How AC temperature at 24 degrees helps save energy, budget

The government has recently said that the ACs will come with an advisory that will suggest how much temperature is good for saving energy, environment and keeping yourself healthy.

The government is considering making the default temperature setting for air conditioners at 24 degree Celsius. This does not mean you cannot change the temperature below 24 degrees. What it means is that when you switch on the air conditioner, the default temperature will be set at 24 degrees.  Default setting is the setting with which a machine comes from the factory.

Apart from keeping the default temperature in the range of 24-26 degree Celsius, the government also wants the manufacturers to clearly inform customers that the optimum temperature of 24 degrees is beneficial both from the point of view of health and finances.

According to Bureau of Energy Efficiency, every one-degree increase in the air-conditioner temperature setting results in saving of 6 per cent of electricity consumed.BEE says only six per cent of households in the country use air conditioners. If all consumers adopt a default temperature setting, India could save 20 billion units of electricity annually.

The move towards making the default setting on air conditioners 24 degree Celsius will begin by issuing an advisory to all establishments and manufacturers, particularly airports, hotels, shopping malls, offices and government buildings.

The energy consumption depends on the type of air-conditioner. In a single-stage AC, the compressor cools at a steady rate when on, drawing a fixed level of power.A thermostat switches off the compressor when the desired temperature is reached, and switches it on when the air warms up again. Therefore, the compressor runs for only a fraction of this time - and it is the compressor that consumes most of the power drawn by an AC unit.In a modern, variable-speed AC, the compressor works nearly continuously but at variable capacity, to match the setting on the thermostat. A higher temperature setting demands lower power consumption, and vice versa.

Japan has introduced 'Cool Biz' campaign, where to reduce energy costs, workplaces have to set their temperature at 28 degrees Celsius. Such campaign there runs from May to October.

According to BP Energy Outlook, India's energy consumption is set to grow 4.2% a year by 2035, faster than that of all major economies in the world. BEE has reported that the total connected load in India due to air conditioning might reach 200 GW by 2030. That number comes from current market trends and the 15-fold increase in energy consumption that India has seen since 1990.

In 2015, India, Asia's second biggest energy consumer since 2008, had overtaken Japan as the world's third largest oil consuming country behind the US and China. By 2035, India's gas demand is expected to expand by 162%, followed by that of oil (121%) and coal (105%).