Small air conditioners review 2009

03.Product profiles

Profiles - what to buy

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries SRK35ZGA-S / SRC35ZG-S

Price: $1093

Good points

• Very good cooling and heating efficiency.
• Good airflow range.
• Very easy to use.

Bad points

• None to mention.

LG R12AWN UB9 / R12AWN NB9

Price: $1599

Good points

• Very good cooling and heating efficiency.
• Good airflow range.
• Cheapest to run.

Bad points

• None to mention.

Panasonic CS-E12HKR / CU-E12HKR

Price: $1319

Good points

• Very good heating efficiency.
• Good cooling efficiency.
• Very good airflow range.
• Easy to use.

Bad points

• No fan-only mode.
• The filter is difficult to replace.

Fujitsu ASTA12LCC / AOTR12LCC

Price: $1499

Good points

• The best cooling efficiency.
• Very good airflow range.
• Easiest to use.
• Comparatively quiet indoors.

Bad points

• Only scored 61% for heating efficiency (see How we test for details).
  

 

Profiles - the rest

Daikin FTXS35EVMA / RXS35EBVMA

Price: $980

Good points

• Very good heating efficiency.
• Good cooling efficiency.
• Good airflow range.
• Easy to use.

Bad points

• The symbols on the remote control aren’t particularly obvious, and the current time isn’t displayed when the timer is set.

Carrier 42NQV035M-A / 38NYV035M-A

Price: $1529

Good points

• Good heating and cooling efficiency.
• Good airflow range.
• Easy to use.
• Five fan speeds.

Bad points

• The remote is only OK — there is no indication of the timer settings or status when unit is on or off.
• Instructions only OK — ambiguity in timer instructions.
• Note: the model shown is the Toshiba RAS-13SKV-A / RAS-13SAV-A, which is technically identical to the Carrier.
• However, there are cosmetic differences between the two models.

Toshiba RAS-13SKV-A / RAS-13SKV-A

Price: $1575

Good points

• Good heating and cooling efficiency.
• Good airflow range.
• Easy to use.
• Five fan speeds.

Bad points

• The remote is only OK — there is no indication of the timer settings or status when unit is on or off.
• Instructions only OK — ambiguity in timer instructions.

Fujitsu ASTB12LDC / AOTB12LDC

Price: $980

Good points

• Very good cooling efficiency.
• Easy to use.

Bad points

• Only scored 62% for heating efficiency (see How we test for details).

Daikin FTXG35FVMAW / RXG35FVMA

Price: $980

Good points

• Very good heating efficiency.
• Good cooling efficiency.

Bad points

• The symbols on the remote control aren’t particularly obvious, and the current time isn’t displayed when the timer is set.

Toshiba RAS-13SKVR-A / RAS-13SAVR-A

Price: $1937

Good points

• Very good cooling efficiency.
• Good airflow range.
• Five fan speeds.

Bad points

• Went into defrost cycle during our heating test and was clearly worse than rated for heating.
• The remote is only OK — there is no indication of the timer settings or status when unit is on or off.
• Instructions only OK — ambiguity in timer instructions.
• Note: the model shown is the Carrier 42NQV035H-A / 38NYV035H-A, which is technically identical to the Toshiba.
• However, there are cosmetic differences between the two models.

Kelvinator KSV35HRA / KSV35HRA

Price: $980

Good points

• Very good heating efficiency.
• Good airflow range.

Bad points

• Scored only 64% for cooling efficiency due to its mediocre performance when operated at 50% capacity.

Samsung AQV12NSBN / AQV12NSBX

Price: $980

Good points

• Very good cooling efficiency.
• Good cooling efficiency.

Bad points

• Smallest airflow range.
• Remote has no indication of airflow direction.
• Filter is difficult to replace.
• The indoor unit has an interval timer only rather than a clock.