Cooling As A Right

Cooling is hot, particularly with India hitting summers. 

In fact, it is more so because cooling is a necessity and not a luxury. Remember, in a tropical country like India, heat stress can even lead to death for some. Realising and appreciating the importance there is Air Conditioning Appreciation Days as well celebrated from July 3 to August 15 every year. 

The economic losses resulting from extreme weather events, “increased by 23% between 2010-14 and 2018-22 amounting to US$264 billion in 2022 alone whereas heat exposure led to global potential income losses worth US$264 billion” according to the The 2023 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: the imperative for a health-entered response in a world facing irreversible harms. It adds the economic losses that are related with global heating affects livelihood, resilience and the availability of funds to deal with climate change; heat exposure effect on labour capacity is highest in the low and medium Human Development Index countries, with “potential income losses equivalent to 6.1 % and 3.8% of their gross domestic product (GDP). 

For others, it can affect the quality of life. The India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP), the first of a kind, in the world released by the Indian government recognises that cooling impacts economic growth and (is) important for health, wellbeing and productivity.  It states, “The cross sectoral nature of cooling and its use in important development sectors of economy makes provision for cooling an important developmental necessity, which can have bearing on the environment, the economy and the quality of life of the citizens of the country.” 

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) like good health and wellbeing (SDG3), decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), sustainable cities and communities (SDG11) and climate action (SDG 13) are impacted by heat conditions. 

The World Bank goes further in its report, ‘Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector’ (2022). It states:  “Thermal comfort is not a luxury but a human right for all.” In fact, the idea of treating cooling as a human right has already taken root globally.  Ontario recognises air-conditioning as a human right. 

It is a business opportunity, too. The World Bank (2022) report states, “The market potential and investment opportunity in space cooling will be US$1.5 trillion by 2040.” 

But there is a downside. Cooling can come in the way of checking climate change and meeting net zero targets, if the emissions are not controlled. 

The world is already seized of the emission aspect of cooling. At the COP 28, the national governments recognised the importance of cooling by coming up with Global Cooling Pledge. It stated that we “commit to work together with the aim of reducing cooling-related emissions across all sectors by at least 68% globally relative to 2022 levels by 2050, consistent with limiting global average temperature rise to 1.5°C and in line with reaching global net zero emissions targets with significant progress and expansion of access to sustainable cooling by 2030”. 

India has not signed the pledge, but it is in the country’s self- interest to address the emission aspect of cooling married with sustainability.  “Sustainable cooling can refer to actions across all cooling sectors and applications that move towards net zero emissions from cooling actions by 2050 such as through passive cooling, increased efficiency, and low – Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants,” according to UNFCCC. 

The cooling instruments vary from policy to market forces. Abhishek Gupta, Head- International Strategy, Appliances, Rooftop Solar and PE&A, Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL)- which is a joint venture of PSUs under the aegis of Ministry of Power, elaborates, “One key avenue for curbing the negative impact of growing cooling energy requirements is through robust policy frameworks and regulation. Governments and international bodies play a critical role in setting standards for energy efficiency, promoting the adoption of renewable energy sources, and incentivising sustainable cooling technologies.” 

The International Energy Agency (IEA) in its ‘World Energy Outlook Report’2023, too, champions energy efficiency. The IEA says that the major chunk of expected growth in energy use for space cooling by 2050 will be from three emerging economies –  India, China and Indonesia – which will lead to “contributing half of global cooling energy demand growth and the efficiencies of ACs varies widely in all major markets today, people are typically buying air conditioners whose average efficiencies are less than half of what is available.”  IEA adds, “Without new efficiency standards the world will be facing a “cold crunch” from the growth in cooling demand in coming decades.” 

Pushing for enhancing efficiency, the IEA report uses two different conditions. The first one uses “current real world conditions” called the Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS) and the second scenario uses Announced Pledges Scenario (APS), where “all national energy and climate targets made by governments are met in full and on time”. The residential electricity demand from residential air conditioners under STEPS “exceeds total electricity consumption in the whole of Africa today” whereas under APS “electricity demand for air conditioners is nearly 15 % lower in 2050 as it is in STEPS as a result of increased use of energy efficient air conditioners and thermal insulation in buildings. This reduction itself is larger than the total electricity generation by several countries today, such as that of the Netherlands.” 

Energy efficient air-conditioners come at a premium, but it is worth the upfront higher cost. Sabyasachi Gupta, Product Group Head of Air Conditioners at Godrej Appliances, says, “When evaluating the cost effectiveness of sustainable air condition system, it’s essential to consider their lifecycle cost, including the initial investment, operating cost, maintenance cost and expected lifespan.” He adds, “While sustainable systems may have higher upfront costs, they may offer significant savings in energy and maintenance expenses over their lifespan, resulting in lower total cost of ownership compared to traditional systems. Additionally, government incentives and rebates for adopting sustainable technologies can further enhance the economic viability of these systems.” 

The performance of energy efficient air-conditioners gets further enhanced by thermal insulation of buildings. This is particularly important given the share of the building sector in cooling. A report by Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy ‘Demand Analysis of, Cooling by Sector in India in 2027’ (2018) notes, “Building sector (space cooling) continues to dominate with an approximated 57% share of the entire cooling energy demand.” 

The future scenario drives home the point further. The World Bank (2022) report, ‘Climate Investment Opportunities in India’s Cooling Sector’, states that in the “space cooling sector, the demand for cooling in buildings is likely to increase by 11x (in TR) 2037-38, mainly due to the projected increase of two and a half to three times in commercial and residential floor area. The majority of this projected space cooling demand (52 per cent) will be due to an increase in household air conditioning ownership increasing from 8 percent (2018) to 40 percent (2038) and 50 per cent of commercial buildings becoming air conditioned. It will be important to integrate passive cooling measures in these buildings to not just improve thermal comfort but achieve 20 % energy savings by 2037-38.” 

The World Bank report adds that the residential building energy code can reduce the expected growth in space cooling demand. Additionally, embedding the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna (PMAY) “can be leveraged to effectively mainstream passive cooling measures in government supported housing construction.” 

Innovative Cooling Mechanisms 

Beyond the conventional approaches, innovative business models too are taking shape. 

Cooling As A Service Model (CaaS): Exploiting the market demand, Cooling As A Service Model (CaaS) where you pay as you use for clean cooling systems. “CaaS  is an efficiency-first, pay-per-service business model, focusing on reducing energy waste and carbon emissions. It provides a comprehensive solution covering design, implementation, operations, maintenance, and optimization,” says Arjun P. Gupta, Founder and CEO, Smart Joules. He adds, “CaaS addresses challenges of traditional models such as high upfront CAPEX, inefficient design, outdated technologies, and data limitations. This makes it the default choice for addressing climate change while achieving financial and sustainability goals.” 

Quoting a success story, Arjun P. Gupta, adds, “Our strategic partnership with Apollo Hospitals spans over 18 hospitals nationwide, over a 10-year project tenure, resulting in savings of 235 million kWh of energy, equivalent to Rs 100 Crore in energy costs and 2.35 lakh tonnes of CO2 emissions.” 

District Cooling System (DCS): Here, through an insulated pipe network, a sizeable central plant generates chilled water for use in a district cooling system that supplies to numerous buildings. It conserves rooftop and building space and eliminates the need to install chillers and cooling towers at the building level. The same may be said of district cooling systems as of water, gas, and electricity as public utilities. It can cater to a wide range of users, such as businesses, homes, factories, or even the whole town. It improves energy efficiency. One of the new examples of district cooling system (DCS) being implement is in Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT CITY).  The World Bank report states that DCS can lead to saving of 20-30 percent less power consumption, and savings will get as high as 60- 80 percent in comparison to an average 3-Star RAC. 

Innovative Incentives: The World Bank report states that “concessional financing can play a key role for sustainable cooling in India”. The carbon market can also help acquire finance for energy efficiency interventions in India. 

Last, but not the least, the consumer education holds the key. Despite recognising that efficient air- conditioning need to be the default option, there exists lack of knowledge at the consumer level.  There is usually lack of proper insulation like leaving doors and the windows open after putting your air-conditioner on. The cracks in the doors and the windows are not sealed. Besides, ACs are bought and treated as a lifetime asset and forgotten to be upgraded. 

The Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) in an article titled, ‘How can India transition to sustainable cooling?’ focuses on “good AC use practices that can lead to reduction in the carbon footprint of ACs and decrease the electricity bill as well”. It states that the load on the ACs can be reduced by “ensuring that heat sources in the indoor space are plugged either by drawing the curtains, closing the doors and windows, or ensuring that other sources such as gas stoves are not in use.” Using the ACs at 24 degrees Celsius or above can lead to saving “up to 6% of the power consumed with every one degree rise in the AC temperature.” There should be regular servicing of the ACs, it can result in keeping the momentum to 95% of the “unit’s original efficiency and avoid up to 50 per cent fall in AC performance”. The servicing also ensures that the warming refrigerants do not leak into the air. Lastly, cleaning the air filters periodically, could lead up to 15% energy savings. 

While such sustainable cooling means save lives and improve the quality of life, these also ensure that there is no proportionate increase in emissions. Adopting sustainable cooling helps strike a balance between cooling as a right while pursuing emission reduction as a duty.