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4. Blue Star AC Technologies in India – Review 2024

Blue Star AC Technologies in India – Review 2024

Blue Star is an established Indian air-conditioning brand that started its operations just a few years after India’s independence. Blue Star is a leading air-conditioning and refrigeration company. You might have notice ubiquity of Blue Star products while visiting a commercial/industrial area. That’s because one in three commercial building in India has a Blue Star product installed. Such is the brand’s reach in the Indian market. After Voltas, Blue Star is the most sought-after Indian AC brand when it comes to room air conditioners.

Blue Star offers myriad of AC models catering needs of varied customers. For commercial users they offer cassette and VRF (variable refrigerant flow) systems, for residential it offers windows and split air conditioners and for the casual users who are always on the flick, it offers portable ACs. Blue Star has 5 manufacturing unit with close to 4000 outlets spread across the length and breadth of the country. An integrated business model comprising of a manufacturer, contractor and after-sales service provider enabled Blue Star to offer an end-to-end solution to its customers. This has been the main USP of Blue Star products.

Energy efficiency and eco-friendliness is the chief focus of Blue Star. That is the reason that all the split ACs 2018 onwards from Blue Star have abandoned the usage R22 refrigerant which has high global warming potential and replaced it with more eco-friendly alternatives like R32 and R410. Moreover, these models are compliant with the latest (2018) rating standards by BEE (Bureau of Energy Efficiency). We will explore the key technologies in the latest line up of Blue Star air conditioners.

Key Blue Star AC Technologies

Smart Control of Blue Star AC using a Smartphone

There are times when you misplace the remote of an AC. And if this happens when you want to switch on the AC during the sweltering summers, nothing worse. Trusted brands like Blue Star offers an alternate method to control the AC; that is using the smartphone. Roughly half of the modern split ACs from Blue Star comes with a Smart Control feature which helps to manage the AC using the smartphone. The user simply needs to download a dedicated app for AC control and pair it with a router. Once the connection is established, the user can control and monitor their AC from any place using their smartphone. Smart Control is surely a boon for the people who have a proclivity of misplacing their remote.

Precise Cooling Technology Implemented Using EEV and Multiple Sensors

Ordinary ACs typically control the cooling of ACs in the step of 1-degree centigrade. But the new 5-star inverter ACs come with Precision Cooling Technology (PCT) which helps to control the AC, cooling even in the decimals i.e as precisely as 0.1^oC. PCT is achieved through smart design comprising of multiple sensors, smart processor, and electronic expansion valve. Ordinary ACs comes with the capillary or thermostatic valve which is debarred of any advanced electronic component. They simply allow the free flow of refrigerant. But electronic expansion valve (EEV) used in Blue Star ACs controls the flow according to the load needed. This assist in improving the efficiency of the coveted cooling. It has numerous settings which allow precise control of temperature. This precision is guided by the usage of 5 specialized sensors:

1. Condenser coil sensor
2. DLT sensor
3. Evaporator coil sensor
4. Room return sensor
5. Ambient sensor

Furthermore, the advanced PID system helps to keep the room temperature well within a ±0.5°C range.

4D Wide Angle Airflow with Direction Control

Usually, ACs come with 2-way (up and down) swing blade to disseminate cool air inside the room. But most of the 5-star inverter series Blue Star models come with the 4D swing function (up-down + right-left) which blows the cool air in multiple directions to ensure thorough cooling inside the room. This 4D swing is designed with a motorized horizontal and vertical swing utility that ensures uniform cooling across the room via an omnidirectional air flow mechanism. Also, the louvers come with a wider angle to ensure the even distribution of cool air inside the room without debarring even the far-flung corners from cooling. The best part is it allows the user to change the air blow direction if they want to avoid draft of cold air directly hitting their head. The 4D air distribution system is known to cool a bigger area in a short span of time simply by adjusting horizontal and vertical louver.

Hot and Cool ACs – An All Year-Round Conditioning Solution

Whenever you hear a word AC, what comes to the mind is an appliance which blows chilled air bringing down the temperature of the enclosed space to comfortably cool levels. But the pioneers of air conditioning systems invented it with an idea of “conditioning” or setting it to a desired/specific temperature. So theoretically ACs should condition the temperature in the winter too as per the user’s need i.e it should heat the room during the frosty winters. Well, modern premium Blue Star ACs are capable of implementing that theory (of heating during winters). They come with a built-in heater functionality in the form of heat mode option, which when enabled would reverse the air conditioning process. Fan ceases to run, and the warm air is blown till the desired warm temperature is reached. The best part is that it does not use a heating filament like conventional heaters. This means they are not only much more energy efficient but also eliminates the risk of low oxygen—a typical problem with the ordinary heaters. So, with the Hot and Cold AC offering, companies are slowly changing the credo that ACs are just the seasonal products. With an overture of heating, ACs now offer utility all year round.

Impeccable Air Filtration System using 7 Filters with an Auto-Clean Functionality

High-end inverter ACs from Blue Star comes with a cold plasma technology generates a natural bioclimate in the AC. Being rich in active positive and negative ions of hydrogen and oxygen they form ionic bonds with harmful bacteria and other airborne agents like spores from the mold, ultimately to nullify them. These bonded particles gradually increase in size which makes it easier to be trapped by the arrangement of 7 formidable filters Blue Star ACs comes with. These 7 filters are:

1. Dust filter: To trap dust particle lying in the air.
2. Anti-Acarien filter: To remove allergens and dust mites.
3. Vitamin C filter: To eliminate radicals that interact and gets mixed with the natural anti-oxidants. Filtered air through this filter helps in reducing the stress and soften the skin.
4. Anti-Bacterial filter: To sterilize bacteria. This filter removes 95% Escherichis Coli and Staphylococcus Aureus bacteria which are infamous for causing boils, infections, and diarrheal diseases.
5. Catechin filter: To inhibit further bacterial growth. This filter also removes cigarette smoke and other pollutants.
6. Silver ion filter: To exterminate remaining bacteria, fungi and spores. This filter kills more than 99% of bacteria and viruses.
7. Active carbon filter: To absorb unpleasant odor like ammonia and filtration of other harmful chemical gases.

Additionally, few premium models come with Blow Clean mode. In this mode, the indoor blower runs for a few minutes after switching off the air conditioner. This assists in auto cleaning and helps to keep the indoor coil dry, preventing accumulation of dust or mold. The front panel of the indoor unit is easily detachable. So even the manual cleaning of AC is simple and straightforward.

Copper Condenser with Anti-Corrosive Hydrophilic Blue Fin

Condenser used in the premium Blue Star AC is made 100% of copper. . One of the important advantages of copper condenser over the conventional aluminum one is that heat transfer in copper is better. The copper condenser is more durable and much easier to clean and maintain compared to the aluminum condenser. The only downside of copper is that they are expensive than aluminum.

Usually, there is a problem of accumulation of dust particles around the coil of the evaporator due to low temperature during water condensation stage. But thankfully, new Blue Star ACs come with an anti-corrosive hydrophilic blue fin which neither allows water condensate to accumulate nor corrodes easily amidst high moisture levels around the coil. So, the people living in the region with high humidity will find this feature very useful to safeguard their AC from corrosive elements.

Dual Rotor Inverter Compressor with a Compressor Jacket

New AC models from Blue Star is powered by the revolutionary Dual Rotor Inverter Compressor technology. With an increased operating frequency range, this dual rotor inverter compressor technology gives Blue Star an upper hand over its competitors in terms of cooling efficiency. So, what is an inverter technology? Well, to be really simple, inverter technology is analogous to the car accelerator. When a compressor needs more power, it gives it more power. When it needs less power, it gives less power. With this technology, the compressor is always on but draws less power or more power depending on the temperature of the incoming air and the level set in the thermostat.

Compared to the conventional inverter, dual inverter-based AC comes with a high-performance rotor compressor with two compression chambers, operating on a wider range of frequency to maintain the desired temperature with minimal fluctuations. An advanced BLDC motor is used to impart high rotational speed with minimal vibrations. Also, an acoustic jacket is provided with the compressor to mitigate the sound levels. Thus, this technology results in faster cooling, reduced vibration, low noise, and longer durability of the compressor.

All Round Protection with Anti-Freeze Thermostat, Powder Coated Outer Body and Metal Enclosure for PCB Body

Frost formation on the heat exchanger is a recurring problem in conventional ACs especially when the unit is running at the peak (coldest) speed. Modern Blue Star split ACs uses anti-freeze thermostat on the indoor coil which averts this problem by turning on the compressor when the requisite cold temperature is attained. Outdoor units of the Blue Star split ACs have been built keeping in mind the harsh tropical Indian climate. The galvanized steel is used in the construction of the metal bodies and are then further coated with polyester powder paint. This protects them from corrosion and increases their life. Modern Blue Star ACs come with a metal enclosure which covers the main board—the PCB (printed circuit board) to prevent overheating of electronic/electrical components.

Pros and Cons of Blue Star Air Conditioners

The biggest advantage of Blue Star ACs is its versatility. Barring Voltas, it is the only Indian brand to offer a complete gamut of air conditioners—from residential to commercial, from windows to split, from the inverter to non-inverter. It has a stronghold over commercial air conditioning segment in India while its residential coverage is ever improving since it’s venture in this market 7 years back. Desistance from R22 refrigerant comes as a big relief for those is extremely conscious about the environment. R22 refrigerant is the major precursor of global warming with a high global warming potential. Another major advantage of new Blue Star ACs is their operations is extremely silent. Blue Star is one of the best brands when it comes to trimming down the noise levels. Among the Indian brands, Blue Star is the one which spends the most on Research and Development. Blue Star has been recently recognized among the ‘Best Corporate Brands’ by the Economic Times.

Though we couldn’t find any major con with Blue Star ACs, but their power consumption was on a slightly higher side compared to other brands like Daikin or Hitachi. Also, we miss some miscellaneous features like WiFi-Direct connectivity for AC control and anti-mosquito technology.

Conclusion

Bluestar is an old Indian AC brand offering a plethora of features in its variegated models. Usage of the electronic expansion valve, multiple sensors, BLDC motor and dual rotary inverter compressor ensures that the room is perfectly cooled with zilch noise. 4D wide airflow ensures cooling reaches even to the far-flung corners, so there is no discrepancy in cooling inside the room. ACs coming with the heat mode is a valuable addition to the AC for the buyers residing in the region witnessing not only extreme summers but also bone-chilling winters. With the rising urbanization and technological innovation, air quality is becoming one of the major concern, especially in the big cities. Keeping this in mind Blue Star ACs are well equipped to filter out all types of pollutants, bacteria, viruses, dust particles, and foul odors using an impeccable arrangement of 7 specialized filters working in tandem. Finally, for the tech-savvy users, premium models boast of Smart Control feature that gives them the liberty to manage AC simply by swiping the phone. Blue Star should be your choice if you are looking for a decent cooling performance with minimal noise and want a good air purification system in the AC.

Some Good Blue Star Models: