Journal article
The what, why, and how of changing cooling energy consumption in India’s urban households
- Abstract:
- India's urbanising middle class is at the brink of an unprecedented increase in residential cooling demand, yet little is understood about the dynamics of changing cooling consumption. Based on empirical analyses, this research examines a set of fundamental questions around India's cooling transition. How is cooling conceptualised and what cooling strategies do households use? How, when and why are people purchasing and using their air conditioners (ACs)? Who is buying energy-efficient ACs? Is cooling consumption gendered? Using descriptive statistics, machine learning, and regression analysis to characterize AC usage, we examine a sample dataset (n = 2092) that is representative of areas in Delhi with above average AC penetration. We unpack perceptions of thermal comfort, and characterize the conditions under which households have greater AC use and make energy efficient purchase choices. AC usage is found to be a function of household habits (such as exposure to ACs in the workplace or schools), structural factors, and socio demographic features. While most ACs are in the middle energy-efficiency range, preferences, behaviours and awareness around energy efficiency are found to affect AC use as well as influence the purchase of more efficient ACs. Notable gender differences are observed, and women are found to be less involved in decision-making around cooling appliances and less aware of the technical know-how or energy-efficient schemes. Policy recommendations for a low-carbon cooling trajectory are discussed.
- Publication status:
- Published
- Peer review status:
- Peer reviewed
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(Preview, Version of record, pdf, 1.4MB, Terms of use)
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- Publisher copy:
- 10.1088/1748-9326/abecbc
Authors
- Publisher:
- IOP Publishing
- Journal:
- Environmental Research Letters More from this journal
- Volume:
- 16
- Issue:
- 4
- Article number:
- 44035
- Publication date:
- 2021-03-25
- Acceptance date:
- 2021-03-08
- DOI:
- EISSN:
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1748-9326
- ISSN:
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1748-9318
- Language:
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English
- Keywords:
- Pubs id:
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1167565
- Local pid:
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pubs:1167565
- Deposit date:
-
2024-07-23
Terms of use
- Copyright holder:
- Khosla et al.
- Copyright date:
- 2021
- Rights statement:
- © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd. Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
- Licence:
- CC Attribution (CC BY)
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