What is the Power Consumption of Inverter AC ?

If you are thinking of purchasing an AC, you would want to buy an AC of the most advanced technology. In the market, if you search for an AC of the latest innovation and technology you will come across Inverter AC.

Inverter ACs are designed to consume energy and that in-turn will save around 50% of electricity over a non-inverter AC. From the year 2016, BEE started providing inverter ACs with star ratings.

Several people have the misconception that the only work of an AC is to throw cool air. But only a few of them know how an AC works. People also don’t know that ACs are of different types. ACs can be classified into two types: Inverter and Non-Inverter AC.

In this article, we will discuss inverter as well as non-inverter ACs. How they are made to save electricity, produce less noise yet maintain the cool in the room.

What is Inverter AC and How Does it Work?

The main advantage of an inverter AC is that it can control the speed of the compressor. This means that when the compressor requires more power, it is provided with more power. Similarly, when it requires less power, it is provided with less power.

For this particular type of AC, its compressor always remains in the “ON” state. The compressor motor of the AC keeps regulating and checking the inside temperature. The inverter technology was first developed in Japan and became very popular in just a few years. This inverter technology is widely used in refrigerators as well as ACs.

How Does Inverter ACs Work?

These ACs are equipped with motors having shifting speed. According to the requirement of the temperature, the motor compressor speed gets adjusted. After the motor gets to the desired temperature of the room, the compressor motor keeps running at minimum speed. Along with this, the room temperature is maintained. Since the motor does not stop running, 40% of electricity gets to save.

The moment you turn “on” the inverter AC, it starts with full power and keeps running at variable speeds without turning on and off continuously. This makes the power consumption less. The lifespan of inverter ACs is more since the motor keeps running continuously. This lessens the workload of the motor. Inverter ACs also make less noise and the probability of wear and tear between the parts of the AC reduces.

What is a Non-Inverter AC?

The operation of a non-inverter AC is quite different from that of an inverter AC. These ACs consist of a single-speed compressor and single tonnage. Once you turn “on” these ACs, the motor compressor starts working. The motor compressor attains full power and reaches the desired temperature of the room. Once the desired temperature is reached, the motor compressor turns “off”. Once again after the temperature of the room starts decreasing, the motor compressor turns “on”.

How Does the Inverter ACs Work?

The working of a regular AC is quite different from that of an inverter AC. The compressor of an inverter AC motor does not run continuously. Instead, it switches “on” and “off” at regular time intervals. This makes the power consumed by the AC substantially more and makes it less efficient.

When you turn the AC “on”, the compressor motor also turns “on”. After the AC reaches the desired temperature, it turns the compressor motor “off”. Again, when the desired temperature starts decreasing, the motor compressor switches “on”.

Depending on the load of the room’s heat, the non-inverter ACs cannot adjust its speed or tonnage. You need to understand that the heat load of every single room is different even if the size of the room is the same.

Inverter ACs adjust themselves according to the heat load of the room. Whereas, a regular AC is fixed and does not adjust itself. According to the BEE star power ratings, the energy efficiency of a 3-star inverter AC is 7% better than a regular AC having the same rating.

Inverter Vs Non-Inverter AC Power Consumption Chart

When you compare the power consumption of an inverter and non-inverter AC, the result is quite clear. Inverter ACs consume at least 5-10% less power when compared with non-inverter ACs.

This is just because of the mere fact that the requirement of current for non-inverter ACs is much more than inverter ACs. The current requirement of inverter AC decreases as they have a motor having variable speed. Also, less current is consumed by inverter ACs during startup when compared with non-inverter ACs.

The power factor of inverter ACs is near to unity. Having a high power factor results in consuming less electricity. This in turn means that power consumption by the AC is low. For non-inverter ACs, the power factor is low. This makes the consumption of electricity more and thus more power consumption.

On the basis of the data released in the year 2018 by BEE, a chart has been made. This chart represents the power consumed by the ACs of different ratings and tonnage. Let’s have a look.

Final Word:

Now, you know what is the main difference between inverter and non-inverter ACs and how does each of them work. When it comes to power consumed by each type of the AC, it has been noticed that inverter ACs consume much less power than non-inverter ACs.

If you are comparing between the two solely depending on power consumption, inverter ACs are better. We hope that we could clear your doubts regarding both the ACs. If you are still confused regarding any of the two, feel free to write to us.