Inverter AC vs convertible AC: What is the difference?

As the summers get closer, one of the first appliances you are probably eyeing is a new air conditioner. Whether it is an upgrade from your existing AC or your first one ever, buying an AC can be a difficult decision to make because of the number of variants to choose from.

Naturally, your first step would be to research the different types of ACs you can actually buy, and two common types you will come across when you do this are inverter ACs and convertible ACs. In today’s blog, we will look at both these types and understand what the difference between them is.

What is an inverter AC?

Inverter ACs are special types of air conditioners, that can regulate their cooling capacity. These ACs are capable of varying their cooling/heating capacity by adjusting how much power is delivered to the compressor of the AC.

ALSO READ: All you need to know about ACs and their role in maintaining indoor air quality

This in turn, regulates how much power the AC puts into cooling your room at any given time. Inverter ACs have precise temperature control, and once a desired temperature is reached, these ACs can cut down the power output of the compressor to maintain the temperature.

Compared to regular ACs, which can only turn their compressors on or off, these have more granular control over how the compressor works, making the whole cooling process more efficient, and saving users money when the electricity bill comes in. You can imagine this to be similar to a 5-speed ceiling fan, vs another fan that can simply turn on or off.

What is a convertible AC?

Convertible ACs, also known as adjustable ACs, allow users to change their tonnage, thereby altering the cooling capacity of an air conditioner. This lets you quickly put the AC into a high-output mode (higher tonnage) when there are say, more people in the room. You can also go low-power (lower tonnage) when there are fewer people in the same setting.

Alternatively, convertible ACs are also useful if you move from a larger space to a smaller room space (or vice versa), since you can use the same air conditioner and simply change its tonnage to your current requirements. Convertible ACs also save you from higher energy bills by increasing or reducing their load as and when required.

What is the difference between inverter and convertible ACs?

Now that you have understood what inverter ACs and convertible ACs actually are and how they work, let’s get into how these appliances are different from each other.

Firstly, inverter ACs are automatic in their working, whereas convertible ACs are manual in nature. While an inverter AC will be capable of automatically reducing or increasing its compressor load as per the room’s temperature, a convertible AC will require the user to switch from a low-power mode to a high-power mode, or the other way around.

ALSO READ: 8 Types of ACs to choose for your home

However, there are also convertible ACs which have sensors and control the compressor automatically, similar to how inverter ACs work. This brings us to the second difference between the workings of the two.

The main function of an inverter AC is to adjust the compressor to such that the result is a more consistent temperature. Convertible ACs, on the other hand, focus more on changing compressor output to meet cooling needs for more or less people in a setting.

Unless a convertible AC also has an inverter working inside, it still cannot maintain a stable, consistent temperature, even though it can adjust its output capacity to meet the needs of more or less people.