Air conditioners and Amazon - 3 un/related topics

[kalakoa]

glad to see the start up load was a non-issue

(Some) modern aircon units have DC compressors.

[randomq]

Tempting... But as soon as I got one, the SO would be running it every day, guaranteed!

[terracore]

"(Some) modern aircon units have DC compressors."

I believe those are called inverter units? They are about 25% more energy efficient than what I have. The technology is only just now making it's way to window units, and the up-front cost isn't worth it yet. As I understand it, the compressors don't cycle, they increase or decrease as needed.

"Tempting... But as soon as I got one, the SO would be running it every day, guaranteed!"

We had to agree before purchase that barring an air emergency, we would only run it when we have sufficient solar power.

ETA: inverter tech

[JohnDW]

You might have a look at the Winix air purifier. The upside is it's relatively inexpensive,cheap to operate, quiet, zero installation hassles, three filters, two of which are washable; it definitely helps. Whether or not it does much good against some of the toxins we're now breathing is questionable however. We run it in the bedroom a few hours before we go in, and then through the night. A small but pleasant comfort. If I were a real capitalist I'd buy a couple of pallets and sell them at the Maku'u Market.

Un Mojado Sin Licencia

[dayna]

Obie is it the whirlpool model?

Dayna

www.E-Z-Caps.com

[HereOnThePrimalEdge]

today I fear we will no longer have a house.

Obie,
I wish you & your wife well, as much as possible, under the circumstances.

Portion of Hawaii’s drinking water that comes from underground wells : 9/10
Gallons of raw sewage that leak into the ground from Hawaii cesspools each day : 53,000,000 - Harper's Index

[dayna]

edited to delete my email

Dayna

www.E-Z-Caps.com

[Obie]

Sent email,deleted my posts .

[msky]

I have the AC you describe. I don't use it, but got it for my brother who no longer needs it. I also have a dehumidifier and an Oxygen generator and two nebulizers. Let me know if you're interested and I'll post contact info.....you'll need to pick it up though.....it's kind of heavy for me. BTW....it's an LG I got at Home Depot. It wasn't used very much.

Morgan

quote:

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Originally posted by terracore

With the possibility of bad air being constantly in our forecast I wanted to get an air conditioner so that if we had to close all our doors and windows we wouldn't also have to battle heat exhaustion.

At first I wanted a portable air conditioner- one that I could move from room to room (they use tubes to hook up to the outside). This paragraph only serves as a warning. They are incredibly energy inefficient. Air conditioners have an "energy efficiency rating" (EER) that compare their energy consumption to the BTUs they deliver. The portable units had EERs between 2-3. A crappy window A/C was around 10, 11 was the norm, and "energy star" was about 12.2. (higher numbers are better) Portable air conditioners I researched used between 940-1200 watts to deliver the same cooling capacity as a cheap window unit burning 360-700 watts. Also, the portable units cost at least twice as much. If you are looking to move a portable air conditioner between two rooms, it's actually cheaper to buy two window units in the upfront cost, and in the ongoing cost you'll save money forever, even if you frequently run them both at the same time.

I checked out Home Depot and Walmart for air conditioners today. I wasn't impressed, so I went home and looked at Amazon and found a model I was interested in. Since I have Prime, ordering an appliance is usually a PASS/FAIL situation. Either they let you order to be shipped to Hawaii, or they do not. They let me order it, but instead of free prime shipping, I had to select between two different shipping charges (I think Expedited or Express). Around $25 and $31 for 6 or 7 day delivery.

I got on the amazon chat and inquired. The first time they offered no explanation but told me to place the order, give them the order number, and that they would waive the shipping charges. But while chatting I was getting buyers remorse on the unit I selected and decided I wasn't ready to order yet, so I thanked them and left the chat. I eventually found a different unit I wanted that looked like my solar array would run it and.... same problem. "Choose your Prime shipping options." No free options. Back to the chat I went.

On the next chat agent I inquired more specifically why this was happening and it explained that my zip code had no "standard" shipping cost available so I had to choose between Expedited or Express, but to place the order and that they would try to take the shipping cost off, but that there was no guarantee, but they could cancel it if I wasn't okay with the shipping cost. I placed the order and they were able to remove the shipping cost.

Amazon prime cost just went up from $99 to $119. What I gathered from my experience today is that free prime shipping to Hawaii is 1) either coming to an end or will have limitations or 2) some things that they would never ship to Hawaii they will if you pay a shipping cost. I'm hoping it's the latter.

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[knieft]

terracore,

Still happy with the Whirlpool Energy Star 6,000 Btu 115V Window-Mounted Air Conditioner with Remote Control?

Cheers,
Kirt