The StarWind trademark is a Russian brand. Registered in 2008. Products of this brand are distributed exclusively through the official distributor - the Russian company Merlion. Apparently, the distributor company is the ultimate official beneficiary of the brand.
Most of the products are manufactured in factories in China. Since there is no information about any development centers, the product line is being developed in the same place, maximum - representatives of the trading company agree on the parameters, select the design.
It was mentioned that the manufacturer produces an insignificant part of the products at Russian factories (microwave ovens are assembled on order at the Tekhnoprom plant in the Kaliningrad region).
Assortment of goods - small household appliances for home and kitchen, climatic appliances. There are no more than a few dozen types of products supplied. The business was set up according to the standard scheme: brand registration, an agreement with Chinese companies for the production of products with the mentioned logo. Warranties for such a product are largely conditional, since there is practically no manufacturer, and only the seller can bear limited obligations.
The technique is presented in a low and medium price range.
Manufactured products
Split systems starwind are sold mainly in the form of a kit - one wall-mounted indoor unit and one outdoor unit. Alternatively, you can find an indoor unit instead of a wall-mounted version - in a floor-ceiling version (there is one SWU-18HR model). The system comes in two boxes.
All starwind air conditioners are intended for domestic use. All systems are equipped with a remote control.
The quality of the produced models is ambiguous. Apparently, there is a dependence on batches produced at a particular plant from components from different manufacturers. There is no special, strict control over the products manufactured by the customer. Therefore, when purchasing HVAC equipment from this company, you can buy relatively high-quality products, or you may come across not very high-quality goods. However, the inclusion of a warranty period (12 months) and a very low price are a comforting compensation for this shortcoming.
Classification
In the abbreviation, wall-mounted split systems are designated TAC, then numbers indicating the capacity of the air conditioner. Service area starts from 15 to 70 sq.m. All air conditioners can be switched to 4 modes: cooling, ventilation, heating, dehumidification.
Several modifications can be distinguished, indicated by the last letters in the model abbreviation:
- JI... Models with inverter compressor control;
- HD, Z. Models with traditional start-stop compressor control with improved performance in terms of energy consumption class (class A);
- BR... Strat-stop compressor control. Energy class D.
Other differences in design, configuration with various filter elements, etc.
Comparative characteristics of several models
The differences between the models are insignificant and are mainly in power. Here is a brief technical description of several models for clarity.
| Model | TAC 09CHSA / BR | TAC 07CHSA / BR | TAC 18CHSA / BR |
| Power (cooling / heating), W | 2640/2780 | 2290/2290 | 5340/5720 |
| Power consumption (cooling / heating), W | 970/950 | 710/760 | 2800/2470 |
| Serves an area up to, sq.m. | 20 | 16 | 50 |
| Noise level of the indoor unit (max), dB | 36 | 34 | 48 |
| Estimated cost, rub. | 10 000 – 12 000 | 9 000 – 10 000 | 17 000 – 18 000 |
You can buy equipment only in stores selling household appliances. The company does not have any specialized sales centers, service, maintenance centers. This is one of the disadvantages, since you will most likely be advised by an ordinary wide-profile sales consultant, and not a specialist in the field of HVAC technology.
Instructions for control panel and StarWind air conditioners
The instruction for air conditioners is in Russian. Since the brand was developed for use on the territory of our country, initially the entire manual, the remote control for the air conditioner, the plates, the information output was adapted for our country and written in Russian. This is undoubtedly the advantage of the brand.
The instruction should include the necessary minimum of information on installing the air conditioner, recommendations for operation, error codes, step-by-step algorithms for turning on the main operating modes (for example, how to turn on the heating).
Error codes for StarWind air conditioners
Air conditioners are equipped with a small self-diagnosis system. Error codes are displayed on the remote control and duplicated on the information board (if available in a particular model) on the indoor unit.
The codes are standardized, there is no own unique fault coding. In this regard, the technique is simple and convenient. But self-diagnosis is not very powerful - there are only a few alleged faults (up to 10 codes).
And since the quality of the produced equipment corresponds to the lower and middle price range, you should be careful about trusting the built-in self-diagnosis system.
In general, it is recommended that in the event of malfunctions that are only indicated by the self-diagnosis system without other external manifestations, turn off the air conditioner and inspect it externally. For long-term continuous operation, it is also recommended to check for ice formation and defrost if found. Freezing in the outdoor unit can also cause the self-diagnosis system to malfunction.
It is advisable to turn off the equipment with complete removal of power from all units - from the internal and external. In most cases, they are powered through one circuit - an outlet or an outlet to a separate switch in the switchboard.
After a while (it is better to wait 5 minutes) turn on the equipment. If the diagnostics still give a malfunction, then it is recommended to contact the service center. Self-repair can lead to significant damage and cancellation of the warranty, and repairing an external unit is also associated with an increased risk (usually external units are located at a high altitude).
User reviews
Reviews of StarWind split systems are mixed. It can be assumed that people bought equipment from different batches. Someone does not complain in the reviews and writes that the equipment has been working stably for a long time, someone has it out of order immediately after 2 weeks of operation.
In general, the low cost of climate systems is noted as the main advantage. And accordingly, users did not have any heightened expectations from equipment of such a price niche.
Among the common shortcomings, there is the low quality of plastic, the smell of plastic in the initial operation of the air conditioner. Increased power consumption in low-class models, which is not critical with rare work. And in most of the territory of our country, the fight against heat takes almost a month or two at most.
