Space Cooling

In the milieu of rising average temperatures and statistically significant increases in heat waves, it is more imperative now, than ever before, to position indoor thermal comfort as a basic human right available to all strata of society – indoor thermal comfort affects the physiological and psychological well-being of occupants under normal conditions and their health in extremely hot conditions.

The criticality of addressing India’s space cooling challenge cannot be overstated, particularly against the backdrop recent international climate change agreements – the Paris Agreement (2015) wherein India, through its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), has committed to significantly reduce its emissions intensity; and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol (2016) wherein India has committed to stop production and freeze the use of HFCs by 2028.

Per latest research, utilising a range of space cooling strategies has the potential to reduce electricity used for space cooling in India by at least 50% by year 2030. This would save nearly INR 6,70,000 crore through avoided capacity. The reduced power demand and greenhouse gas emissions will contribute meaningfully to India’s NDC goals as well as the HFC mitigation targets. The direct and indirect benefits also support several of the Sustainable Development Goals. Furthermore, the benefits align well with, and support the objectives of, key national initiatives undertaken by the Government of India, such as: Power for All, Housing for All, and Smart Cities, an initiative under Mission Innovation.

AEEE is deeply committed to providing sustainable and attainable thermal comfort for all. To move towards this vision, AEEE has planned 3 key strategies:

• Lead the drive for integration of lean cooling strategies into all new construction
• Advocate bold policy action, backed with technical know-how and support, to adopt the full range of space cooling strategies into mainstream
• Establish a national metric for Heat Stress Index that forms the basis for guiding policy actions and technology solutions