Game changers

“Stay cool.” “Pump out the water.” Phrases like these are quite familiar in a country like India that heavily depends on two appliances: room air conditioners (ACs) and water pumps. In today’s warming world, cooling is no longer a luxury but an urgent adaptation. In a land of erratic monsoons and prolonged dry spells, pumping water is no longer just a routine part of farming—it is a vital strategy for climate resilience.

India is already the largest extractor of groundwater in the world. It pumps out more water annually than what the monsoon rains can replenish. It is estimated that around 32 million irrigation pumps are currently in use across Indian farms.

Simultaneously, ACs have become a symbol of comfort and aspiration; nearly one in 10 Indian households owns an AC today—a figure on par with car ownership. And this is just the beginning. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), India is expected to have over one billion ACs in operation by 2050—increasing heat levels in cities, partly because of climate change, will add to the demand for cooling. This will in turn add to energy demand and its resultant emissions.

The global consensus is clear: energy efficiency must be the cornerstone of climate action. At the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, countries pledged to double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030. The first Global Stocktake concluded at the same summit saw over 200 nations, including India, commit to increasing the annual energy efficiency improvement rate to 4 per cent by 2030, up from the current 2 per cent. As IEA notes, improving energy efficiency is one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to cut carbon emissions, reduce energy bills, and enhance energy security.

India’s own energy challenge is immense. Between 2012 and 2022, the country’s energy consumption rose by a staggering 63 per cent, according to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), established in 2002 to implement the Energy Conservation Act 2001, and to develop strategies and policies aimed at reducing the energy intensity of the economy. Simultaneously, peak electricity demand has been climbing sharply. In May 2024, it reached 250 gigawatt (GW) and is projected to rise to 277.2 GW by 2026-27 and to 366.4 GW by 2031-32, according to the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), a statutory body under the Union Ministry of Power.

However, progress to improve energy efficiency of appliances in India has been slow. While several household appliances like refrigerators and lighting have seen rapid improvements in energy efficiency, ACs and water pumps remain key challenges. For appliances such as ACs, the current Indian efficiency standard is far behind the global best. In India, BEE has introduced the Standards and Labelling (S&L) programme since 2006, which sets energy efficiency standards for appliances and helps consumers make informed choices about energy-efficient appliances. Under S&L, appliances that meet the requisite standard are awarded star ratings, with 1-star representing minimum energy efficiency and 5-star, the highest efficiency. The programme currently covers 41 appliances, but the standards are mandatory for only 16, including ACs, and are voluntary for the remaining 25, which includes water pumps and domestic gas stove. In other words, appliances that fall in the mandatory category but fail to meet the minimum standard cannot be sold in India. But those in the voluntary category, such as water pumps, can be sold without a star-rating. By 2026, the government plans to move at least 11 appliances, including water pumps, from the voluntary category to mandatory category, which will require these appliances to meet the minimum energy efficiency standard.

Such efforts are already paying off. Between 2018 and 2023, India saved 81.64 billion units of energy, amounting to nearly Rs 54 crore in monetary savings, through its S&L programme. In 2022-23 alone, the programme’s intervention helped India avoid 58.24 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, shows data available with BEE.

But this is not enough. For India to meet its climate commitments, it must drastically improve the efficiency of the two everyday appliances—ACs and water pumps—that consume the most electricity. As the US’ Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory puts it, by aligning India’s energy standards with global best practices, the country could reduce the energy consumption by a staggering 300 terawatt-hour (TWh) annually, and a significant 60 per cent of these savings could come from ACs and water pumps alone. The saving is equivalent to total generation from 180 GW of solar PV plants.

In April 2025, the Union government set an ambitious target to cut India’s energy consumption by 1,035.07 TWh by 2030 through energy efficiency measures. Remarkably, 17 per cent of this target could be achieved simply by making room air conditioners and agricultural water pumps more efficient.

This article was originally published as part of the cover story Game changers in the August 1-15, 2025 print edition of Down To Earth