India will quickly undertake new requirements to cap air conditioner (AC) temperature settings between 20 and 28 levels Celsius to scale back peak energy demand, Union Energy Minister Manohar Lal mentioned on Tuesday. The proposed norms, being developed by the Bureau of Power Effectivity (BEE), will cowl at the least residential ACs and can also embrace business models.
“Air conditioner temperature requirements will likely be launched very quickly for the primary time. Beneath these requirements, AC temperatures will likely be between 20-28 levels Celsius. In different phrases, no cooling under 20 diploma Celsius and no warming above 28 diploma Celsius,” Manohar Lal mentioned.
“Often individuals don’t sleep in temperatures under 20 diploma Celsius. It has even been recommended to maintain the minimal at 24 diploma Celsius, nevertheless conserving individuals’s preferences in thoughts, 20 diploma Celsius will likely be adopted,” he added.
Citing latest research, Energy Secretary Pankaj Agarwal mentioned cooling demand accounts for round 50 gigawatt (GW), or roughly one-fifth of India’s peak energy demand. “By rising the temperature by 1 diploma Celsius, we save 6 per cent of electrical energy. There are 10 crore ACs in India, with 1.5 crore being added every year. New induction (of ACs) is simply too enormous,” he mentioned.
#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister of Housing & City Affairs, Manohar Lal Khattar says, “Relating to air-con requirements, a brand new provision is being applied quickly. The temperature standardization for ACs will likely be set between 20°C to twenty-eight°C, that means we gained’t be capable to cool under… pic.twitter.com/Iwnaa4ZPKN
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Peak energy demand throughout summer season months in India
Managing peak energy demand through the summer season months — when AC load surges — has change into a significant problem for India’s grid operators, particularly throughout non-solar hours when baseload thermal vegetation battle to ramp up. The issue is compounded by restricted thermal capability addition lately.
In 2024, peak demand of 250 GW was recorded on Might 30. This 12 months, beneficial climate circumstances stored energy demand through the month of Might in verify. Nevertheless, with temperatures rising in latest days, peak demand touched 242 GW on June 10.
A latest research by the College of California, Berkeley’s India Power & Local weather Middle discovered that with none coverage intervention, room ACs might contribute a whopping 120 GW to India’s peak demand by 2030. “Even with all under-construction era and storage tasks on-line, energy shortages are anticipated as early as 2026,” the working paper revealed in March 2025 mentioned.
“India provides 10-15 million new ACs yearly, with one other 130-150 million anticipated over the subsequent decade. Between 2019 and 2024 alone, room ACs added an estimated 30-35 GW to peak demand,” the paper mentioned.
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The research additionally discovered that setting robust minimal effectivity requirements — particularly for 1-star rated home equipment — is vital to making sure the market doesn’t flood with low-efficiency merchandise, whilst higher-tier labels enhance.
Earlier, BEE has additionally advocated for setting the default AC temperature at 24 diploma Celsius. “Regular human physique temperature is between 36-37 diploma Celsius. It’s typically noticed that in giant business institutions, akin to accommodations, AIRPORTS and places of work, the AC working workers attempt to set the decrease temperature (round 18-21 diploma Celsius), believing that it signifies a greater cooling efficiency of AC system. Nevertheless, technically this isn’t true and the cooling motion of compressor is similar at different settings additionally,” in keeping with a doc on BEE’s web site.
“Then again, setting the temperature within the vary of 18-21 diploma Celsius outcomes into a really cool inner ambient circumstances, which compels individuals to put on heat clothes resulting in wastage of power. As per the consolation chart, the temperatures upto 25 diploma Celsius are fairly comfy for human physique, together with desired humidity and air motion values,” the doc mentioned.
“International locations like Japan and the US have already put in laws for the functioning of air conditioners. Japan launched a default setting for air conditioners at 28 levels Celsius. Whereas in US, states like California have enforced limits on reducing the air conditioner past 26 levels Celsius,” it added.