Increase in Air Conditioning Energy Consumption with Each Centigrade

The common belief is that each degree Celsius of air conditioning setting changes energy consumption by 7%-8%. This opinion is based on heat exchange only and does not take into account the increase in air conditioning hours with each degree. A dynamic simulation based on real meteorological data for Jerusalem and Tel Aviv shows that the increased cooling hours component adds more energy consumption than the heat exchange component. The analysis shows that the change with each 1°C in the range 27°C-16°C is 80%-10%/°C (average 35%/°C) in Jerusalem, and 27%-8%/°C (average 14%/°C) in Tel Aviv. The change between 27°C and 26°C is much higher than between 17°C and 16°C (for cooling). The average increase in air conditioning energy consumption with each degree Celsius in the range 26°C-22°C – Jerusalem and Tel Aviv is 33%/°C. The online simulation program is available at (free, no login required): https://nowagreen.ct.ws/BESO/544Jm https://nowagreen.ct.ws/BESO/544TA