, you save 30%, aka around RM7, whole year, you save RM84, but inverter may cost more than RM300 as compared to non-inverter, hence there are people said, if use inverter for short hour, it doesn't save.

The risk of reliability part of inverter is on the inverter board (that convert AC to DC and control mechanism), which if spoilt can be quite costly.

The major risk is potential harsh environment of the compressor like rain, heat as the circuit board is placed with the compressor side.
So placement of compressor can be a key factor as well as the quality of the board itself.

Inverter /= cut down current draw.
Inverter draws the same or full current when full blast time (which is identical to non-inverter), it is the ability to be under partial load afterwards, that cut down the current draw, which is the major different between inverter and non-inverter.

This post has been edited by cherroy: May 4 2016, 01:11 PM

I don't know how the newer inverter being designed nowadays, but inverter means AC to DC conversion.

Hence the inverter compressor is a DC motor , even with the full load, the inverter still need to function by converting the incoming supply of AC to DC, so that the motor can run.

We can't by pass the inverter (aka leave the inverter out of picture), and take in incoming AC current to run the motor.

Inappropriate explanation.

Non-inverter
Aircond start up, run 100%, blowing cold air non-stop until reach the pre-set temperature, then compressor off, until the temperature rise up again. Aka non-inverter work on the basis on and off the compressor which supply the coldness.

Inverter
Aircond start up, run 100%, temperature start to lower down, then it slow down the compressor motor as the "coldness" needed is reduced, the slowing down of motor through the inverter is the key saving feature.

On start up,
both will blow cold air at 100%, little difference between them (set aside the EER, higher BTU of inverter due to higher pressure use)

No such thing of "non-inverter waste electricity during start up", (if we set aside the BTU issue).

I don't see how my explanation is differ from your chart showed.

During start up aka when you turn on the air-cond time, both inverter and non-inverter will consume 100% of power to cool off the room, hence that's where I said no such thing of "waste electricity during start up.
Start up - when you turn on the air-cond time.

When temperature start to approaching to pre-set room temperature, then that's where the inverter start to vary its load, which is the major different compared to non-inverter.

Air-cond may be more prompt to failure as compared to refrigerator, because air-cond work "harder" than refrigerator.

We seldom "hear" refrigerator running unless it is being opened time or only "hear" it to run for a long interval period.
While air-cond need to constant cool your room non-stop.
Most of the time, refrigerator is idle state, due to insulation of heat from outside.
Less work, less prompt to failure.

Somemore, refrigerator is positioning in the kitchen, while air-cond compressor generally is placed at outside that subjected to sun light heat, rain and a more harsh condition as compared.

This post has been edited by cherroy: May 4 2016, 09:13 PM

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Those so called "eco mode" (which may vary from brand to brand), is extra feature incorporated, eg, sensor can sense little activity in the room, hence the "eco mode" power down the cooling effect to minimal of the inverter, which in return save your electricity bill.

Not using eco mode /= non-inverter

Inverter still functioning as normal even with eco mode switch off.

Inverter is similar non-inverter when you full blast the air-cond, where your room temperature fail to drop to desired due to open air space etc, whereby the inverter needs to run 100% all the time or no partial load achieved.

Nowadays, there are non-inverter using R410 as well already.
So the piping cannot be called "inverter piping".

It is about the thickness of the piping that cater fro R410 operating pressure which is higher than old R-22 which is commonly used in non-inverter previously.

Worst case scenario/condition of the room, inverter consumption similar to non-inverter.

Setting too low temperature, room open space etc, whereby it is difficult for inverter to achieve desired temperature will result in full blast of inverter. A full blast inverter, its electricity consumption is similar to non-inverter.

This is when (inverter consumption similar or not significant less compared to non-inverter), non-inverter has an advantage over inverter, whereby you paid lesser for non-inverter.

That's where people said, inverter is not "worthwhile" in certain condition or being used less time, as the saving won't able to recoup the extra cost paid to non-inverter.

You need to understand how air-cond works in the first place.

Air-cond cut in or cut out (non-inverter) or reduce rpm in inverter based on temperature input, and the input comes from the sensor/thermostat that generally located at the blower air-intake route or just before the cooling coil/after the filter.
If the sensor fail to sense below 25 deg, (when the remote is set at 25), then the air-cond will continue to blow cool air, until the sensor read 25c from the air.

So the room size, blower positioning, clogged filter and various factors that affecting the sensor reading will result in the air-cond may not cut out.
Air-cond rely on the cut it/cut out (or lower rpm for inverter) mechanism for the room temperature control.

It is not the like you set 25c, then the blower will exactly blow out 25c cool air.
The setting of 25c means the intention to cool the room air surrounding to reach 25c, while if you measure the temperature of the air just in front of the blower, it may read way below 25c.

Sensor faulty, PCB control board faulty also may result the compressor running non-stop.

But mostly incorrect cut in/out is more about surrounding air situation, positioning, clogged filter etc.

Eg.
Air-cond is positioning way above our head, you feel 21c sitting below it, but at air-cond intake (that sensor located) that few feet above you, the air temp may be 25c, especially if the wall is hot or roof is hot.