Air conditioners offer healing and decorative functions
Air conditioners offer healing and decorative functions
Kurniawan Hari
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Dozens of air conditioning units of various brands are
displayed at a showroom on Jl. Fatmawati, South Jakarta. Three
men looked busy, tidying up the electronic merchandise in the
spacious store.
The store not only sells air conditioner, but also offers
refrigerators, washing machines and television sets from numerous
manufacturers like Panasonic, Samsung, Hitachi, Toshiba, Modena,
Sanyo, General, LG, Dast, Mitsubishi and Daikin.
As the three men busily prepared for customers, two men came
and looked around the shop. They were looking for an air
conditioner.
"People come for air conditioners equipped with anti-bacteria
systems. They forget about the conventional ones, although they
are cheaper," said Acaon, a shop attendant at Mega Jaya Shop on
Jl. Fatmawati.
The growing number of electronics manufacturers that produce
air conditioners has created a climate of stiff competition.
This has prompted manufacturers to produce a range of
different air conditioners aimed at different market segments.
They are now equipping their air conditioners with more
functions.
Today, an air conditioner is not only a device to produce
fresh or cool air for a room. Air conditioners, or AC, are now
equipped with devices to kill air-borne bacteria.
Other manufacturers work on the design. They create design so
that an AC unit is beautiful enough to decorate the house.
"People used to purchase AC units of a certain brand. They
correlate brands with quality. But today, they purchase AC units
that have more functions," said Acaon, who has been working at
the retail store for 20 years.
Acaon added that customers look for AC that can also prevent
bacteria, neutralize cigarette smoke and deodorize bad smells.
Didi, a sales executive at Abadi Jaya Shop in Bendungan Hilir,
Central Jakarta, also gave a similar view.
"Our customers often seek AC units with 'Plasmacluster'
technology, that is the technology that purifies the air," Didi
told The Jakarta Post at his store.
With the rapid growth in technology, it is now easier for
customers to find an AC with latest technology, be it air-
purifying Plasmacluster technology, or anti-bacteria devices.
Artistic touches can also enhance the appearance of the air
conditioning unit. One AC product with artistic panels comes from
LG Electronics.
Widi Nugroho, head of LG Electronics Indonesia's public
relations department, said that the AC unit with the artistic
panel is once of their latest products.
The artistic AC, under the name Artcool Wide, displays
attractive images, like calligraphy or an image of the Al Haram
Mosque in Mecca.
With price tag of around Rp 10 million (a standard AC is sold
for Rp 2 million), Artcool Wide is somewhat like a painting hung
onto the wall. A painting that has another function besides
simply cooling the air.
Artcool is also equipped with a "three-dimensional" cooling
system that enables the AC to give air flow from three sides: the
front, right and left side. Thus, it offers a better distribution
of cool air throughout the room.
According to Widi, the product also used new technology called
"Nano Carbon Filter" that can absorb smells ten times faster than
any other AC product, and the Neo Plasma Filter can also kill
influenza virus and bacteria.
"There is no electronic manufacturer that cares for customers
like we do," Widi asserted.
With the rapid developments in technology, ACs are no longer
just an air cooling device.