By 2030, more than 4 billion people will be exposed to deadly heat conditions, impacting health, well-being, productivity, and learning; accumulated global financial loss due to heat stress is expected to reach $2.4 trillion.
Super-Efficient Air Conditioning
The world needs a better air conditioner
The planet is warming–making efficient, lower climate impact cooling technologies essential. The Global Cooling Efficiency Accelerator, co-founded by CCC and RMI, is driving efforts to bring super-efficient ACs to market.
The Challenge
3 billion more room air conditioners are expected to be installed globally by 2050; countries with warm and humid climates are expected to see a fivefold increase.
Global energy use for space cooling is expected to grow 3.5 times by 2050, stressing power infrastructure, driving peak demand, and requiring significant additional generation capacity.
ACs operating in humid climates today use more energy. Because current testing standards are oversimplified and measure AC performance at very different environmental conditions, ACs aren’t presently designed to dehumidify efficiently.
The Opportunity
In April 2021, the Global Cooling Prize “innovation challenge” concluded. The result? A successful demonstration of room air conditioners with 5 times lower climate impact.
The Prize showed that it is technically feasible to create super-efficient room ACs that deliver substantially lower lifecycle costs and emissions.
The Impact
3B+
Super-efficient ACs deployed globally that use dramatically lower energy, provide enhanced comfort and reduce peak demand on the grid all while reducing energy bills for consumers.
5.4K
Up to 5,400 TWh/year saved in electricity consumption in 2050. Avoided additional grid capacity of up to 2,000 GW in 2050.
68 GT
Potential to mitigate up to 68 GT of cumulative emissions by 2050 — more than annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions today.
The Pathway
Much work is needed to help bring super-efficient ACs to the market and achieve the desired impact. The Global Cooling Efficiency Accelerator has initiated the necessary groundwork across four key themes:
Core Partners
A dedicated coalition of partners has joined hands to address the barriers to production and adoption of super-efficient ACs and to allow these technologies to successfully access the market. To see what the coalition has been up to, continue reading
