Page 19 - Climate Control News magazine Oct-Nov 2022

Residential Air Conditioning
than doubled since 2000, reach- ing over 2.2 billion units in 2021. Globally, space cooling energy demand rose over 6.5 per cent in 2021, with growth close to 8-9 per cent in Asia Pacific
and Europe.
“Causes of growth vary across
countries, but increased appli- ance ownership and rising tem- peratures are the main drivers,” the IEA said.
“The global average efficiency of air conditioners purchased by consumers has improved steadily in recent years. However, without moving towards the best available prod- ucts, and improving the perfor- mance of the buildings in which they operate and their sur- roundings, electricity demand for space cooling in buildings could increase by as much as 40 per cent globally by 2030.”
To get on track with the Net Zero Scenario, the IEA said the average efficiency rating of new air conditioners would need to increase at least 50 per cent in all markets.
Buildings floor area has increased by more than 60 per cent in the past two decades
and is set to increase by another 20 per cent over this decade, adding a total floor surface area of nearly 45 billion m2.
The report found only around five per cent of households in sub-Saharan Africa are equipped with an air-conditioning unit, roughly 10 per cent in India and Indonesia, and around 30 per cent in Mexico and Brazil.
This compares with more than 85 per cent in Japan, Korea and the United States respectively. Globally, one in seven people (1.2 billion in total) in poor rural and urban areas are estimated to be at high risk due to a lack of access to cooling.
Rising temperatures, together with a growing population, urbanisation and improved living standards, are driving a sharp increase in the adoption rate of air conditioning, which is expected to jump from 35 per cent of the global population today to nearly 45 per cent in 2030.
PART LOAD OPERATION
Data from air-conditioning product registries indicate that the units with the highest efficiency in some markets can be twice as efficient as the average unit sold – often at comparable prices, yet their deployment lags behind.
Achieving the best available energy efficiency during partial-load operation is an important area of ongoing research.
In addition, advanced vapour compression cycles – currently under demonstration – have improved design by integrating refrigerant con- trol systems, sensors, renewable energy sources and combining the technology with others (membranes, evaporative cooling).
In addition, they operate with low-GWP refrigerants. Automated controls also enable the exploitation of cross-service synergies, such as recovering waste heat from cooling to heat
BUILDING ENERGY CODES HIGHLY EFFECTIVE
Around 80 countries had building energy codes in force in 2021, the EIA report said.
Codes are principally lacking in emerging and developing markets – typically in regions with high cooling needs. More than 80 countries already have minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for air conditioners, with additional standards currently under development in over 20 countries. MEPS now cover more than 85 per cent of global space cooling energy consumption in the residential sector, up from two-thirds in 2010.
These standards vary considerably from one country to another,
“As the first measure to reduce the amount of energy needed for space cooling, proper building design can improve natural ventilation, thermal insulation, reduce air leakage and improve internal and external shading by incorporating advanced envelope components such as reflective roofs, as well as passive-building design elements, integrated storage and renewables,” the report said.
Building energy codes have proven to be a highly effective instrument to improve building energy performance. Behavioural measures (for instance, higher air-conditioning set points) and awareness measures also play a critical role in reducing space cooling consumption.
“ Urban design, in particular the integration of green and blue areas, also contributes to reducing cooling demand.”
The EIA said countries can support R&D efforts to foster innovative air conditioning technologies. New business models, such as cooling as a service, are needed to reduce the upfront costs of the most-efficient technologies and accelerate their deployment.
“With proper support, manufacturers can deliver smarter and more responsive air-conditioning options (e.g. units with smart chips) to also provide electricity balancing services to the electricity grid,” the report said.
These floor area additions will mostly happen in regions that need space cooling. More than half of floor area additions are in regions with hot climates and mostly lack building energy codes covering the entire building sec- tor, the report said.
“AIR CONDITIONING ADOPTIION WILL JUMP FROM 35 PER CENT OF THE GLOBAL POPULATION TODAY TO
45 PER CENT IN 2030.”
water or, in the case of con- siderable loads, integrating the recovered heat into dis- trict energy networks.
Deployment of climate- friendly cooling equipment requires not only high- efficiency equipment, but also the use of natural refrigerants, or no refriger- ant at all. The report found innovations are also emerging towards refriger- ant-free units or solid-state cooling units.
Incorporating cooling-oriented
design strategies into buildings
energy codes and local planning, includingpassiveandnature-based solutions,willbeessentialtoreduce
cooling needs and reduce the risk of
heat islands in expanding urban areaswhiletemperaturerise.Inthe
Net Zero Scenario, useful energy intensity (cooling service demand per square metre) declines by about 30 per cent in 2030 compared with 2021.
“Renewable cooling tech- nologies are also garnering more attention, particularly in countries where cooling demand is growing rapidly and the national electricity grid needs to be protected from overload,” the
report said.
“District cooling can be an affordable solution
to providing electricity grid flexibility in warm areas with high building density and free source/waste heat availability.”
GLOBAL VIEW
Despite increasing deployment globally, the penetration of space cooling solutions and air- conditioning equipment is not equally distrib- uted across the globe.
CLIMATE CONTROL NEWS
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2022
19