Domestic Air Conditioning

Your overthinking this.
Everyone in Vietnam needs AC a bit more than in the UK.

I have yet to see an AC that wasn't up to the task.

I've also rented an apartment and a house and had to get one AC for each.
Not terribly expensive, little less than 3M, that's about 120USD
and that comes with installation and everything.

One thing that strikes me as rather odd about Vietnam is that with the exception of perhaps higher priced fully furnished apartments, A/C units seem to be the property of the tenant and not the landlord.  This is true for both window and split air, which is more common.  When it is time to move out, locals just bring in the installer again, who seals up the tubes and off they go.

THIGV wrote:

One thing that strikes me as rather odd about Vietnam is that with the exception of perhaps higher priced fully furnished apartments, A/C units seem to be the property of the tenant and not the landlord.  This is true for both window and split air, which is more common.  When it is time to move out, locals just bring in the installer again, who seals up the tubes and off they go.

This is due to the fact that most VN landlords are tightwads and hate spending money on their properties.

I left my last rental due to our landlord not wanting to fix the roller door, a 10 million outlay has now seen her lose 50 million in lost rent because she refuses to repair it.

Yep, you both are right.
Though my last landlord in the house I rented ended up buying our improvements, like the A/C, water heater and some racks.
But clearly he was the exception to the rule.
Interestingly when GF first approached the agent who was showing the house for a new tenant to replace me, he wasn't interested. But GF called the owner and made a deal.
I see the same thing happen in the USA. Agents in particular are loath to modify any deal they may have made no matter how much common sense, or even value for the money is involved.

Wxx3 wrote:

Yep, you both are right.
Though my last landlord in the house I rented ended up buying our improvements, like the A/C, water heater and some racks.
But clearly he was the exception to the rule.
Interestingly when GF first approached the agent who was showing the house for a new tenant to replace me, he wasn't interested. But GF called the owner and made a deal.
I see the same thing happen in the USA. Agents in particular are loath to modify any deal they may have made no matter how much common sense, or even value for the money is involved.

Yeah, there are some good landlords, a rarity indeed. My current landlord is great, he repairs everything within a day. Mind you, he is a Viet that lived in the US for 30 years and has a different mindset.

Thanks for Help

I have lived with my wife for the past +4 years about 110 km north west of Ha Noi. Points to note about heating-cooling are:

a) In this area you will need reverse cycle air conditioning rather than just cooling air conditioning. Three years ago the maximum temperature was 7 to 8 degrees C for 3 days in winter!

b)  Air conditioning is useless unless the roof is fully insulated. Our house was like an oven even with air conditioning until we replaced the roofing iron with styro foam backed roofing iron. Many ceilings are concrete slabs rather than plaster. This turns the house into a heat sink that is unbearable throughout the night;

c) Air conditioners are very cheap. We bought 2 x 900 watt units for the extended family 2 weeks ago for only 6 million dong each fully installed; and

d) Be aware of power black outs. We have 2 to 3 black outs a week in summer. We have bought lithium battery fans that can operate for 5 hours on low speed. They are readily available in Ha Noi and no doubt HCM city.

woodgie wrote:

I have lived with my wife for the past +4 years about 110 km north west of Ha Noi. Points to note about heating-cooling are:

a) In this area you will need reverse cycle air conditioning rather than just cooling air conditioning. Three years ago the maximum temperature was 7 to 8 degrees C for 3 days in winter!

b)  Air conditioning is useless unless the roof is fully insulated. Our house was like an oven even with air conditioning until we replaced the roofing iron with styro foam backed roofing iron. Many ceilings are concrete slabs rather than plaster. This turns the house into a heat sink that is unbearable throughout the night;

c) Air conditioners are very cheap. We bought 2 x 900 watt units for the extended family 2 weeks ago for only 6 million dong each fully installed; and

d) Be aware of power black outs. We have 2 to 3 black outs a week in summer. We have bought lithium battery fans that can operate for 5 hours on low speed. They are readily available in Ha Noi and no doubt HCM city.

Great first post.

See highlighted text in bold above.

It sounds as if you are describing the limitations of what is sometimes called an ELECTRIC HEAT PUMP in the USA?

My unit in Nashville wouldn't heat much below 42° F / 6° C

I'm clueless, so it may be that most AC units here are actually Heat Pumps.

Just wondering for the future.

Our first apartment, Phú Mỹ Hưng.  D7.  tp.H.C.M. had three built in air conditioning units fully installed, when we first moved in.
One for each of the two bedrooms and the third one for the TV / dining room area.
All worked extremely well all the time and seemed to be quite cheap to run as well as very quiet. 
They were the first thing switched on, after the lights if needed, whenever we came home - couldn't live without them !!!
The efficiency and low running cost may have also something to do with the fact that our apartment was up on the 22 floor of the apartment block.

Flip465 wrote:

The efficiency and low running cost may have also something to do with the fact that our apartment was up on the 22 floor of the apartment block.

Our apartment was on the 17th floor.  As we were its first occupants there were no A/C units although the apartment was plumbed for A/C.  We made the decision that with the breeze and elevation, we would not need A/C.  This proved true in terms of temperature and general comfort but we forgot to factor in the element of air pollution.  With our windows usually open, our curtains were rapidly soiled and had to be washed monthly.  Looking at the curtains was a grim reminder that we were breathing the same air even as we slept.  Filtration of solid particle pollution by A/C may be just as important as the cooling effect.