Indian appliances will need to ramp up efficiency: IEA

High-efficiency appliances and cooling equipment are the need of the hour - Photo by ready made from Pexels

India needs to have better energy-performance standards (EPS) for its household appliances, if the world is to meet its net-zero emission target, said the International Energy Agency in its latest report. This would mean doubling the average efficiency of the appliances by 2030.

Whether such appliances have a demand remains to be seen.

In 2019, a joint-venture of four public-sector enterprises, the Energy Efficiency Services (EESL) launched a super-efficient air-conditioner range that is 40 per cent more efficient than three-star ACs. The range was developed with technical support from United Nations Environment (UNEP) and with financial support from Asian Development Bank and Global Environmental Facility, which was set up 30 years ago to encourage green innovation. But it sold only 2,000 units in two years, which was less than one percentage of its target.

Why appliances?
Buildings have to be designed and built in line with the emission and decarbonisation targets, if the world is to meet IEA’s net-zero emission target by 2050 and contain the temperature rise to 1.5°C.

One of the ways to ensure the necessary energy-efficiency in the buildings’ sector is to deliver high-efficiency appliances and cooling equipment, said the report. This is proving to be particularly difficult in India and its neighbouring regions.

“Mitigating electricity demand growth from appliances and cooling is critical to electricity sector decarbonisation. This challenge is especially acute in India, Southeast Asia and Africa,” the report stated.

The report also recommended that the governments implement minimum energy standards (MEPS), in line with the Super-efficient Equipment and Appliance Deployment (SEAD) target, set by a global forum Clean Energy Ministerial in 2010.

The SEAD target can reduce annual electricity demand by 2,000 terawatt-hours, or the output of 650 mid-sized, coal-fired power plants, and annual fuel-energy demand by 30 million tonnes of oil equivalent, according to Clean Energy Ministerial.

The report suggested that the MEPs be upgraded faster than it was in the past, and that sales of most inefficient appliances be banned and there be a complete shift to the most efficient technologies available, by 2030.

The other changes that need to be made in the buildings sector to meet the net-zero emission (NZE) target are ensuring that the structures especially in the emerging and developing markets are built in alignment with the NZE plan; accelerating retrofits in existing buildings to improve energy efficiency and ensuring universal access to clean cooking and electricity by 2030.