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CapitalVerdict

Is a 5-star inverter AC worth the extra price?

An educational estimate, not financial advice. The result depends on the assumptions below, so check them against your own figures.

Inputs

Your numbersOnly you know these. Change them to get your own answer.

With installation, from the shop's quote.

₹

The yearly energy figure printed on the star label.

units a year

With installation, from the shop's quote.

₹

The yearly energy figure printed on the star label.

units a year
Check theseRates that vary by place, bank or person. Use yours if you know them.

Your average from a recent bill: the total divided by the units billed.

₹ a unit

100% means you run it as much as the label assumes. More hours or a hotter room: higher.

%
Filled in for youElectricity rising 3% a year, 9% interest on the extra price, 10 years
Prices over time

A year. The middle row of the default scenarios.

%

What the extra money costs or could earn. Fills from the car-loan rate in Assumptions.

% a year

Whole years.

years

Verdict

The efficient AC pays back in 7 years

After 10 years it is ₹3,573 ahead, counting interest.

It stops paying if you run it less than 87.28% of the label's use.

This answer uses example prices, label figures and rate, not any real model. Put in yours to get your own answer.

Over 10 years
  • Saved on bills₹28,087
  • Extra price, with interest₹24,514
Extra price
₹10,000
Saving in the first year
₹2,450
Payback ignoring interest
3 years 11 months
Units saved a year
350 units

Savings are spread evenly over the year; real use is seasonal.

Saved scenarios

What would flip the answer

Each line changes one input and holds the rest.

  • Over 10 years it pays only if you run it at least 87.28% of the label's useNow: 100%

Not modelled: weigh these yourself

Show the workingEvery step of the sum, with the numbers above.
Show the chart and scenariosHow the gap changes month by month, and how much the answer moves if prices rise faster or slower.
Savings so far minus the extra price

If prices rise faster or slower

    Show every monthThe full month-by-month table, with a CSV download.

    How this works

    The tool takes the units a year printed on each AC's star label and scales them by how much you run it compared with the label. The units you save, times your price per unit, is the saving. The price per unit rises once a year. The extra price of the efficient AC is charged interest, as if borrowed or taken out of savings, and the answer is when the savings so far cover it.

    Assumptions and sources

    AssumptionValueSourceAs of
    Price per unit—Not verifiedUPERC tariff order in force (domestic urban metered category): energy slabs, fixed charge per kW, electricity duty2026-10-19
    Electricity price rise0% / 3% / 5%CapitalVerdict default assumption from project spec (fuel/tariff rise); user-editable, not a forecast2026-10-19
    Interest on the extra price9%Project spec default for interest on the extra car price; user-editable2026-10-19

    Questions

    Where do I find the units a year?

    On the star label stuck on the AC and shown on the box and product page: the yearly energy figure in units (kWh). Use the same figure type for both ACs so they compare fairly.

    My use is nothing like the label. What do I enter?

    Your best guess compared with the label as a percentage. If you run it for only a few weeks of the year, enter less than 100%; if it runs most nights through a long summer, more. The “what would flip the answer” list shows the use below which the efficient AC never pays back.

    Why count interest on the extra price?

    Because the extra money is not free: you either borrow it or take it out of savings that would have earned something. Counting it makes the payback longer but honest. The payback ignoring interest is shown too.

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