# are hitachi ACs worth the extra money?



## sam1 (Feb 11, 2013)

hi everyone. i'm planning to buy a window AC (1.5 Ton) for my house. i have been told by some of my neighbours and friends that hitachi ACs are very good. is it true? moreover, is it worth the extra money, compared to samsung/lg ? also, if someone could suggest some models, it would be very helpful.


----------



## kARTechnology (Feb 11, 2013)

I have a hitachi _windows_ ac 1.5 ton, its good...
but you can go for ogeneral/daikin as they are very good, 
I have ogeneral split 1.5 and 2 ton and its super, my friends have 10-20 ac's of this in their office and it has good performance in very hot conditions also 53 degrees celcius
don't worry about model number as in ogeneral it depends on the capacity and star rating you use
i have this 


and don't no model no as i bought many years ago


----------



## Sarath (Feb 11, 2013)

As someone who owns one, I would happily recommend them.


----------



## ratul (Feb 12, 2013)

i own a 1.5 ton hitachi windows AC (RAV518ESD), and i assure you that it's all worth the extra money, don't know about all the brands, but i've seen Voltas, LG, Samsung in my friend's house, and each one of them has to run their AC's @ ~18c in extreme temps here in delhi to cool the room properly, while i run mine on 23c and gets almost the same result, also it's 5-Star BEE rated, which means that it really saves you alot of power..
Their customer service in delhi has been good, register a complaint, and they are @ your place in 24-48hrs, now it's been more than a year since i own this model and no fault has occurred since then, i only needed to call them two times coz of the free service of the unit, they give you 3 free services (2 dry 1 wet) during the 1 yr. warranty period..
I only trust few brands in ac segment : Hitachi, O-General, daikin, panasonic..


----------



## sam1 (Feb 12, 2013)

thanks for the response guys, appreciate it.


----------



## randomuser111 (Feb 12, 2013)

Absolutely worth it and HIGHLY recommended. Other good brands are General, Daikin and Panasonic for ACs


----------



## tkin (Feb 12, 2013)

Hitachi ACs are worth the extra money if you could afford them.


----------



## RishiGuru (Feb 18, 2013)

After some six months of market study, personal experiences and in visiting various dealers/ showrooms I reached to the conclusion there are *NO* ‘number one ’ or ‘number two ’ between air conditioner manufacturers. Some companies like Hitachi & Daikin are revered in India and sale only self proclaimed 'premium quality ' air conditioners due to their face value where as general consumer appliance manufacturers like LG & Samsung have their range from the very bottom to the top. Hitachi have an unprecedented reputation in India which they built through the last two decades when there was simply no competition at their level on Indian market by providing excellent products at sky high prices. Amazingly even today with their extra-high quoted price people go by hype and buy them blindly cause its a 'Hitachi'.

But for sensible buyers who wants the most out of his rupee find the current landscape to have changed a lot with multiple international air conditioner companies jumping in the lucrative and nascent Indian air conditioner market raising the performance bar even higher with cut throat competition. This is a boon for us buyers. In the Inverter air conditioner market I find Hitachi and Daikin as just two players along with Sharp, Panasonic, LG, Mitsubishi and Carrier. 

After personally experiencing the Sharp, LG and Hitachi Inverter air conditioners, I found Sharp and LG's to be much superior than the similar Hitachi/Daikin ones in terms of performance, reliability and product quality. LG uses the most advanced technology of all Inverter air conditioners currently available in India and one will be a lucky to get their 1.5 Ton version at less than INR 54K. Also the product quality of their Inverter air conditioners are in altogether different premium level in comparison to their non-Inverter air conditioners models.

At the end I went for  two 1.5 Ton Sharp Eco-Inverter air conditioners having in-built *Plusmacluster* air purifier technology. My 1.5 Ton *Sharp AH-XP18MV* Inverter air conditioners comes fully imported from Thailand with an MRP of INR 50K. The indoor unit looks gorgeous, have amazing cooling performance capability and just oozes quality. If one can really bargain well he will get them for 43K. And if one can really really bargain like me, he will get them at 41K, below which the dealer will simply refuse to sale since their profit margin falls below 1K. In comparison the best price I got for the Hitachi i-Clean non-Inverter 1.5 Ton, 5 star air conditioner was a sky high 42K where as their i-Tec Inverter 1.5 Ton costs an earth shattering 56K!!! 

Sharp 1.5 Ton Inverter air conditioners comes out on top with class leading *cooling performance* scientifically measured as* COP of 3.66 (W/W)* and *EER of 12.49 (Btu/hW)* and at the same time be more environmentally conscious by using less R410A gas. Performance & efficiency speaks. In contrast the Daikin could manage a COP of just 3.23 and EER of 11 max while Hitachi does a little better of COP of 3.51 and EER of 12. Mind you both of them cost a minimum of 15K more than Sharp!!! 

COP of some 1.5 Ton Inverter air conditioners available in India:

*Sharp (AH-XP18MV):* 3.66
*Hitachi (RAS018EQE):* 3.51
*LG (BS-Q186C7M1):* 3.34
*Carrier (42CVSR018-703):* 3.31
*Panasonic (CS-S18NKYP):* 3.27
*Daikin (FTKS50):* 3.23
*Mitsubishi (MSY-GE18VA):* 3.12

Sharp Inverters not only have the best cooling performance in 1.5 Ton category, it has one of the widest cooling capacity range. As Inverter air conditioners are constantly varying its cooling capacity according to the needs, when set temperature is achieved the Hitachi will climb down from its rated cooling capacity 5.33 kW to minimum of 2.37 kW to save power consumption, Daikin will climb even lower from their rated 5 kW to 1.7 kW to save more power, Sharp will climb down from rated 5.27 kW to even lower 1.6 kW and consume even less power under part load. 

Comparison of cooling capacity range (Min - Rated - Max):

*LG (BS-Q186C7M1):* (0.9 - 5.2 - 6) kW. *Range:* 6 - 0.9 = 5.10 kW
*Sharp (AH-XP18MV):* (1.6 - 5.27 - 6) kW. *Range:* 6 - 1.6 = 4.40 kW
*Daikin (FTKS50):* (1.7 - 5 - 6) kW. *Range:* 6 - 1.7 = 4.30 kW
*Mitsubishi (MSY-GE18VA)*: (1.4 - 5 - 5.4) kW. *Range:* 5.4 - 1.4 = 4 kW
*Hitachi (RAS018EQE):* (2.37 - 5.33 - 6.04) kW. *Range:* 6.04 - 2.37 = 3.67 kW

LG Inverters are simply unbeatable with their widest cooling capacity range of 5.10 kW and under part load conditions can come down from their rated 5.2 kW to an amazing 0.9 kW consuming very very less power. Hats of to LG to perform such a technically daunting task for controlling a 6 kW compressor to run smoothly at just 0.9 kW!!!

*I immediately dumped the Hitachi for their un-justified sky high pricing and went for Sharp Inverters, other reasons being their excellent customer support and after sales service provided in Kolkata. If I had the budget of over INR 1 lakh, would have definitely gone for these LGs all the way for my two rooms.*

Below are some points in reference to LG 1.5 Ton Inverter air conditioner (BS-Q186C7M1) which I believe makes them the class leader in India:

*1)* Most powerful airflow of all Inverters out there with a maximum indoor airflow rate of 19.5 cubic meter/min which can extend upto 30 feet. In contrast Daikin can do a max of 14.7, Hitachi a 16.7 and Sharp a 16.8. Personal experiences with Hitachi, LG and Sharp affirm this to be true. LG pumps chilling cool windblasts!!!

*2)* Indoor Unit is super silent thanks to the use of unique skew fan which minimizes surface pressure of the fan blade when in contact with air thus reducing peak noise and is powered by the most powerful brush-less DC motor using Neodymium magnets ever used in indoor units in India. Use of Neodymium magnets inside the motor greatly enhances efficiency and torque, capable to revolve the fan at much higher revolutions per minute resulting in phenomenal windblasts. Being brush-less they produce very less noise. Personal experiences with Hitachi, LG and Sharp affirm this to be true. LG currently hold the record of India's lowest noise level of 19 dB.

*3)* As Inverter air conditioners are constantly varying its cooling capacity according to the needs, LG Inverters are simply unbeatable with their widest cooling capacity range of 5.10 kW and under part load conditions can come down from their rated 5.2 kW to an amazing 0.9 kW consuming very very less power. 

*4)* Like Sharp uses of all-aluminium condensers with canalicular tubing on there outdoor units which are the next step towards advanced technology and improved efficiency where the refrigerant enters multiple tubes at the same time, therefore enhancing the air conditioners performance and reduce the power consumption. 

*5)* While LG uses the same type of ionizer air purifier as Sharp Plasmacluster, it adds a air filter to remove harmful substances floating in the air which is an added bonus.

*6)* Just awesome built quality. Triple thumbs up here. Please do not mix it with other LG non-Inverters here. They do not even come close.

Would have definitely gone for these LGs all the way if I had a budget of over INR 1 lakh for my both rooms.


----------



## tkin (Feb 18, 2013)

TL;DR.


----------



## RishiGuru (Feb 18, 2013)

tkin said:


> TL;DR.



If you cannot contribute to a thread, please do not comment.


----------



## The Incinerator (Feb 19, 2013)

They have these plasmacluster in their refrigerators too. Im using a Sharp ,3 Hitachis and two Carriers. In real world the Hitachis gave me and is giving me the best performance even after 6, 4 and two years of usage.Its because the Compressors are absolutely great. Though Hitachi mentions the compressors are 1.5ton but in reality they are 1.7ton. So even after years of running I still get the promised cooling or chilling. And Yes they have been very very reliable.

Now the Sharp ( Non Inverter) is also a good machine but cant be compared to the Hitachi. Been problem free to.

Carriers, cools ok but full of niggling problems from remote breaking down to start up failures condenser failing....disgusting and bad bad ASS.  Avoid them.


Was thinking of getting a Mitsubishi for the music room but now will try and get a Trane  from middle east the 60 cycles one. Been fan of Trane ver since I lived in the ME.


----------



## RishiGuru (Feb 19, 2013)

The Incinerator said:


> They have these plasmacluster in their refrigerators too.



Sharp uses their Plamsacluster technology from their air purifiers to air conditioners to refrigerators to  .... beauty care products like hair dryers. Makes me laugh and think of it as a marketing gimmick. I believe they want to include this technology in every product they make.

I do not know if it really kills bacteria & fungi but it definitely removes any odor from my room. So a +1 to Plamsacluster from my side. 



The Incinerator said:


> Im using a Sharp ,3 Hitachis and two Carriers.



Are all of them non-Inverters? 

Time has moved on, in Japan all ACs are inverters so I believe non-Inverters are running at the end of their life cycle.    



The Incinerator said:


> In real world the Hitachis gave me and is giving me the best performance even after 6, 4 and two years of usage.Its because the Compressors are absolutely great. Though Hitachi mentions the compressors are 1.5ton but in reality they are 1.7ton. So even after years of running I still get the promised cooling or chilling. And Yes they have been very very reliable.



They better do so. With a norm of INR 10K to 15K premium over other AC manufactures they better provide compressors which have 10% extra with better product quality.

I still do not understand the logic behind the pricing of Hitachi air conditioners in India. They follow their own pricing standards with no relevance to the market. Comparing 1.5 Ton Inverters of Sharp & Hitachi, the later costs 15K more for no reason whatsoever. Actually I found Sharp one to be technologically superior than the Hitachi with better performance and product quality. And am I saying this after long hours of experience with both their inverters.



The Incinerator said:


> the Sharp ( Non Inverter) is also a good machine but cant be compared to the Hitachi. Been problem free to.



Would love to know the model no and its price. Assume a price difference of over 10K with the Hitachi's.



The Incinerator said:


> Carriers, cools ok but full of niggling problems from remote breaking down to start up failures condenser failing....disgusting and bad bad ASS.  Avoid them.



My uncle is using three Carriers, all 5 star rated, for over 4 years. Running smooth with zero breakdown. Actually my uncle recommended Carriers after knowing I want to buy ACs.

So from my uncle's side, Carriers makes great products having awesome ASS.  



The Incinerator said:


> Was thinking of getting a Mitsubishi for the music room but now will try and get a Trane  from middle east the 60 cycles one. Been fan of Trane ver since I lived in the ME.



Go for their Inverter models. Energy saving and more efficient.


----------



## The Incinerator (Feb 19, 2013)

Yes all of them are non inverters and two ACs are window,One Hitachi and one Carrier. 

The Sharps model Number is AH-AP18LMT


----------



## RishiGuru (Feb 19, 2013)

The Incinerator said:


> Yes all of them are non inverters and two ACs are window,One Hitachi and one Carrier.
> 
> The Sharps model Number is AH-AP18LMT



Thanks for the Sharps model number. The Hitachi split you are comparing with costs the same?

Or does it cost a good deal more?


----------



## The Incinerator (Feb 20, 2013)

Around Rs 4K to 6K more, I dont remember.


----------



## RishiGuru (Feb 20, 2013)

The Incinerator said:


> RishiGuru said:
> 
> 
> > The Incinerator said:
> ...



*Claim No. 1:* Hitachi does better cooling as the compressors are more powerful than they are rated

*Claim No. 2:* Both Hitachi and Sharp ACs have been reliable 

*Sharp AH-AP18LMT*

Capacity: 1.5 ton, Price: 28K

Your Hitachi Price : 28 + 6 = 34K

As said by you 1.5 Ton Hitachi are actually 1.7 Ton ACs.

Additional cooling capacity of Hitachi = {(100/1.5) * 1.7} - 100 = 113 - 100 = *13%*

*Outcome:* 13% more cooling capacity at the expense of 6K.

*Sharp AH-AP24LMT *

Capacity: 2 Ton, Price: 35.5K

Additional price incurred over their 1.5 Ton one: 35.5 - 28 = 7.5K

Additional price incurred over Hitachi 1.5 Ton one: 35.5 - 34 = 1.5K

Additional cooling capacity over their 1.5 Ton one = {(100/1.5) * 2} - 100 = 133 - 100 = *33%*

*Outcome:* 33% more cooling capacity at the expense of 7.5K.

--------------------------------------------------------

If the point for opting Hitachi over Sharp 1.5 Ton was 13% better cooling capacity at the expense of 6K, then spending a 7.5K on Sharp AH-AP24LMT would have got you 33% more.

In other words, every 1K you spend over your Sharp 1.5 Ton,

Hitachi provides 2.17% additional cooling capacity

Sharp provides 4.4% additional cooling capacity


----------



## The Incinerator (Feb 21, 2013)

Why bring in a Two Ton machine against a 1.5 Ton .

The two ton ACs are always and best avoided because of their power consumption. With that 2Ton Non Rotary Sharp in real world scenarios will run up so high Electricity bills that I would be able to buy one more Hitachi after an year of service done by the 2Ton Sharp.


----------



## RishiGuru (Feb 21, 2013)

The Incinerator said:


> Why bring in a Two Ton machine against a 1.5 Ton.



Your point for opting Hitachi was higher cooling capacity due to its use of higher capacity compressor. So I responded to your post by doing a comparison with a 2 Ton Sharp non-Inverter which provided more cooling capacity than Hitachi for its price. Energy consumption was never considered in this comparison. 



The Incinerator said:


> The two ton ACs are always and best avoided because of their power consumption. With that 2Ton Non Rotary Sharp in real world scenarios will run up so high Electricity bills that I would be able to buy one more Hitachi after an year of service done by the 2Ton Sharp.



If energy consumption is your main priority along with cooling performance then we should all together dump the non-inverter ACs and go for energy efficient, environments friendly and more performance oriented Inverters.

Let us consider a scenario to cool a top floor with sunny conditions of say 170 sqft. We can either opt for a 1.5 Ton Inverter or a 2 Ton, 5-star rated non-Inverter air conditioner. Since 5-star Hitachi cost a bomb, let us compare the prices of 3 star Hitachi’s with Sharp Inverters which I got in Kolkata: 

Sharp 1.5 Ton Inverter Air Conditioner with in-built Plasmacluster Air Purifier (Model No: AH-XP18MV): *INR 41K*

Hitachi 2 Ton, 3-Star non-Inverter Air Conditioner with i-Clean Technology (Model No: RAU321ISD):* INR 48K*

In the end of the day if you opt for Hitachi i-Clean with near obsolete 3-star non-Inverter technology over Sharp Inverters which are definitely the future, you end up paying 7K more along with much heftier electric bills. The 7K premium you pay is for the brand image of ‘Hitachi India’. And if you can cough up 3K more than this Hitachi, you end up with the 2 Ton Sharp Inverter which simply put will blow Hitachi out of the window in terms of cooling performance and energy savings. 

If anyone is a loyal follower of Hitachi he go and buy their 1.5 Ton Inverter at *56K* when the 2 Ton Sharp Inverter comes at *51K*. Will he have a better quality and more performance oriented product than Sharp or Panasonic or even a LG inverter? *No*. 

Cause after comparing and experiencing the inverters of Hitachi, Sharp and LG, I cannot find one single reason to opt for Hitachi other than to say: ‘I own a Hitachi’. My question to all is as of why Hitachi is asking for such an unrealistic sky high price in India? Can anybody clear my doubts?


----------



## The Incinerator (Feb 25, 2013)

Why are you so anti Hitachi? 

I own both Sharp and Hitachi and as a consumer Im more satisfied with Hitachi's performance and service. But that dosnt make the Sharp bad at all.Simple. My top floors below the roof,are all Hitachi and Carrier and the one below has the Sharp.All of them are Non Inverters. And believe me being non inverter is not the end of this world. The ACs chill like hell. Thats it. I see no point in paying hefty premiums and going for inverter acs at the moment.Price drop on Inverters.....then maybe.

What Sharp says Plasma Cluster  for a filter ...Hitachi say Koukin!!! This will go on.....marketing.


----------



## RishiGuru (Feb 25, 2013)

The Incinerator said:


> Why are you so anti Hitachi?



Unjustified pricing.


----------



## prateekvirgo (Sep 2, 2015)

u have missed hitachi Star AC 1.7 T  (5700/1425) EER=4
COSTING 47 K APPROX AND FEATURES THAT WILL MAKE DEAL A HISTORY


----------

