Tornado Air Conditioner: What You Get and Which Model to Choose
Tornado air conditioners are an Israeli brand of Tornado Consumer Products Ltd., which per the company’s website was founded in 1992 and sells inverter ACs only: wall-mounted, mini-central, portable (the TO GO series), floor-standing ACs and VRF systems. In stores we saw Tornado wall units in the TOP J series at about ₪1,700 (NIS) for 12,000 BTU up to about ₪3,800 for 23,500 BTU, with a full 7-year importer warranty subject to activation within 30 days.
On this page you’ll find what’s known about the company from its own sources, which models are on sale now and how they differ, what to know about Tornado portable ACs, and what Tornado itself recommends on maintenance and faults. (Israeli stores size ACs in “horsepower”, where 1 HP ≈ 9,000 BTU/h.) We didn’t test the ACs ourselves: the comparison is based on product pages at Israeli stores and the Tornado website, as of November 2026.
The short answer
Air conditioners, November 2026- Tornado Consumer Products Ltd., Israel
- Inverter only, per the company
- About ₪1,700–3,800
- About ₪1,500–1,600 for a 20,000 BTU model
- Up to 7 years, activation within 30 days
- Built into the TOP J series per the store pages
Models worth checking
Picked on specs, Israeli importer warranty and shop prices in Israel in November 2026. We did not test them at home. Prices change, check before you buy.
Tornado TOP J INV 16 X WIFI EU
11,942 BTU cooling (range 2,730–13,989), 12,966 BTU heating, SEER 6.4, SCOP 4.1, A++, Shabbat mode, WiFi
Why: Effectively 1.25 HP, with an upper range of almost 14,000 BTU and a full 7-year warranty per the store page.
Watch out: No noise figure on the page. For a bedroom, ask the seller for it.
Tornado TOP J INV 18 X WIFI EU
15,013 BTU cooling (range 4,436–15,695), 16,719 BTU heating, SEER 6.7, SCOP 4.0, A++, Shabbat mode, WiFi
Why: An in-between size that’s hard to find from other importers, between 1.25 and 2 HP, with SEER 6.7, the highest in the series.
Watch out: Relatively expensive for its output: at about ₪2,590 you can find 2 HP models from other brands.
Tornado TOP J INV 30 X WIFI EU
23,543 BTU cooling (range 6,142–25,249), 24,566 BTU heating, SEER 6.6, SCOP 4.0, A++, Shabbat mode, WiFi
Why: Effectively 2.5 HP, with heating higher than cooling, Shabbat mode and a 7-year warranty.
Watch out: Current of up to 13.5 amps per the page, so it needs a line with a suitable breaker.
Tornado TO GO 20R EU
Portable AC, cooling in the 15,501–20,000 BTU range, cooling and heating, rating A, single-phase
Why: Higher output than most portables, at a price similar to 12,000 BTU models, from an official importer.
Watch out: A sponsored review on ynet noted the model is somewhat noisy. It needs a window for the hose.
Tornado SLIM SQ PRO INV 40 X 1PH
Mini-central, 36,170 BTU cooling, 37,000 BTU heating, SEER 6.2, SCOP 4.0, A++, single-phase 230V
Why: A mini-central that runs on a single-phase connection, so no connection upgrade is needed, with a 5-year warranty subject to activation within 30 days.
Watch out: Running current of about 16.6 amps in cooling, and that’s before installation and ducting, which cost thousands of shekels.
Prices in Israel: Air conditioners
TOP J INV 16 and 18 for a master bedroom or small living room; SEER 6.4–6.7, Shabbat mode and WiFi.
TOP J INV 30 for an open living room of about 30–34 m², with heating higher than cooling.
TO GO for anyone who can’t install a wall unit, and SLIM SQ PRO to cool a whole apartment on a single-phase connection.
Price ranges seen in Israeli shops and price-comparison sites in November 2026, VAT included, usually without installation.
What to look at before buying
| What to check | What it is | Our recommendation |
|---|---|---|
| Activating the warranty | Per the store pages, Tornado’s full 7-year warranty is subject to its terms and activation within 30 days. | Activate the warranty on the Tornado site right after installation, and keep a screenshot of the confirmation. |
| BTU by room | The number in the model name (16, 18, 30) doesn’t map one-to-one to BTU. The TOP J INV 16 delivers 11,942 BTU, and the TOP J INV 30 delivers 23,543 BTU. | Choose by the cooling line in BTU/h. Roughly 650 BTU per m² on a mid-level floor. |
| SEER and SCOP | In the TOP J series we saw SEER of 6.4–6.7 and SCOP of 4.0–4.1. | These are good figures for the market. In a room you heat a lot, also compare models with SCOP of 5 or higher. |
| Portable or wall-mounted | A Tornado portable AC genuinely cools, with a hose, but it’s less efficient and noisier inside the room. | If you can install a wall unit, it’s better in most cases. TO GO suits renters or a room with no space for an outdoor unit. |
| Electrical connection | TOP J models are single-phase. Among mini-centrals, the SLIM SQ PRO INV 40 X 1PH is single-phase with a current of about 16.6 amps. | With the large models, an electrician should approve the line and the total load. |
| Service | Tornado commits on its site to a technician at the customer’s home within a day of opening a call. | This is the company’s commitment. Ask the seller about service in your area, especially at the height of summer. |
Who is Tornado and what does the company sell?
Tornado is a private Israeli company, Tornado Consumer Products Ltd. Per its About page, it was founded in 1992 by brothers Ronen and Oded Bazazi, who had earlier, in 1988, founded the Anak HaMazganim chain of AC stores.
What the company states about itself on its site:
- Inverter only: Tornado writes that it sells only inverter-technology ACs.
- Market share: the company claims about 33% of the air-conditioning market in Israel. This is the company’s figure, and we found no external confirmation.
- Service: a commitment to a technician at the customer’s home within a day of opening a call. Per the company, about 80% of inquiries are resolved on the phone, using remote diagnosis.
- Warranty: up to 7 years depending on the model, with an extension option.
Product lines per the site’s menu: wall-mounted ACs, mini-central, TO GO portable ACs, a floor-standing AC (STAND-INV), concealed ACs, multi-inverter and VRF systems. Under the “Tornado Group” menu there’s also a link to the Mitsubishi HEAVY AC site, whose copyright is registered to Tornado Consumer Products. We cover that brand in our Mitsubishi air conditioner guide.
The TOP J series: Tornado’s wall-mounted ACs
The TOP J INV X WIFI EU series is the Tornado wall-unit series we saw in stores. All the models we checked include built-in WiFi, built-in Shabbat mode and an A++ rating, and are sold with a full 7-year warranty.
The figures per the store pages:
- TOP J INV 16: 11,942 BTU (about 1.25 HP), SEER 6.4, SCOP 4.1, at about ₪1,700.
- TOP J INV 18: 15,013 BTU (between 1.5 and 2 HP), SEER 6.7, SCOP 4.0, at about ₪2,590.
- TOP J INV 30: 23,543 BTU (about 2.5 HP), SEER 6.6, SCOP 4.0, at about ₪3,790.
- Stores also list the TOP J INV 22, 35 and 42. We didn’t check their specs.
What stands out: on all the models we checked, heating is higher than cooling, and the upper inverter range is about 5–15% above nominal. That gives reserve on heat-wave (sharav) days and cold nights. On the other hand, prices are slightly higher than basic Tadiran and Electra models of the same output. The difference is partly offset by the long warranty.
Stores also list Tornado’s LEGEND and SMART series. We didn’t check their spec sheets, so we didn’t include them in the comparison.
Tornado vs Tadiran and Electra: comparison by size
At the same output, Tornado TOP J is slightly more expensive than basic Tadiran and Electra models, but gives a longer warranty and similar or better efficiency figures.
Comparison per the store pages we checked:
- About 12,000 BTU: Tornado TOP J INV 16 (11,942 BTU, SEER 6.4, 7-year warranty) at about ₪1,700. Tadiran Air One INV 180 (12,180 BTU, SEER 7, 5-year badge) at about ₪1,650. Electra Relax INV 170 (12,355 BTU, SEER 6.27, one year per the page) at about ₪1,250.
- About 23,500 BTU: Tornado TOP J INV 30 (23,543 BTU, SEER 6.6, 7 years) at about ₪3,790. Tadiran Air One INV 340 (23,750 BTU, SEER 6.3, 5-year badge) at about ₪3,550. Electra A Inverter 340 (24,260 BTU, 5 years) at about ₪3,700.
What this means: if a long warranty matters to you, Tornado offers 7 years across the series. If you’re looking for the lowest price, there are cheaper Electra and Tadiran models, usually with a shorter warranty. If efficiency is the priority, at about 12,000 BTU the Tadiran Air One INV 180 reaches SEER 7. The comparison between Tadiran and Electra is in our Tadiran vs Electra air conditioner guide.
Tornado portable ACs: TO GO
The TO GO series is Tornado’s portable ACs. These are real ACs, with a compressor and a hose that vents hot air through the window, not evaporative coolers.
What we saw:
- Tornado TO GO 20R EU: cooling in the 15,501–20,000 BTU range, cooling and heating, rating A, single-phase, at about ₪1,500–1,600.
- A sponsored article on ynet (a major Israeli news site) also presented the TO GO 14 as a budget model with wheels, a timer and sleep mode, and noted it’s less powerful and not especially quiet.
What Tornado recommends on using a portable AC, per the guide on its site:
- Don’t place it where it gets a lot of afternoon sun.
- Leave clearance from the walls, so as not to restrict airflow.
- Ensure proper ventilation, so the hot air from the compressor leaves the room.
- In high humidity there’s more condensation, and you may need to empty the water more often.
- Check the filter every 6–8 weeks, and more often in a dusty home.
If you were looking for a Tornado portable AC without a hose, read our hoseless portable AC guide. The comparison with other brands’ portables is in our portable AC guide.
Tornado mini-central and larger systems
Tornado also sells mini-central ACs, including a single-phase model of about 36,000 BTU that suits apartments without a three-phase connection.
Tornado SLIM SQ PRO INV 40 X 1PH, per the product page at Home Center: 36,170 BTU cooling, 37,000 BTU heating, SEER 6.2, SCOP 4.0, A++, a single-phase 230V connection and a running current of about 16.6 amps in cooling. The price is about ₪6,500–6,700, before installation, ducts and diffusers. The warranty is 5 years, subject to activation within 30 days.
A current of 16.6 amps is a significant load on a single-phase connection. An electrician should check that the panel and household connection can handle it along with the home’s other appliances.
Installing a mini-central is much more expensive than a wall unit. Per pro.co.il (an Israeli contractors’ site), installing a 3.5–7 HP unit costs about ₪4,000–5,500, and a full project with ducts and a dropped ceiling costs much more. The full explanation, including a comparison with VRF, is in our mini-central AC guide.
Maintenance and common faults per Tornado
Tornado recommends cleaning the indoor unit’s filters about once every three months with home use, and running the AC for about 10 minutes once a week even when you don’t need it.
More recommendations from Tornado’s articles:
- Clearance: leave about 30 cm around the unit, and don’t put a cabinet right up against a wall unit.
- Outdoor unit: don’t block the air intake and outlet. Blocking increases the current, and in extreme cases can cause a compressor fault.
- Odor: an unpleasant smell from the AC requires disinfecting the evaporator coil with a dedicated antibacterial product.
- Leaking: wash the filters in lukewarm water, against the direction of airflow. If the leak persists, the drain hose near the outdoor unit may be blocked.
- H1 code in winter: per Tornado, the code appears when the coil in the outdoor unit has frozen, usually at around 5–6°C (41–43°F). The AC defrosts on its own within about 10–15 minutes, and you don’t need to touch the remote.
- Remote not responding: in most cases it’s the batteries.
Full guidance on cleaning the filters and dealing with dripping is in our AC cleaning guide, and an explanation of the buttons on Tornado remotes is in our Tadiran AC remote symbols guide.
The bottom line
Company: Tornado Consumer Products Ltd., Israel. Technology: Inverter only, per the company.
Keep reading: portable air conditioner Israel, best air conditioner in Israel, what size air conditioner do I need, 1 HP air conditioner Israel.
FAQ: Tornado air conditioner Israel
Are Tornado air conditioners good?
Per the spec sheets we checked, TOP J models show SEER of 6.4–6.7, A++, Shabbat mode and WiFi, with a full 7-year warranty. These are good figures for the Israeli market. We didn’t test the ACs ourselves and can’t vouch for reliability over the years.
Who makes Tornado air conditioners?
Tornado Consumer Products Ltd., a private Israeli company. Per its website, it was founded in 1992 by brothers Ronen and Oded Bazazi.
How long is the warranty on a Tornado AC?
Per the store pages, a full 7-year warranty on the TOP J series and 5 years on the SLIM SQ PRO mini-central, subject to the terms and activation within 30 days. Per Tornado, the warranty is up to 7 years, depending on the model.
How much does a Tornado portable AC cost?
The Tornado TO GO 20R EU, with cooling in the 15,501–20,000 BTU range, sells for about ₪1,500–1,600. Smaller models in the TO GO series are cheaper.
Is there a Tornado portable AC without a hose?
TO GO units are real air conditioners, so they work with a hose that vents the hot air. A real AC can’t work without such an outlet. Hoseless devices are evaporative air coolers.
How much does a 1 HP Tornado AC cost?
We didn’t check a 1 HP Tornado model. The smallest model we checked is the TOP J INV 16, with 11,942 BTU (about 1.25 HP), at about ₪1,700.
What is the H1 code on a Tornado AC?
Per Tornado, H1 appears in winter when the coil in the outdoor unit has frozen, usually at around 5–6°C. The AC goes into a defrost of about 10–15 minutes, and you should wait without touching the remote.
Do Tornado ACs have Shabbat mode?
The store pages for the TOP J models we checked (16, 18 and 30) list built-in Shabbat mode. For other models, check the product page.
What’s the connection between Tornado and Mitsubishi?
On the Tornado site, under “Tornado Group”, there’s a link to the Mitsubishi HEAVY AC site, and the copyright on that site is registered to Tornado Consumer Products. The sites don’t explicitly explain the distribution structure.