EVALUATION METHODOLOGY FOR ENERGY EFFICIENCY OF AIR CONDITIONERS IN THAILAND

Energy efficiency standard and labelling system (EES&L) is an important policy that needs to be strengthened in order for a country to achieve long-term energy security. Air conditioners are considered to be the appliance in the residential sector which consumes the largest amount of energy. Therefore, in order for policymakers to develop long-term plans an effective evaluation method needs to be developed in order to accurately represent energy savings that occur from implementation of the EES&L. Two different types of evaluation methods were investigated based on energy efficiency of air conditioners after implementation of the EES&L including Label No. 5 by EGAT and mandatory standards by TISI. The two evaluation methods were the Top-down and Bottom-up approaches. Results from the study showed a significant difference in the total energy saving obtained through the Top-down and Bottom-up approaches. Application of the labelling system was observed to cause an improvement in energy efficiency of air conditioners by 30%.