Explained: Why power ministry wants to set your AC temperature at 24 degree Celsius

NEW DELHI: The power ministry has advised companies to regulate default air conditioner (AC) settings to promote energy efficiency in the area which is expected to be a key driver of global electricity demand in the coming decades.AC manufacturers have been asked to maintain default temperature setting at 24 degrees Celsius, which may also be made mandatory at a later stage, the power ministry said in a statement on Friday.The power ministry also launched an awareness campaign around air conditioning in order to achieve substantial energy savings and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In a meeting called by Power Minister R.K Singh, manufacturers have been advised to set labels on air conditioners which indicate the optimum temperature settings as part of consumer awareness. The temperature setting will be in the range of 24 to 26 degrees Celsius. The government also plans to send an advisory to establishments and manufacturers in this regard. “Every one degree increase in the air-conditioner temperature setting results in saving of 6 per cent of electricity consumed,” Singh said.After gathering public feedback around six months later, the Ministry of Power may consider making the optimum temperature levels mandatory. Some countries like Japan have put in place regulation to keep the default AC temperature at 28 degree Celsius. “If all the consumers adopt, this will result in savings of 20 billion units of electricity in one year alone,” the statement said.As per the findings of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, the total connected load in India due to air conditioning will be 200 GW by 2030 going by the current market trends. This may further increase as only 6 per cent of households in the country are using air conditioners today.India has seen a 15-fold increase in energy consumed for cooling since 1990, a recent report from International Energy Agency (IEA) pointed out.“Growing demand for air conditioners is one of the most critical blind spots in today’s energy debate. Setting higher efficiency standards for cooling is one of the easiest steps governments can take to reduce the need for new power plants, cut emissions and reduce costs at the same time, Fatih Birol, executive director of IEA had said.

from The Economic Times https://ift.tt/2lpYhFe