Variable-voltage variable-frequency drives have been widely adopted by building services engineers in the area of HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) applications and became the substantial energy consumption in both commercial and residential buildings. Since the speed of a compressor driven by a conventional TPIM (two-phase induction motor) is fixed, it is either switched "ON", working at maximum capacity or switched "OFF" by a thermostat. While the most recent VF (variable-frequency) reluctance motor driven compressor delivers an enhanced performance over TPIM drive, it also provides variable-speed operation as the temperature changes, while improving the overall energy efficiency. This paper aimed to evaluate the performance of both TPIM and VF compressor drives for single-phase residential air-conditioning applications. Their cooling performance and harmonic distortions will be investigated. International standards for harmonic limits will also be applied in evaluating the distortions created by the VF drive.