Air Con

[dent]

Can anyone help with purchasing an air conditioning unit?

Details of prices and fitting costs would be really appreciated.

We have previously seen units in the Expert (orange) store in Scalea centre, but not sure if they provide an installation service.

Thanks

[MarKel]

Hi,

We purchased an air-con unit last Summer from Expert in Scalea, who initially advised that we needed all sorts of "splits" and complications. But we decided to follow the advice of friends who had purchased the previous year.
We bought one unit (Sanyo), had it installed in the living area, and leave the other internal doors open when the unit is running. We find that is sufficient to cool the entire apartment down. In August we leave the bedroom window open at night, or plug in a fan.

Expert seem to outsource the installation to a guy called Vallerio, but include the cost of installation in the total price they charge you. My receipt is in the apartment in Italy, but I think we paid in the region of €700 - €800.

Hope this will help. The unit has certainly made a huge difference to our comfort levels in the apartment. I almost forgot - the unit also has other functions including heating, which came in handy during the chilly evenings at Easter!

Markel

[dent]

Thanks Markel,

We will give them a try. Don't suppose you can remember what size unit you bought. As I remember there was a big variation in prices.

Also how long was it between ordering and installation, ideally we would like it done within a week.

[MarKel]

Sorry, I can't remember what size unit we bought, but it was just last summer. I doubt if prices have changed much since then, and as I said we spent in the region of €800.
It was installed the next day, as far as I remember.

Markel

[ENGJMAX]

Hi

Just one word of caution, do you know what size of electric supply you have?

In our apartment, our supply is 3.3kw (3,300watts) ie about 15 amps with wiring sized to match!

because of this we have two Delonghi portable units @ 11,000 btu each, they run at 1050 watts each. They are a little unsightly but we just vent them through the wall like a tumble dryer. This was the best option for us, as to supply a single sized fixed unit would
probably require an upgrade of the power supply.

I would advise check your electric bill, or the smart meter, it should tell you the size of supply you are paying for.

makes a big difference in the summer nights.

regards

john

[dent]

Alright John,

Yes electric supply is 3kw. I thought this would be sufficient as I heard some apartments only have 1.5kw and that would be a problem.

Surely it is possible to get 1 fixed unit which consumes no more than 2 portable units,

[ENGJMAX]

Hi

Yes you should be able to get one unit, but I just wanted to flag up the supply issue if the unit is too big and supply is small, as it may catch people out.

go for a class A if possible, they are more expensive but use less power

we went for the two portables (class A), because we wanted to significantly cool both bedrooms rather than just one room. so it was the right choice for us. As to get the same result from one unit, it would need to be quite big.

another factor is of course the size and layout of the rooms.

best wishes

john

[MarKel]

Our electricity supply is 3kw. We can have the single unit on with a few other small things running at the same time - lights, fridge etc. The bedroom definitely does not cool down as much as the living room but it is still significantly improved, and meant that last August in Scalea was much more comfortable than the previous one had been.
Didn't think of getting two portable units - you live and learn! Does that mean not having a large motor out on the balcony?

Markel

[claire tudge]

Think they were for sale in the Spa/Euronics shop last time, Spa seem to have weekly offers I dont think from memory they were that expensive about 200 euros ?

[Hev&Steve]

Hi to all

We also brought air-con from Expert last year on the spur of the moment as it was so hot and hadn't sleep for two days. There is a guy in Expert can't remember his name who speaks a bit of English and we explained that we really only wanted to cool bedroom down at night, not heating just air-con although if we leave door open it does cool down apartment as well. The unit we brought was on special offer I know if was a Class A but have no idea what size it was but only cost us about E300 plus E100 to install. We ordered in the afternoon and they came and fitted the next day, all arranged by Expert. The only thing I don't like apart from it being ugly is that the pipe at the bottom drips water and as we are on the 1st floor didn't want to upset the people downstairs, ( although we have never seen them) so we just stick an empty Coke bottle underneath to collect the water. It is always full by the morning! It is brilliant. Hope this helps.

Heather & Steve

[falcon]

Originally Posted by dent

Can anyone help with purchasing an air conditioning unit?

Details of prices and fitting costs would be really appreciated.

We have previously seen units in the Expert (orange) store in Scalea centre, but not sure if they provide an installation service.

Thanks

We are just about to have ours installed and after a lot of research, some considerations for all.
1. The electricity supply is best upgraded to 4.5kw at a cost (ouch!) of 200Euros but it will pay in the long run.
2. The unit to choose range between a 9000BTu unit (like the ones in DeSpar for 200Euros for a relatively small room, a 11/12BTu for an average living room and greater (then an expensive 3 phase upgrade required) for very big rooms.
3. The important thing is not to put a big unit hoping it will cope with all situations. Mono split units for bedrooms are adequate but for open areas and adjoing doorless rooms multisplit has major advantages.
4. Class++ A is the best rating you for efficiency and the heating option for winter use is very good. However remember the unit cost of electicity here is about 16c/unit. The average unit is about 2.5/3kw rated for heating.
5. If you buy off the shelf and have it installed by third party, you are always going to have problems with guarantees if/when things go wrong as no doubt inspection of the unit is not easy and the installer will no doubt blame the unit and the manufacture will cite installation issues.
5. We decided to go Enelsi being part of the Enel group and while they are expensive, the 2 year guarantee is more secure. We did find one private firm in Cosenza (Aurora) at about the same prices with a 7 year guarantee. In the end we went with the Enel guys as they are installing solar panels.

Hope this is of some use to all.
Francis

[dent]

Just an update for anybody interested.
Air con unit from Expert shop - 12000 btu, AA class. 380 Euro and 130 Euro for fitting. Was in stock and fitted next day.
Great service from Barbara.

[dmbt54]

We bought the SEKOM as supplied by Expert - own brand and works fine.
This was fitted by Valerio Caruso

carusoval@libero.it
Via Marconi
1/3 87029 Scalea
Cell: 333.5789523

We actually bought our units at Expert in Amantea, but they found this local installer for us. Excellent - no problems.

[billy]

Despar in Belvedere have Air Conditioning units for 169 euros---9,000 BTU. Bought one last week for the bedroom and I will have it installed when I return to Scalea in September.
Cheers, Billy.