Brazil is among the ten largest air-conditioning consumers in the world. The estimated electricity demand for air conditioners in the residential sector has more than tripled in the last twelve years, while household air conditioner ownership increased by 9 % per year. This trend is expected to continue in the upcoming decades as a result of population growth rate, higher incomes, and individual preferences for thermal comfort. This work assess the current use of air conditioning in the Brazilian residential sector and attempts to forecast its future demand. Forecasting is based on a proposed methodology which includes weather data monitored by 265 meteorological stations during eight years. Empirical correlations are used to determine daily average indoor temperatures for typical residential buildings and the ANSI/ASHRAE standard for indoor thermal comfort is applied to estimate the average number of cooling days (CD) and heating days (HD). These two parameters indicate the yearly average number of days in which thermal comfort condition is not reached and consequently the use of air conditioning is necessary. Northern and Northeastern Brazil are the regions with the highest CD for masonry residential buildings, approximately 318 days annually. Efforts are made to project the electricity consumption by space cooling in the residential sector until 2035 considering several effects, such as population growth, ownership of ACs, cooling capacity, and equipment efficiency. Southeastern Brazil had the highest electricity consumption for space cooling in 2022, at 12.06 TWh. The research forecasts a rise to 44.77 TWh by 2035, though improved equipment efficiency could lower this to 33.51 TWh. Future energy policies should emphasize efficient AC usage and stricter EER standards.
Read full abstract