Campaign in Chennai to raise awareness to set default AC temperature at 24°C

Bureau of Energy Efficiency partners with Tangedco to nudge consumers to set their default AC temperature at 24°C

The next time you are operating an air conditioner remote look for the magic number 24 and make sure to have it as default setting. To nudge households and businesses to reduce power consumption and carbon emission, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statutory body under the Union Minister of Power, has launched a campaign to encourage people to use their ACs at a default setting of 24°C.

In South India, Chennai is one of the key cities where this awareness drives will take off with the support of Tangedco as its nodal agency.

“We started the campaign through various methods and will soon extend it with the help of Tangedco, where they will hold meetings with various stakeholders including manufacturers and dealers involved in this segment to raise awareness,” says Chandra Shekhara Reddy, media advisor southern states/ UTs, BEE.

With 1.35 crore consumer base, Chennai is one of the largest in South India and therefore BEE is keen on having this drive in this city.

“With temperature increasing, demand for power is also rising and with Chennai’s hot weather this drive is important to protect the environment as well,” says Reddy.

According to BEE estimates, increasing the AC temperature by just 1°C can reduce electricity usage by up to 6%. If ACs are set at 24°C nationwide there would be up to 20 billion units of electricity that can be saved annually and carbon emissions could drop by 8.2 million tonnes per year.