“The Canstar Blue air conditioner survey showed that worry over how power bills will hit the back pocket is a significant issue in Australia, particularly in NSW and Victoria where stress levels were the highest,” says CANSTAR CANNEX head of research Steve Mickenbecker.

“Interestingly, Generation Y respondents were the most relaxed of all generations surveyed about the size of their power bills.”

The independent Canstar Blue survey also showed the Daikin brand blew away its competitors, beating market leader Fujitsu when it comes to most satisfied customers. Daikin also beat major brands including Panasonic, Mitsubishi, Samsung, Kelvinator and LG.

“The survey showed how highly Australians rate Daikin as an air conditioning provider, with the company scoring top marks in the categories of overall satisfaction, after sale service, reliability, ease of use, functionality, noise and energy efficiency.”

Samsung and Kelvinator both came out on top in the eyes of their customers for the price of their air conditioners.

Most common air conditioner gripes

• Units installed incorrectly and in the wrong locations.
• High running costs and energy usage
• Remote controls and instructions hard to understand and use.
• Excessive noise made by unit.
• Unattractive appearance.

Canstar Blue, a new initiative of CANSTAR CANNEX, commissions Colmar Brunton to survey 2,500 Australian consumers across a range of categories every few months to measure and track customer satisfaction. Daikin today received the Most Satisfied Customers Award.

The outcomes reported are the results from buyers of air conditioners within the survey group. To qualify, the air conditioner has to have been bought within the last two years.

“We launched Canstar Blue to give Australians a free online resource to help them with their key purchasing decisions by making it simple for them to learn from the experiences of other consumers. It is essentially a guide to product excellence as voted by customers,” Mr Mickenbecker says.

The independent survey was undertaken in conjunction with professional market researchers, Colmar Brunton.

The full Canstar Blue results are available at www.canstarblue.com.au.

Other key survey findings

• Females were more satisfied than males with their air conditioner in every category.
• Baby boomers lived up to their optimistic reputation, with the study showing they are the happiest generation with their air conditioner.
• WA is more satisfied with their air conditioner than Australians in any other state.