Mapping the refrigerant trends in India: An assessment of room AC sector

Project Report Authors: Manjeet Singh, Gurprasad Gurumurthy, Shreya Shekhar

The room air conditioner (RAC) market has been growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12% over the last five years. In India, the current annual demand for RAC is approximately 7.6 million units (2018). The formidable AC demand, which India is poised to witness, would substantially impact its global warming commitments and emissions intensity. The second vital aspect of AC is refrigerant use. The world witnessed the use of refrigerants from ozone-depleting substances (ODS) to substances with high global warming potential (GWP). It is pertinent to consider the impact of refrigerants on warming.

India is a party to the Kigali Amendment (2016) and therefore, committed to phasing down HFCs' use from 2028. In this context, it becomes pertinent to track RAC industry trends and identify gaps in meeting the Kigali Amendment targets. In this report, analysis has been done of the states & trends of Indian Room AC sector refrigerant consumption and various scenarios for refrigerant consumption were drawn; key messages on refrigerant use, energy efficiency in-room AC, and their policy implication in meeting the Kigali Amendment objectives were analyzed.