Why 24°C is the smart setting for your AC

As summers get hotter, more and more homes are running air conditioners. That makes one simple fact worth knowing: the number on your remote makes a real difference, both to your electricity bill and to how much power the country has to generate.

What the Bureau of Energy Efficiency says

India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) says that raising the AC temperature setting by just 1°C saves about 6% of electricity. People typically set their AC at 20–21°C, but BEE puts the comfortable range at 24–25°C. Moving from 20°C to 24°C can save about 24% of the power.

BEE has also estimated that if about half of consumers followed this advice, it would save around 10 billion units of electricity a year, equal to 8.2 million tonnes less carbon dioxide.

Staying comfortable at 24°C

• Run the ceiling fan along with the AC. Moving air makes the room feel cooler, so you won’t miss the lower setting.
• Close curtains or blinds on windows that get the afternoon sun.
• Keep doors and windows shut while the AC is on.
• Clean the AC filters regularly, as the manual suggests, so the machine doesn’t have to work harder.
• Use the timer or sleep mode at night, so the AC isn’t running long after the room is cool.

Change the setting, not your comfort

BEE notes that the factory setting on an AC can be changed by the user. Set yours to 24°C and give it a day or two: most people find they hardly notice the difference, except on the bill.