The Indian government could soon limit the cooling range of air conditioners to save on energy, India’s power minister, Manohar Lal Khattar said.
In a press meet organised to commemorate 11 years of the Bharatiya Janata Party at the centre, Khattar said the government would soon come out with a measure to limit the temperature range of air conditioners to 20°C and 28°C. Currently, air conditioners can be set to as low as 16°C and 18°C.
“The temperature standardisation for ACs will be set between 20°C to 28°C, meaning we won’t be able to cool below 20°C or warm above 28°C. This is a first-of-its-kind experiment, aiming to standardise temperature settings,” he said during the press conference, held on June 10.
The revised temperature range is an attempt to reduce mounting pressure on the electricity grid during the peak summer months. Between 2019 and 2024, ACs are estimated to have contributed an additional 30 to 35 gigawatts of power to the peak demand.
Previous studies by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency have shown that increasing the AC temperature by one degree can result in 6% of energy savings. Running ACs at 24°C instead of 20°C can result in energy savings of 24%.
Demand for air conditioning in India has tripled since 2010 and is estimated to outstrip the demand for power in all of Africa by 2050, the International Energy Agency had said. “Lowering cooling demand through energy efficiency policies therefore reduces the need for investment in batteries or expensive standby generation capacity, and thus helps to integrate renewables more cost effectively,” IEA said in a 2023 report.
Limiting AC temperature ranges may need to be accompanied by improvements in energy efficiency standards in order to have the desired effect, experts have said. Three star rated units dominate consumer preferences, “possibly due to cost considerations,” according to the BEE. A higher star-rating implies greater energy savings per unit consumed.
“While behavioural nudges like this are instrumental, they must be complemented by stronger policy and market interventions that include stronger efficiency standards, wider adoption of high-efficiency ACs, and integration of demand response in ACs,” said Neha Dhingra, India Director of CLASP, an NGO focussed on energy efficient appliances. “A mix of behavioural and technical interventions will be essential to deliver access to sustainable, affordable, and efficient cooling,” she added.
Banner image: An air conditioner. Image by Dinkun Chen via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
