LG Aircon 1.3 HP Windows Type: Review
Cooling is important in warmer climates and aircons are often the go to choice, lets see if LG's window type aircons are an good option
LA130GC
We picked up two LG 1.3 HP Windows Type Aircons and have been using them as our primary aircons for the last three months
Model tested: LA130GC
Installation
As these are window type aircons, the installation is fairly straightforward if you already has a hole for the aircons
They're called window type aircons, as historically these has been installed in the windows. If you live in a tropical area, such as the Philippines where I currently reside. It's common most homes has a hole in the wall for window type aircons and close to the hole, there will be a power socket that fits the aircon plug
If this is already in place, then you just need a couple of strong persons to remove the old AC (if any) and insert the new one. Then put the included foam around the AC to ensure it's sealed and ideally put some aluminum tape over the sides (optional, but help fully seal the opening)
Be aware that the aircons have feet in the front only, this is to elevate the aircon slight and allow any water build up to drain to the rear of the aircon. Where it would either be re-used, by the fan lifting it up and throwing it over the coils to cool them down or drained out, if you have opted to have the drain hole open
In the box
Beside the unit itself, you also get insulation foam, remote controller w/battery and drain plug for outside (can be connected to hose, not included)
Smart functionality
One of the benefit of the LG window ACs over most of its competitors (at least in Philippines), is that these are smart ACs. So you can control them from LG's ThinkQ app, which you might already be familiar with if you have other LG equipment
LG ThinkQ
After adding the ACs (fairly straight forward), you'll get them listed up in your home and will see any other LG equipment you might have enrolled (if any)
Schedule
Schedules must be one of the best smart features, as it's so convenient to have the aircons automatically adjust for the different parts of the day. Such as making it cooler slight before and during bedtime, then in the morning return to a more balanced temperature
Group control
Beside controlling the ACs one by one, you can also create groups of units and controls the together
Energy monitoring
The smart app will also keep track of power usage of the aircons
Limitations
Main drawback of the smart functionality, is how heavy it relies on internet and cloud service. If the internet or cloud service is down, everything stops. Beside the current schedule, nothing is stored locally. I wish the aircons would store the schedule locally, but it doesn't. This also means electricity measure would stop, if the internet or cloud service is unavailable
Electric usage
After switching to the LG aircons, we've seen a pretty substantial decrease in electric consumption (kWh). Which has also lead to a smaller biller, even with the increased electricity cost we've seen over the last year
Given that we have more equipment using electricity now, it's an fairly substantial decrease
Temperature and humidity
After installing the new aircons in October, we could fairly quickly see an decrease in temperature and especially humidity
Temperature peaks dropped with upt to 3°C and lows decreased with about 1°C, what this graph doesn't show is that the temperature is mostly in the lower end and the peaks are mostly in the hours this room doesn't get aircon cooling (during night)
Biggest improvement is the humidity going down from peaks of 93-96% to peaks of 82%, while lows have gone from 67-74% to 55-58%. Where the biggest peaks are mostly during the night, when the room doesn't get cooled by the AC
Conclusion
After using the LG 1.3 HP window type aircons for a few months, we have seen improvements in indoor temperature and humidity. Not too mention a substantial decrease in electricity usage
The smart functionality is a welcomed improvement, especially the schedule feature. Even if we'd wish the schedule was stored locally and not so depended on the cloud, as it will stop working if the internet is down or servers is unavailable
Our verdict: Check it out!
Tags: #LG #LA130GC #Aircon #ThinkQ
