India: Your AC keeps you cool but it’s the reason why you need it so much

Source(s): Times of India, the

By Jasjeev Gandhiok

Air-conditioners (AC) may be cooling your home or office, but their inefficient usage is putting a great stress on energy consumption and heat levels outdoors. The hotter it gets, the more power is used. As the outdoor heat rises, it traps the city in a vicious cycle of more AC consumption, says a new study released by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) titled “A Midsummer Nightmare”.

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The study stated that the average electricity consumption during the peak heatwave days of June 7-12, 2019 increased by 25% as compared with the season’s average. This trend is expected to worsen nationally as the heat index and climatic stress are continuously increasing. India’s heat index is increasing at the rate of +0.56°C per decade during summer (March-May) and +0.32°C during monsoon (June-September).

In Delhi, 25-30% of the annual energy consumption is because of thermal stress, which occurs primarily due to concrete. In peak summers, it is said to be as high as 50%. Calling for designing buildings for reducing the heat load on them, promoting adaptive comfort, and cutting down over-dependence on air conditioning, CSE said better planning is required to change this trend.

“If the growing discomfort due to increasing heat is not addressed with wide-ranging architectural design solutions, mixed use of cooling approaches (including less energy-intensive devices like fans) and improved energy efficiency of mechanical cooling methods, India’s energy security and climate change mitigation efforts will be deeply undermined,” said CSE executive director (research and advocacy) Anumita Roychowdhury.

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