Here's how you can reduce your electricity bill by 20%
The Power Ministry had recently held a meeting with major air-conditioner manufacturers and recommended them to maintain the default temperature setting in the appliance at 24°C. Not only is it good for environment, but it is also light on your wallet. According to The Energy & Resources Institute, if you run your ACs at 24°C, your electricity bill amount can be reduced by almost 20%. Here's how.
The finer details and the mathematics involved
Quite understandably, the runtime of an AC's compressor is inversely related to its temperature. Thus, at a lower temperature, the compressor works for a longer time and vice versa. Upon attainment of the desired temperature, AC compressor stops and only the fan works. Thus, at 24°C temperature, less energy is consumed as compared to when your AC operates at say, 18°C.
Even 1° temperature increase could save 20bn units of electricity
"Every 1° increase in the air-conditioner temperature setting results in saving of 6% of electricity consumed. If all the consumers adopt, this will result in savings of 20 billion units of electricity in one year alone," Union Power Minister of State RK Singh had said.
India's energy consumption for cooling increased by 15x since 1990
India has witnessed a 15-fold increase in its energy consumption for cooling since 1990, according to a recent report by the International Energy Agency (IEA). Also, if we go by the current market trends, the total connected load in India due to air conditioning is expected to reach 200 GW by 2030, as per Bureau of Energy Efficiency's findings.