According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), most ACs in India are currently set between 20 and 21 degrees Celsius, though the ideal comfort range is 24 to 25 degrees Celsius.BEE recommends setting air conditioners at 24 to 25 degrees Celsius to balance comfort and energy use. It says that keeping the temperature too low, around 20 to 21 degrees Celsius, wastes electricity.The agency also says that raising the AC temperature by just 1 degree can save about 6 per cent of electricity. Increasing it from 20 degrees Celsius to 24 degrees Celsius could lead to energy savings of up to 24 per cent.India adds 10-15 million new ACs annually, with another 130–150 million expected over the next decade. Without policy intervention, ACs alone could drive 120 GW of peak power demand by 2030 and 180 GW by 2035, nearly 30 per cent of the projected totals, according to a recent study by India Energy and Climate Center (IECC) at University of California (UC) Berkeley.The study says the fastest-developing major economy can avoid severe power shortages and save consumers up to Rs 2.2 lakh crore (USD 26 billion) by doubling the energy efficiency of room ACs over the next 10 years.In the summer of 2024, room air conditioner sales surged by 40 to 50 per cent year-on-year amid record-breaking temperatures.The share of the household sector in India’s total electricity consumption increased from 22 per cent in 2012-13 to 25 per cent in 2022-23.Much of this rise can be attributed to economic growth and the increasing need for cooling due to rising temperatures, experts say.According to an ongoing research at the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development at the University of Oxford, in a world two degrees Celsius warmer than pre-industrial times, the largest cooling demand, in terms of total population, will come from India, followed by China, Nigeria, Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, the Philippines, and the US.
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