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AC temperature at 24° C wise, not mandatory
Abha Gupta. Dated: 7/16/2018 11:39:04 AM
ER ABHA GUPTA
Jammu, July 15
• BEE recommends for major establishments to set temperature of ACs at 24° C
• Temperatures up to 25° C comfortable for hu man body
• Japan encourages ACs setting at 28° C, not mandatory
• US encourages AC set ting at 26° C, again not mandatory
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In USA, there are flex alerts to set AC temperatures at 26° C or above, ‘Flex Alert’ is a call for consumers to voluntarily conserve electricity when there is a predicted shortage of energy supply, purely voluntary in nature and there is no enforcement from the government.
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Japan has campaigns to have air conditioners run at 28° C, it is purely voluntary in nature. The default AC temperatures are not set to 28° C, but encouraged people & businesses to set the air conditioners at that temperature.
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A healthy human body temperature is between 36-37° C. It is generally observed that in large commercial establishments like hotels, Airports and offices, the ACs are set at lower temperatures (generally between 18-20° C) for giving a cool feeling to customers. Ideally temperatures up to 25° C are quite comfortable for human body, along with desired humidity and air movement values.
Govt recommendation: Bureau of Energy Efficiency (Ministry of Power) has issued guidelines to major commercial establishments to set the default temperature on Air Conditioners to 24° C from the conventional 20-21° C. This move, the government says is to conserve energy and can result in approximately 24% of energy savings. However, users can adjust the temperature as per their choice. The government’s guidelines mention that temperatures up to 25° C are quite comfortable for human body, along with desired humidity and air movement values.
The government estimates that the potential for energy conservation through this measure is to the tune of 20 billion units (worth Rs10,000 crores) annually. As per government’s calculations, even if half (50%) the consumers adopt the recommendations, this would result in about 10 billion units of electricity, which is equivalent to reduction of 8.2 Million tonne of CO2 per year.
These guidelines have been recommended to major commercial establishments such as Airports, Hotels, Shopping Malls, Offices and Government Buildings (Ministries & attached offices, State Government and Public-Sector Undertakings) and are currently voluntary in nature. The government plans to increase awareness and encourage consumers to adopt the guidelines. A public survey would also be conducted after 4-6 months of awareness campaign.
The case of Japan:
Claim: It was claimed that Japan introduced a default setting for air conditioners at 28 ° C. Japan, in the aftermath of the Fukushima nuclear disaster, did impose restrictions on power usage and mandated large buildings & businesses to reduce electricity usage by 15%. Fines were also prescribed for companies that use too much power. But these restrictions were withdrawn in September 2011.
Fact: Japan runs a ‘Cool Biz’ campaign during summer where it encourages people to dress more casually without a tie and a jacket so that they can work comfortably even in a room at 28° C. Japan started the ‘Cool Biz” campaign in 2005. Similarly, a ‘Warm Biz’ campaign is run during winters. Both the campaigns are voluntary in nature.
The case of USA:
Claim: In U.S, states like California have enforced limits on lowering the air condition beyond 26° C.
Fact: The state of California currently issues ‘Flex Alerts‘. A ‘Flex Alert’ is a call for consumers to voluntarily conserve electricity when there is a predicted shortage of energy supply, especially if the grid operator needs to dip into reserves to cover demand. These alerts are issued a day in advance so that consumers can better prepare for the event. The campaign asks consumers to set thermostat at 26 degree celsius or higher. Since the year 2000, ‘Flex Alerts’ have been issued a total of 104 times, with each alert ranging for a few hours to a day.