Gree Inverter Aircon Review – Best Aircon We’ve Had So Far!

My 16-yr old non-inverter 0.75HP LG Aircon suddenly died last July 2022.

I didn’t bother to fix it because, well, it is 16 yrs old, and I’ve wanted to replace it with an inverter one for a long time.

For the next few days, I had been Googling replacement aircons that would fit the current window aircon wall hole, or at least, not entail too big of a fix.

I had narrowed my choices down to a Hitachi (again), and I asked on the FB group TBG – many people recommended the 1.0 HP inverter Kolin Quad Series.

I was ready to go for the Kolin but alas, it was out of stock everywhere!

Upon further Googling, and upon advise from one of the sellers I had canvassed, I found out that Kolin was using the same base unit as Gree. As I understand it, Kolin just buys a Gree base unit, and then just add a few features on top of the basic Gree unit (like additional wifi), and then rebrand it to Kolin.

Of course, in my mind, Gree is a Chinese brand, and I wasn’t too sure about the quality. I still preferred better branded aircons (Korean & Japanese brands).

But the price difference was big, and user reviews for the Korean & Japanese aircons were not that great, either.

I called up my aircon cleaning guy and asked him for recommendations. He recommended Kolin. Maganda daw talaga, he has cleaned a lot of Kolins. He also advised me not to get WIFI-enabled aircons because it’s a hassle to clean and prone to damage during cleaning (the wifi thingy is difficult to remove and often gets water damage daw). He also told me not to get any new LG because the new LGs were a pain to clean – he said it’s like installing the aircon every time they will be cleaning it, because you can’t remove the inside of the aircon anymore like normal, you have to remove the entire aircon, even the outer casing, that’s why it’s like having to install the aircon again every time after cleaning.

But since the Kolin was out of stock everywhere, I settled on a Gree, as recommended by a seller. Same lang naman daw, cheaper pa.

So I ended up buying a 1.0 HP Gree inverter aircon from Mabces Appliances on Lazada. It was P22,269.52 on sale vs. other brand aircons that were P26,000 to P34,000. (Eeek, I just checked the Gree’s price right now and it’s increased to around P27,000!!!)

On Shopee right now it is only P23,920, but I’m sure you can apply some vouchers during sales like 11.11 for more discounts, link here: https://shope.ee/AUJrUOhIy8

Link to Lazada here: https://tinyurl.com/GreeAircon

When the delivery arrived, the aircon was just strapped to the back of a motorcycle 🙁 I was worried that this might cause damage. Fortunately, it didn’t.

The next day, our aircon guy installed it. The 1.0HP Gree fits inside the compact-sized aircon hole for our old 0.75HP aircon, and was even smaller by an inch!

Gree 1HP Full DC Inverter Window Type Aircon Review

The model I got was the Gree 1HP Full DC Inverter Window Type Aircon GJ09-6DR.

I’m not a fan of the look. but I have to admit that the flat round holes make it easier to clean than the slats type that is common with other aircons. No more contorting rags various ways trying to clean aircon slats!

This model doesn’t have WIFI – but I don’t really need it. Honestly, we have never used the WIFI feature of our other wifi-enabled aircon aside from initially testing it out. The remote works fine for me.

Features

The aircon has a remote, has a timer function, it lights up to remind you to clean the filter. It has auto swing – very important!

It also has a Sleep function – I still haven’t figured out how that works and couldn’t find any clear guide online.

Basically, it has all the features one would expect from a basic aircon circa 2020s.

Its filter also has 3 different-colored foam things (electrostatic dedusting filter, catechin filter, active carbon filter, silver ion filter).

According to their marketing materials, it also has features that help when there’s a brownout or power surge.

There was a recent power outage very early in the morning (only lasted for about one second daw) and I had no idea! When I woke up, my aircon was still on. I only learned about the power outage because other people at home told me – their aircons turned off, and one of our electric clocks had reset.

Cooling

Okay, this is the most important part! How does it do for cooling?

It’s actually the best aircon we’ve had in recent memory in terms of cooling!

I have reviewed several inverter aircons here on the blog, and this Gree one is the best at cooling out of all of them – so unexpected!

Our bedroom sizes and features are basically the same, so comparing is easy.

I sometimes felt that my old 0.75HP non-inverter aircon struggled to cool my room, especially in the summer months. I also heard that you should go for a slightly higher capacity HP if you are going for an inverter ac, that’s why I got a 1.0HP inverter aircon.

This Gree aircon totally exceeded expectations in terms of cooling!

The room becomes cool in just 10 minutes.

For my old aircon, I used to keep the temp at 23C and also turned on an electric fan. Now I keep the Gree at 25C and I don’t even need to turn on the electric fan.

Is 25C cold? Apparently, yes! Sometimes I wonder if Gree’s temp is accurate, because 25C is still quite cold. I always thought that 25C was just cool enough to be not uncomfortable, but in Gree’s case, 25C is cold. It feels like 22C of my previous aircon.

Many people recommend keeping the aircon at 25C to save on electricity, and I always thought that was too hot, but apparently not!

When I was sick, I was even keeping my aircon temp at 26C/27C.

Other people at home were so impressed with this Gree aircon, that they’ve decided that IF any of our other aircons need to be replaced, we would be getting this Gree again (hopefully the price goes back down!)

Update for the Hitachi: One of our inverter Hitachis does not seem to be cooling as good as it did anymore, so we are thinking of replacing it with another Gree. We used to keep the Hitachi at a stable 25C and now even at 22C for a senior’s bedroom and it’s not even as cold as this Gree at 25C (it’s November while I’m writing this so the weather isn’t as hot). Still observing the Hitachi and will have our aircon guy check it out soon but if it is really starting to go bad, we will most likely replace it with another Gree. Not sure if it’s the fault of the Hitachi or if it is just abused since it is on almost 24/7 for senior’s bedroom.

Remote

The Gree aircon comes with a remote and a remote holder that you can place in a wall.

What’s different about this remote is that unlike other remote holders, this one is like a hook. The remote has a hole thing at the back that you hook onto the holder.

It’s kind of a hassle to wrap plastic, if, like me, you like to wrap your remotes in plastic to keep them clean. I still wrapped it in plastic then just cut a hole in the back to fit the hook.

Other than that, no problem with the remote. It is responsive and works as expected. The wifi button doesn’t do anything though, because this model doesn’t have a wifi feature.

Electricity Usage

Who knew the recommended 25C was cold enough for the Gree? Even our Hitachi & Carrier aircons are kept at 22C/23C, and 25C on the Hitachi is just not cold (it just makes the temperature comfortable but not cold).

Some nights when I want to it be colder, I put it on 24C, but that ended up giving me head cold when waking up, so I just put it back on 25C. I very rarely get head cold because the aircon is too cold, and this Gree was giving me head cold at 24C!

Head cold (head congestion): when your head gets too cold and you get a headache like from sinusitis or something. I sometimes have to cover my head with a smaller blanket while sleeping to avoid this, LOL.

Because this Gree was an inverter, I felt freer to keep it on for longer. I was actually keeping it on for much longer than I used to with my old ac.

But perusing our Meralco bill for the last 4 months, it seems like there hasn’t been that much of a difference, in fact, our usage & bill seems to have decreased by a few hundred pesos, even when I am using this 1.0HP aircon more than I used the old 0.75HP non-inverter one!

Others

The aircon cover may not be the prettiest, but it is the easiest one to clean! However, I have to be careful when lifting it and closing it, because it’s not that easy to “align” it to close.

It is not misaligned or anything, its just that it is designed with a notch and I just need to be careful not to force it closed if I hadn’t aligned it properly or I might break it.

In terms of noise, it’s not that loud. Not as quiet as a split-type, but it is very quiet for a window aircon.

Summary

So far, I am very happy with this Gree aircon!

It was a cheaper brand that I didn’t have any high hopes for, but it has exceeded my expectations.

• Cools very well
• No dent on Meralco bill (actually it seems lower even with longer usage)
• Easy to clean
• Was less expensive than other brands
• White and clean looking, matches my color scheme

Cons: not so pretty with the Gree logo in front but I have gotten used to how it looks, and the easier cleaning of the front “grill” makes up for it a lot

If you are looking for a window-type inverter aircon, check out Gree. I had looked down on this brand before but now that I’ve tried it, it is actually better than our other branded aircons, LOL.

So, big thank you to everyone who recommended Kolin. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even have considered Gree.