AC Buying Guide 2025 : How to Choose the Best Air Conditioner for Indian Homes

It’s the onset of summer, and with the temperature and humidity rising in most places, buying a reliable air conditioner for Indian summers is essential for comfortable living. If chosen well, this magical box can turn your sweltering room into a cool and refreshing sanctuary. The air conditioner cools your room by drawing in warm indoor air and expelling it outside, through a controlled refrigeration cycle, making it more comfortable for you to stay indoors, especially when large parts of India experience soaring temperatures.

In peak summers, air conditioners often run for several hours a day. As smart technologies reshape our cities and concerns about resource conservation grow, making eco-friendly and cost-effective choices has never been more important. This article will serve as a comprehensive AC buying guide in India.

How to choose the right air conditioner?

It is necessary to understand your space and usage before buying an AC. Whether for your home, office, or any other area, factors such as room size, the number of occupants, and the number of hours the AC will be in use daily significantly influence its performance and efficiency. Here are some aspects to look at :

1. Room Size and Cooling Capacity (Tonnage) of Air Conditioners

Make sure the AC’s cooling capacity matches the size of the room. An undersized unit may not cool the space sufficiently and experience more strain while an oversized one will come at a higher initial cost and consume more electricity, leading to higher bills and wastage.

While these are general thumb rules depending on the floor area, it would also be essential to consider factors such as location and size of windows, floor height and orientation of rooms to assess the cooling requirement. An air conditioner expert can help provide a free consultation, followed by a recommendation of a product and tonnage to suit your needs.

*design tip: You could use multiple split ACs with different tonnages to balance the energy levels and electricity consumption, or go for a centralised AC plan/cassette unit for larger spaces.

2. Type of Air Conditioner based on Mounting Space

Depending on the volume of the room and space available for installation, you have the following options to choose from -

Window ACs : This is a compact as well as budget-friendly solution and is an ideal AC for small rooms.

Split ACs : When it is possible to mount the air-conditioner on the internal side of a wall and place a separate outdoor unit on the outer side or terrace, split air-conditioners are a sleek, powerful, and quieter option, suitable for medium to large room sizes.

Portable ACs : In cases where you are not certain about the positioning of the air-conditioner or are not able to undertake any civil works for its installation, this becomes a flexible option with no permanent installation. However, portable air conditioners are typically less efficient.

Cassette/Central ACs :  For larger spaces, commercial properties or luxury homes, central air conditioning or cassette ACs are the more powerful and efficient solutions.

Choose your AC based on what matters most to you—saving energy, ensuring long-term durability, enhancing comfort, managing costs, maximising space, or installation ease, especially if you rent your space.

3. Energy Efficiency and Sustainability

Energy-efficient appliances are not just good for the planet, but also for your wallet. While it certainly is tempting to go for a more affordable model at the start, factor in the maintenance and running costs over the years. Investing a bit more upfront in a high-efficiency, durable model can save significant money and trouble down the road. Be it performance-based efficiency or AI integration for smart cooling and energy management, the market is flooded with options that can best suit your expectations.

• Seek high Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER) ratings, and ENERGY STAR certification. Efficient units lower your electricity bills over time. 
• Look for new eco-friendly refrigerants (like R-32 or R-290) that are climate-friendly due to their low global warming and ozone depletion potential.
• Today, top-tier air conditioners seamlessly integrate with smart-home energy systems, offering real-time usage insights, remote control, and automated energy-saving features for enhanced convenience and efficiency.

Besides its eco-friendly design and 5-star rating, the Lloyd Stunnair air conditioner stands out with advanced smart technology features. Equipped with I.N.D.R.I (Individual Detection & Range Imaging), it can detect human presence and movement to deliver precise, efficient cooling exactly where it's needed, raising the bar in the air conditioner segment.

Today, leading brands emphasise sustainable manufacturing and recyclable materials, so ensure that the compressor warranty is good and check for corrosion-resistant coatings unless you want a rusty rodeo that falls short midway through the race!

5. Indoor Air Quality (IAQ)

In the post-COVID world, indoor air quality has become a top priority for homeowners, especially amid rising pollution levels across urban India. When choosing an AC, look for features like HEPA or PM2.5 filters, ionisers, UV sterilisation, and auto-clean modes to ensure cleaner, healthier air. After all, the last thing anyone wants is a cooling system that circulates dust and allergens.

The Lloyd Stunnair Split AC functions like a doctor for your indoor spaces—continuously monitoring air quality and CO₂ levels, alerting you when concentrations rise, detecting harmful pollutants, accurately sensing room temperature for precise climate control, and tracking humidity to enhance comfort and prevent excess moisture.

6. Air Conditioners with Smart Features

Imagine an air conditioner that gently mists your face, shifts lighting colours to match your mood, and intelligently adapts cooling to your comfort—who wouldn’t be intrigued by such a whimsical concept? Dreams aside, modern AC units can offer some genuinely innovative features, such as :

• Programmable timers
• Remote control or smart app control
• Air purifiers or dehumidifiers
• Quiet operation (important for bedrooms or offices)
• Wi-Fi connectivity
• Changeable panels 
• Dynamic mood lighting
• AI-powered climate-optimisation and predictive cooling

7. Air Conditioners and Aesthetic Appeal

The air conditioner has come a long way from being a bulky, white appliance stuck awkwardly on the wall or window. Today’s models offer contemporary designs that seamlessly integrate into—or even elevate—the aesthetics of your space. Some of the design-forward features available in the market include :

• Sleek, minimalist indoor units that stay unobtrusive
• Customisable panels that are interchangeable, textured, or paintable to match your décor
• Mood lighting with changeable LED hues that can subtly enhance your ambience or reflect your personal style
• Integrated or disguised units that are concealed behind cabinetry, false ceilings, wall-mounted paintings, etc
• Colour variants and premium finishes that are made of brushed metal, natural stone, wooden or glass-like textures

Havells’ Lloyd Luxuria Collection’s Stunnair Split AC 1.5 - 5 Star (highly energy efficient) features unique mood-lighting and a stylish sliding fascia panel.

With climate-smart AC options, solar-compatible models, and zero-emission technologies on the rise, manufacturers are becoming more conscious of what they create—and for whom. If you’re someone who values both aesthetics and sustainability, the market now offers plenty of options tailored to your needs.

So, when the weather decides to roast you like a marshmallow, choose an air conditioner that goes beyond the frost, while still keeping an eye on the cost!

About the Author

Megha Anand