Some Air Conditioners Aim To Fool: Watchdog

The Consumer Council has found that all but one of 15 popular air conditioners it tested recently fell short of their claimed cooling capacity.

The watchdog also said that six out of the 15 were not as energy efficient as labels on them claimed.

The watchdog said all six of the one-horsepower window-type models they tested had Grade 1 labels, showing they are supposed to save more power.

A spokesman of the council, Clement Chan, said the discrepancies in the cooling capacity and energy saving could mean an average user paying an additional HK$200 in electricity charges each year.

The watchdog was also critical of the after sale services offered by air conditioner sellers, with these services varying from three years to just one. After the expiry of the warranty period, charges for house inspections varied from HK$350 to HK$500, it said.