On March 25, CLASP participated in the “International Conference – Perspectives for Energy Efficiency Improvement in the Brazilian Air Conditioner Market” in Rio de Janeiro. The Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS) and Eletrobsras, the Brazilian utility responsible for managing the National Program for the Conservation of Electric Energy (PROCEL), hosted the conference.

This event brought together policymakers, air conditioner (AC) manufacturers, test labs including the Brazilian Metrology Institute (INMETRO), and consumer advocates to discuss how to move forward in improving the energy efficiency of ACs on the Brazilian market.

As part of our ongoing collaboration to facilitate Brazil’s transition to high-efficiency space cooling technologies, iCS invited CLASP to the conference in Rio to give three presentations, which can be viewed on the iCS YouTube channel (in Portuguese):

• Eric Gibbs presented an evaluation of Brazil’s labeling program for ACs, which identified potential labeling improvements based on a comparison of the labeling program and AC market evolution in Brazil with that of India, the European Union, China, Vietnam, and Thailand.
  • Read the full report: Assessment of Brazil’s Labeling Program for Air Conditioners.
• Colin Taylor presented an analysis of the Brazilian market for AC compressors, and the opportunities for and challenges to local production of inverter compressors.
  • Read the full report: Technical and Economic Feasibility Study for a High Efficiency Compressor Market in Brazil.
• Kishore Kumar presented on the development of the Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER), a seasonal energy efficiency metric for ACs. CLASP supported the Indian Bureau of Energy Efficiency in developing the ISEER, which India introduced in 2016. The effect on the Indian market has been tremendous, with market penetration of inverter units more than doubled between 2016 and 2017. At 30% of the market, inverter AC market penetration is much higher than was anticipated prior to India’s launch of the seasonal energy efficiency metric.

CLASP’s research in Brazil is also featured in our e-magazine: Cooling in a Warming World.

Brazil is well positioned to follow the Indian example and dramatically improve the efficiency of ACs on their market by moving to a seasonal energy efficiency metric and revising the AC labeling program.

CLASP’s participation in the conference, as well as our recent studies on Brazil’s AC compressor market and AC energy labeling program, are sponsored by the Instituto Clima e Sociedade (iCS). For more on energy efficiency policy in Brazil, visit the CLASP Economy Finder.