AC will not go below 20°C: What is the new proposal of the Center, what will be the impact on India which is facing severe heat?

The central government is now considering bringing a new rule to reduce electricity consumption in India. Under this, temperature limits can be fixed in the air conditioners (ACs) sold in the country from now on. Energy Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has said that the minimum temperature in all types of ACs in India can be limited to 20 degrees Celsius. At the same time, the maximum temperature can be kept up to 28 degrees Celsius. These rules can be fixed for air conditioners installed in offices as well as homes.

What new rules is the government preparing to bring on the temperature of AC?

During a press conference in Delhi on Tuesday, Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said that new rules will soon be implemented under the standards of air conditioning. He said that in the coming time, the temperature in air conditioners will be made standard from 20 degrees Celsius to 28 degrees Celsius. That is, we will not make the temperature in AC colder than 20 degrees and hotter than 28 degrees.

What will change after the new guidelines of the Center?

This will limit the temperature range of ACs sold across the country to 20 degrees to 28 degrees Celsius. This standard will be applicable for both residential and commercial areas in ACs. If the government implements this proposal, then AC manufacturing companies can be asked to limit their products to this range through hardware and software changes. That is, even if consumers want, they will not be able to set the temperature of AC below 20 degrees or above 28 degrees.

Currently, the temperature setting in the air conditioners coming in the country can be reduced to 16 degrees or 18 degrees Celsius. At the same time, the maximum temperature in them can go up to 30 degrees Celsius.

According to Pankaj Agarwal, by limiting the temperature of AC to a minimum of 20 degrees Celsius, about three gigawatts of energy can be saved even in the scorching heat season. It is said that this will help in making ACs capable of working at a higher capacity. Also, the burden on energy grids will be reduced. Since coal is still the most used in India for generating electricity, reducing energy consumption will also help reduce pollution.

What will be the impact on consumers?

According to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, the organization that sets energy standards for electrical appliances in India, up to six percent of energy can be saved with every one-degree increase in the temperature of AC. Understand it like this - if you run the AC at your home at 16 degrees Celsius and later set it to 20 degrees Celsius, then you can reduce energy expenditure by 24 percent.

According to a study by the University of California Berkeley, by setting the temperature range of ACs at a limited level in India, the country can save up to 60 gigawatts of electricity by 2035. That is, this will help in saving the potential expenditure of $ 88 billion (about Rs 7.5 lakh crore) for new power plants and grid systems in India.

Will running the AC at 20 degrees instead of 16-18 degrees produce less cold and take longer?

There is a misconception among common people that running the AC at 16 or 18 degrees Celsius in extreme heat cools the room quickly and this cold remains for a long time. However, if we go by the laws of thermodynamics, this is not true.

Setting the AC at 16 or 18 degrees does not cool the room quickly. This can also be understood by an example. Suppose the temperature of your room is 36 degrees Celsius at some point. You set the AC at 16 degrees Celsius. That means the temperature of the room will gradually decrease to 35, 34, 33...18, 17, and 16 degrees Celsius.

The motor of the AC will have to use more power to reach this 16 degrees, which means energy consumption will be more. Also, it will take more time to reach this temperature.

On the other hand, if the AC is set at 20 degrees Celsius, then the room temperature will reach this state soon. In this way, the AC will be able to maintain a uniform temperature in the room soon and the energy consumption will also be less.

Does setting a low temperature in the AC keep the room cool for a longer time?

The answer is no. Setting a low temperature in the AC only makes the room colder than necessary. After coming down to this temperature, the AC gives rest to the compressor for some time and then remains under constant pressure to maintain the same temperature in the room, due to which the energy consumption remains high.

At the same time, the room becomes sufficiently cold at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. Also, after cooling the room to this temperature, the AC does not have to take much load to maintain a uniform cold in the room. Due to this, the AC also does not remain under pressure for a long time.