Energy demand for space cooling is growing at a rapid pace in India driven by rising incomes, the US Energy Information Administration (US EIA) said in a note on Tuesday. 

According to the US EIA, the growth is also due to the low penetration of air conditioning in India. 

“Currently, India has a relatively low penetration of air conditioning, while the United States is a much more saturated market. The latest data from EIA's Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS) show that 87 per cent of US households have air-conditioning equipment. Similar data for India show just 2 per cent of Indian households have air conditioning,” the US EIA stated. 

It added that air conditioners are among the most prevalent purchases for the growing Indian middle class, with air conditioner sales increasing by 20 per cent annually in recent years. 

“About 3.3 million air conditioners were sold in India during the 2013-14 fiscal year, adding to the 25 million total units in the country,” the US EIA’s findings revealed. 

Increasing number of air conditioners has also affected electricity demand and reliability. 

“During the summer of 2012, India’s power generation was insufficient to meet electricity demand leading to residential electricity service being cut off for 16 hours a day in some areas of the country,” the US EIA said. 

The US-based agency also said that a study by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory finds that the Bureau of Energy Efficiency’s programme to have standard minimum efficiency level with competitive labelling will help save 27 terawatthours of electricity use annually by 2020. 

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