China Is the Air Conditioning Capital of the World, With the U.S. Close Behind

[beijingwalker]

China Is the Air Conditioning Capital of the World, With the U.S. Close Behind
By Jeremy Hodges
April 25 2019

Keeping homes and offices cool in the future will drive a spike in global electricity demand equivalent to the European Union’s current entire electricity consumption.

China and the U.S. accounted for 54 percent of the 1,932 terawatt-hours of electricity used by residential and commercial air conditioning in 2018, according to research from BloombergNEF. Saudi Arabia, India and Japan are the next-biggest users, rounding off a group that made up two-thirds of the demand for cooling.

By mid-century, the worldwide thirst for air conditioning will more than double to 4,764 terawatt-hours, accounting for more than 12 percent of total electricity demand, BNEF said.

Sales of air conditioners have boomed since the start of the decade, with 110 million units sold in 2017 from 85 million in 2010, BNEF said. Growing populations, rising income and falling unit prices will push growth especially in emerging economies such as Indonesia and Vietnam.

The International Energy Agency last year called the growing electricity demand from air conditioning “one of the most critical blind spots in today’s energy debate.” It will be the biggest source of demand growth after industry by 2050, having serious consequences for the climate unless energy efficient technologies are employed.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...-for-half-the-power-used-for-air-conditioning

 

[beijingwalker]

China's weather is relatively moderate, in winter China has natinal central heating system so air conditioners are mostly only used for summer. India's summer is much much hotter than China's, don't know how can Indians survive their grueling summers with this little air conditioning.

 

[war&peace]

KSA: population 32.55 million is 8% of the world
India: population 1320.0 million is 7% of the world

 

[beijingwalker]

Actually China can make do without air conditioning cause summers are not really that excruciating hot, but India is one of the hottest place in the world.

 

[damm1t]

Such a proud...

 

[beijingwalker]

China and the U.S. accounted for 54 percent of the 1,932 terawatt-hours of electricity used by residential and commercial air conditioning in 2018

China and US consume a lot of electricity, over half of the world...

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

American invention

https://www.statista.com/statistics/911064/worldwide-air-conditioning-penetration-rate-country/

Households with A/C

Japan: 91%
US: 90%
Korea:86%
Saudi Arabia 63%
China: 60%

Even though the US is far from the equator (mostly above 30 degrees latitude) we still have the full range of climate control in almost all of our residential and commercial buildings just like you have when you buy a car.


https://www.popularmechanics.com/home/howto/a7951/a-brief-history-of-air-conditioning-10720229/
A Brief History of Air Conditioning

1931 H.H. Schultz and J.Q. Sherman invent an individual room air conditioner that sits on a window ledge—a design that's been ubiquitous in apartment buildings ever since. The units are available for purchase a year later and are only enjoyed by the people least likely to work up a sweat—the wealthy. (The large cooling systems cost between $10,000 and $50,000. That's equivalent to $120,000 to $600,000 today.)

1947 British scholar S.F. Markham writes, "The greatest contribution to civilization in this century may well be air-conditioning—and America leads the way." Yet somehow people still say a brilliant new idea is "the best thing since sliced bread."

1950s In the post-World War II economic boom, residential air conditioning becomes just another way to keep up with the Joneses. More than 1 million units are sold in 1953 alone.

1970s [ugly] Window units lose cool points as central air comes along. The units consist of a condenser, coils, and a fan. Air gets drawn, passed over coils, and blasted through a home's ventilation system [HVAC].

 

[Nilgiri]

China's weather is relatively moderate, in winter China has natinal central heating system so air conditioners are mostly only used for summer. India's summer is much much hotter than China's, don't know how can Indians survive their grueling summers with this little air conditioning.

Just the major growth phase is just happening now in India, similar to Indonesia (another really hot country)...check the graphs and data for projections later:

https://www.iea.org/futureofcooling/

But of course some sorts that register nowhere and are growing zilch are bit mad about their country (bailouts, stagnant growth, collapsing market cap and everything) they dont care to compare that country in first place...so best feel good about flinging stones at others.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

Sales of air conditioners have boomed since the start of the decade, with 110 million units sold in 2017 from 85 million in 2010, BNEF said. Growing populations, rising income and falling unit prices will push growth

I’m sure sales of air conditioning units in the US have fallen since individual units are now seen as about as outdated as putting a simple fan in the window.

Air conditioners on the walls or windows have been replaced with integrated complete home systems.

The majority of US homes have heating/cooling systems similar to modern office buildings.

It isn't tied to the government either. People can set whatever temperature they want all year round.

 

[beijingwalker]

I’m sure sales of air conditioning units in the US have fallen since individual units are now seen as about as outdated as putting a simple fan in the window.

View attachment 556091
Air conditioners on the walls or windows have been replaced with integrated complete home systems.

It's still air conditioning.

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

It's still air conditioning.

Yep, but having a unit is looked at now as being backwards. Sort of like going into a store which only has a fan in the window to cool it.

The US market demand for units is simply going to get smaller and smaller.

 

[Mista]

I’m sure sales of air conditioning units in the US have fallen since individual units are now seen as about as outdated as putting a simple fan in the window.

View attachment 556091
Air conditioners on the walls or windows have been replaced with integrated complete home systems.

In Singapore our new public housing town is going to have district cooling.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...ised-cooling-and-ai-controlled-energy-systems

 

[Hamartia Antidote]

In Singapore our new public housing town is going to have district cooling.

https://www.straitstimes.com/singap...ised-cooling-and-ai-controlled-energy-systems

Sounds like a system New York City uses for heat and power...except they use steam (since 1881).

 

[Asian.Century]

Pakistan is big consumer of Power saving Air Conditioning system.

 

[Crusher]

Electricity is a resource (or at least result of other resources oil, gas, solar, wind, coal, hydal etc.), tiny population of Saudi arabia making up 8% of world's electricity deman for cooling just shows that how disproportionately the resources/energy is being used in this world, yes it again proves that the world/life is unfair for majority of people in this world. We have probably 7 times more population than saudi arabia but I doubt we make up even 1% of the demand of electricity for cooling which means that most of our populations suffers heat during summers, same is the case for other 3rd world countries.