Model Regulation Guidelines Supporting Information For Energy-efficient And Climate-friendly Air Conditioners

This document provides context on the rationale underpinning the Model Regulation Guidelines for Energy-Efficient and Climate-Friendly Air Conditioners. It includes a brief explanation of the scope, product categories, and market and policy trends in energy efficiency and refrigerants.
The Model Regulation Guidelines refer to commonly used international standards such as International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 16358 and ISO 5151 for testing and seasonal efficiency metrics. Countries need to be familiar with either these standards or other approaches that they intend to pursue for their regulatory framework.

Air conditioners expend a considerable amount of electricity during normal use, and there is a significant opportunity to cost-effectively improve energy efficiency and transition to lower global warming potential (GWP) refrigerants. United for Efficiency (U4E) has produced Country Savings Assessments (updated as of September 2019) for 150 developing and emerging economies, which project annual electricity savings, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions, and utility bill savings for consumers if the countries adopt the Model Regulation Guidelines.1 The following table draws from the Assessments to provide examples of the estimated annual impacts in 2030 if all countries in the sample regions were to adopt the proposed minimum energy efficiency and refrigerant requirements. Various combinations of countries, beyond the simplified list below, can be considered by reviewing the full set of Country Savings Assessments.

While shading, natural ventilation, insulation, reflective coatings, and other design and operational approaches should be used to reduce indoor temperatures and improve comfort, air conditioners remain essential in many applications. On warm days in hot climates, air conditioning can account for over half of the load on the electrical grid. This spike, which is often met by running additional fossil-fuel power plants, drives up costs, jeopardizes grid stability, and exacerbates pollution. It is therefore recommended that in addition to reducing thermal loads, countries adopt mandatory MEPS and labels informed by the Model Regulation Guidelines.