Energy Efficiency of Air Conditioners in Developing Countries: A Malaysian Case Study

Abstract

Growing demand for air conditioner (AC) in developing countries has hit an alarming point. Enforcing higher efficiency standards for cooling appliances is one of the easier initiatives that governments can implement to reduce energy consumption and emissions of potent greenhouse gases. Malaysia has adopted the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) in 2013 to regulate the energy performance of five common household appliances including ACs. This work sheds light on the overall improvement of AC’s energy performance after MEPS implementation. A rigorous data collection exercise was conducted to build a comprehensive sales and technical database of MEPS-compliant ACs covering the years 2013-2015. In 2015, the average energy efficiency ratio (EER) of ACs sold in the local market is 3.4, and the cumulative electricity saving and CO2 emission reduction after MEPS implementation are 1,764 GWh and 1,178 ktCO2eq respectively. The results from this study will contribute significantly to the review of the effectiveness of MEPS implementation in developing countries.