When it comes to acquiring climate technology, it can be difficult to decide on a brand that you can fully trust. First of all, a potential buyer is guided by the rating of air conditioning manufacturers, looking for available information on the Internet or among friends. User reviews, advertising, tips from acquaintances, informative articles - all this makes up a certain opinion about a company, but not always a positive review from one person will benefit another buyer.
How to choose the right air conditioner by rating
First of all, you need to decide for yourself what is fundamental in choosing an air conditioner relative to the rating of manufacturers, namely:
- user reviews (the highest purchase of any brand);
- the price of the device (the cheapest or more expensive);
- quality and reliability.
The fact is that with this division, manufacturers can change places in any order. For example, at the price of a brand like Gree or LG, of course, will occupy a leading position, and DAIKIN or FujitsuOn the contrary, they will occupy the last positions in the list, since their cost is 2-3 times higher.
You should also always consider the place where the climate control device is purchased. If an air conditioner is selected for an apartment, then the manufacturers' rating is built according to one scheme, and when buying a cooling device in a semi-industrial or industrial premises, according to another.
Although plants like DAIKIN, MITSUBISHI, FUJITSU GENERAL and SHARP, equipment for any purpose is always characterized by a high level of assembly and high quality technical characteristics.
Quality and Reliability Rating
So, for starters, it’s worth stopping at the most important point - the manufacturers rating for quality and reliability, because even with a limited budget, any buyer wants to purchase a more or less functional device that will cause a minimum of problems.
In the table below, brands are sorted taking into account the following points:
- the frequency of failure of the entire device or its individual parts;
- assembly country - the most reliable air conditioning systems of the Japanese, Malaysian, Belgian and Thai assemblies are considered; Chinese equipment has proved to be worse;
- quality of performance of all basic and additional functions;
- noise level.
The manufacturers were rated for quality and reliability, taking into account the above requirements. The experience of experts in the field of installation and maintenance of air conditioning systems with an experience of more than 15 years is taken.
Rating of air conditioners - summary table
| Manufacturer | Build country | Reliability level | Noise and vibration |
| DAIKIN | Japan / Thailand / Belgium | The tallest | Low |
| MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC | Japan / Thailand | The tallest | Low |
| MITSUBISHI HEAVY | Japan / Thailand | Tall | Low |
| FUJITSU GENERAL | Thailand | Tall | Low |
| Toshiba | Thailand | Tall | Low |
| Hitachi | Malaysia / China | Tall | Low |
| Panasonic | Malaysia / China | Tall | Middle |
| SHARP | Thailand | Tall | Low |
| Fuji | Thailand | Tall | Low |
| BORK | Germany / China | Middle | Middle |
| DELONGI | China | Middle | Middle |
| MCQUAY | Malaysia | Middle | Middle |
| CARRIER | USA / Malaysia | Middle | Middle |
| GENERAL CLIMATE | China | Middle | Middle |
| Hyundai | Korea / China | Medium / low | Middle |
| LG | Korea / Turkey / China | Medium / low | Middle |
| KENTATSU | China | Low | Middle |
| DANTEX | China | Low | Middle |
| MIDEA | China | Low | Middle |
| SAMSUNG | Korea / China | Low | Middle |
| Ballu | China | Low | Middle |
| Gree | China | Low | Middle |
| ELECTROLUX | China | Low | Middle |
| VITEK | China | Low | Middle |
| SANYO | China | Low | Middle |
| BEKO | China | Low | Middle |
| AIRWELL | China | Low | Middle |
| Aeg | China | Low | Middle |
| Lessar | China | Low | Middle |
| DAEWOO | Korea | Low | Middle |
| Saturn | China | Low | Middle |
| Sensey | China | Low | Middle |
| EUROFAN | China | Low | Middle |
All air conditioners with a low reliability rating are most often manufactured in China, are not transported correctly (boxes with outdoor units can even be transported horizontally) and often have a manufacturing defect of any part or structure as a whole.
Devices that fall into the first lines of the manufacturers' rating in terms of build quality and operational reliability are not sold in household appliance departments. They can be purchased only in specialized stores that sell only HVAC equipment. They are equipped with the best compressors, electronics and other components of the main working unit.
In addition, non-competitive Japanese manufacturers of air conditioning for apartments have earned a high rating and are regularly selected by customers due to:
- the presence and appearance in the early years of operation of minimal defects;
- convenient and varied functionality, working on the latest technologies;
- equipped with a multi-stage protection system;
- power and efficiency;
- low noise;
- interesting design.
It is the highly-rated manufacturers that provide high-quality and reliable cost savings by creating “smart” inverter air conditioners operating in a mode of smoothly changing speed and constant temperature maintenance. No shock jumps or changes in the start and stop cycles, as in splits with linear compressor control.
This table did not consider industrial refrigeration units, therefore this rating of manufacturers is more related to the selection of a system for an apartment, small office or semi-industrial facility.
Rating by price and reviews
If you rely on the price per unit of goods, then, of course, all the data will be placed exactly the opposite, since HVAC equipment with low positions costs much less than its competitors from the first lines. Each buyer decides which equipment to purchase, and the above information is only advisory in nature.
If we assume that the quality rating is not a fundamental factor for the purchase, what air conditioning to choose for the apartment then? In order not to risk the money invested in the acquisition and at the same time not to overpay for the brand and bells and whistles of the cooling device, you should pay attention to the category with an average level of reliability assessment.
Such split systems and mobile units are notable for good functionality, decent quality of factory assembly - all this for an acceptable amount. Here you can focus on user reviews, which usually reveal the main points:
- noise level;
- cooling / heating power;
- ability to keep the set temperature;
- dimensions;
- case design.
In this option, air conditioners for apartments from the following manufacturers keep a high rating:
- Hitachi;
- PANASONIC;
- HYUNDAI;
- CARRIER.
Customers respond well to devices of the brands GREE, MIDEA, DANTEX, GENERAL CLIMATE and BALLU.
With splits and mobile devices from BORK, DELONGI, MCQUAY and CARRIER you should be careful before choosing them. The fact is that BORK initially has an opaque brand creation history. The company is registered as a German brand, but the assembly is in Russia, China and other countries. The rest of the mentioned companies, although they are in the middle positions in the rating of air conditioners in terms of reliability, but still quality can suffer if the assembly place is China. A few years ago, these brands were considered one of the best, now such expectations are not always justified.
What else should be considered when choosing an air conditioner for an apartment according to the manufacturers rating, which is the best device to buy with a minimum budget?
In the face of severe restrictions on funds, it is desirable to give preference to such popular brands as ELECTROLUX, SAMSUNG, DANTEX, BALLU, KENTATSU. About them, consumers in most cases leave good reviews. The only negative of such devices is a higher level of noise and vibration.
Many cheap air conditioners have an unpleasant smell of plastic, which can make a crack when the temperature drops during operation of the device.
As a rule, low-cost models of air conditioners are not equipped with such bells and whistles as infrared motion sensors, a multi-stage filtration system with catechin and plasma filters, a weekly on / off timer, draining the heat exchanger and the like.
Although the rating of air conditioners for an apartment (or other small room) in terms of manufacturer reliability and build quality is conditional, the likelihood of damage to expensive devices is extremely small in comparison with cheap Chinese climate control models.
Among all HVAC equipment, DAIKIN and MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC are recognized as the best brands.
