Heatwave Impact: 43% air conditioner users surveyed in Delhi NCR say their ACs are ineffective in reducing ambient temperature to 23-24 Celsius range

June 25, 2024, New Delhi: An air conditioner (AC) unit exploded and burst into flames in a two-storey building in Vasundhara in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, earlier this month. Amid the recent heatwave conditions in India, several incidents of air conditioner related blasts and fires have been reported in Delhi NCR. Experts state that generally constant running, lack of proper maintenance, dirty filters, wrong thermostat settings are among some of the reasons why air conditioners burst or catch fire, or don’t work efficiently.

However, this year with temperatures soaring over 45 degrees Celsius in the Delhi NCR area, many consumers have been writing on the LocalCircles platform that their air conditioners are failing to bring the ambient temperatures down to the 23-24 degree Celsius range despite the AC being set to that. Following up on the observations of some citizens on its platform, LocalCircles conducted a survey in Delhi-NCR to find out how air conditioners were working at their homes. The survey received over 31,000 responses from residents of Delhi, Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad and Ghaziabad. 62% respondents were men while 38% respondents were women.

43% Delhi NCR residents who use air conditioners say their AC has been ineffective in reducing ambient temperatures to 23-24 degrees Celsius range

The survey first asked residents in the Delhi NCR region, “How effective have the air conditioner in your home been this summer in reducing the ambient room temperature to 23-24 degrees Celsius range?” Out of 10,826 residents of Delhi NCR who responded to the query 19% stated “all of them are ineffective”; 24% stated “most of them are ineffective”; 13% however stated that “most of them are effective”; 13% stated “all of them are effective”; 25% stated that they “have not tried as we keep the AC temperature setting at 26-27 degrees Celsius” and 6% of respondents did not give a clear answer. To sum up, 43% Delhi NCR residents who use air conditioners say their AC has been ineffective in reducing ambient temperatures to 23-24 degrees Celsius range.

Many users in the community feedback exercise also wrote that their AC was reducing the indoor temperature by 20 degree Celsius in comparison to the outdoor temperature indicating that if the outdoor temperature was 45 degree Celsius, their AC would not reduce the indoor temperature beyond 25 degree Celsius. With temperatures reaching 47-48 degrees, the ACs would fail to go below 27 degrees despite being set at 23 degree temperature. This raises a very important question that whether most AC units selling in India are failing in this heatwave and perhaps newer products that can function effectively even during the heatwave are needed.

Users of many AC brands including Voltas, LG, Blue Star and Samsung in Delhi NCR report that their air conditioners are ineffective in reducing the ambient temperature to the 23–24 degrees Celsius range

When shopping for an AC, the customers have a difficult time making a choice as besides cost there are many other considerations like energy efficiency, effective cooling among others when making an expensive purchase. The survey asked residents of Delhi NCR, “Which all brands of air conditioners do you have installed at home that are failing to reduce temperatures to the 23-24 degrees Celsius range?” Some among the 9,878 respondents to the question indicated more then one brand with 49% stating “LG”; 49% indicating “Voltas”; 30% stating “Blue Star”; 30% stating "Samsung”; 20% stating "Hitachi”; 10% stating "Carrier”; 10% stating "Haier”; and 20% stating "others” or brands not mentioned. To sum up, users of many AC brands including Voltas, LG, Blue Star and Samsung in Delhi NCR report that their air conditioners are ineffective in reducing the ambient temperature to the 23-24 degrees Celsius range.

Of those Delhi NCR residents whose air conditioners are ineffective in reducing ambient temperature to 23-24 degrees Celsius range, 84% have split type air conditioners; Such ACs from most brands are ineffective

All brands of ACs offer a range of products. The survey attempted to understand from users if certain AC types were more ineffective than the others and it asked them, “Which all types of air conditioners do you have installed at home that are failing to reduce temperatures to the 23-24 degrees Celsius range?” The question received 10,353 responses with some indicating more than one kind thus 84% stated “split AC”; 33% stated “window AC” and 17% stated “ductable AC”. To sum up, among those Delhi NCR residents whose air conditioners are ineffective in reducing ambient temperature to 23-24 degrees Celsius range, 84% have split type air conditioners; such ACs from most brands are ineffective. It must be noted that split air conditioners are the most common type of ACs installed at homes in Delhi NCR followed by window ACs.

In summary, the survey shows that 43% of Delhi NCR residents surveyed who use air conditioners say their AC has been ineffective in reducing ambient temperatures to 23-24 degrees Celsius range. The fact that users of many AC brands including Voltas, LG, Blue Star and Samsung in Delhi NCR report that their air conditioners are ineffective in reducing the ambient temperature to the 23-24 degrees Celsius range shows that they are not suited for operation during a heatwave when temperatures scale past 42 degrees Celsius. Many users in the community feedback exercise also wrote that their AC was reducing the indoor temperature by 20 degree Celsius in comparison to the outdoor temperature indicating that if the outdoor temperature was 45 degree Celsius, their AC would not reduce the indoor temperature beyond 25 degree Celsius. This raises a very important question that whether most AC units selling in India are failing in this heatwave and perhaps newer products that can function even during the heatwave are needed.

LocalCircles will escalate the findings of this study with the Bureau of Indian Standards and the Ministry of Consumer Affairs so necessary evaluations and interventions can be undertaken.