These cooling access figures cover the measurement periods and populations identified in the available source material. Estimates, surveys and forecasts retain their reported scope.
Key Cooling Access Statistics
The main findings are:
- About 3.5 billion people live in regions with high temperatures, and about 15% of them own an air conditioner (current conditions reported in 2025).
- Air conditioning was used by 88% of U.S. households in 2020.
- Low-income U.S. households spent $189 on cooling in 2017, about 2.3% of their energy cost and more than five times the average non-low-income home cooling burden (United States, low-income households).
- India’s electricity peak load rose from 148 GW in 2014 to 250 GW in 2024, a 68% increase (2014-2024).
- Global cooled floor area was 105 billion square metres in 2022 and is projected to reach 250 billion square metres in 2050 in the IEA Net Zero pathway (2022-2050).
- In 2020 median regional estimates, AC ownership was about 25% among low-income households and over 75% among the richest households in East Asia and the Pacific (East Asia and Pacific).
- U.S. household AC use was 92% in the Midwest and 93% in the South in 2020 (U.S. Midwest and South Census regions).
- Almost 27% of U.S. households maintained an unsafe indoor temperature in 2020 to reduce energy costs.
- Cooling contributed an estimated 60 GW to India’s total peak load in 2024 while fewer than 20% of Indian households had an AC.
- The global share of households with AC was 36% in 2022 and is projected at 45% in 2030, 50% in 2035 and 60% in 2050 in the IEA pathway (2022, 2030, 2035 and 2050).
- In 2020, Europe had about 20% total AC ownership and a more even income distribution of ownership than the other regions discussed.
- U.S. household AC use was 73% in the West and 49% in the Pacific Coast marine climate area in 2020 (U.S. West and Pacific Coast marine climate area).
- India sold 14 million AC units in 2024, 27% more than the 11 million sold in 2023 (2023-2024).
- Installed global space-cooling capacity was 850 GW in 2022 and is projected at 1,400 GW in 2030, 1,750 GW in 2035 and 2,700 GW in 2050 (2022, 2030, 2035 and 2050).
- Indonesia’s population AC-ownership share was 14% in 2023 and is projected by IEA to reach 85% by 2050 (2023 observed estimate; 2050 projection).
Contents
- Key Cooling Access Statistics
- Global cooling access and inequality
- U.S. household air-conditioning access
- Affordability and energy burden
- Cooling access and electricity demand
- Adoption and infrastructure scenarios
Global cooling access and inequality
- About 3.5 billion people live in regions with high temperatures, and about 15% of them own an air conditioner (current conditions reported in 2025).
(Staying cool without overheating the…)
* In 2020 median regional estimates, AC ownership was about 25% among low-income households and over 75% among the richest households in East Asia and the Pacific (East Asia and Pacific).
(Staying cool without overheating the…)
* In 2020, Europe had about 20% total AC ownership and a more even income distribution of ownership than the other regions discussed.
(Staying cool without overheating the…)
* Indonesia’s population AC-ownership share was 14% in 2023 and is projected by IEA to reach 85% by 2050 (2023 observed estimate; 2050 projection).
(Staying cool without overheating the…)
* More than 90% of households had an AC in the United States and Japan, versus 15% in Southeast Asia and 5% in India and Africa in the IEA comparison (2023 commentary comparison; United States, Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Africa).
(Keeping cool in a hotter…)
* Only one in ten of the 2.8 billion people living in the hottest parts of the world had access to AC or other home cooling options in the IEA-cited estimate (2023 commentary estimate).
Measures AC ownership, not every passive or non-electric cooling option.
Regional medians, not country-level prevalence; based on the cited peer-reviewed study.
The 20% figure is regional; the distribution statement is not a quantified inequality metric.
The 2050 value is a scenario projection, not observed adoption.
Rounded figures from different national and regional sources, not one harmonized survey year.
Combines AC and other cooling options, so it is not equivalent to AC ownership.
U.S. household air-conditioning access
- Air conditioning was used by 88% of U.S. households in 2020.
(Nearly 90% of U.S. households…)
* U.S. household AC use was 92% in the Midwest and 93% in the South in 2020 (U.S. Midwest and South Census regions).
(Nearly 90% of U.S. households…)
* U.S. household AC use was 73% in the West and 49% in the Pacific Coast marine climate area in 2020 (U.S. West and Pacific Coast marine climate area).
(Nearly 90% of U.S. households…)
2020 RECS household equipment-use estimate, not continuous operation or affordability.
Regional RECS estimates; use does not establish equal cooling in every room.
The marine-area figure is a narrower DOE climate classification within the West.
Affordability and energy burden
- Low-income U.S. households spent $189 on cooling in 2017, about 2.3% of their energy cost and more than five times the average non-low-income home cooling burden (United States, low-income households).
(Residential Buildings: Overview of Existing…)
* Almost 27% of U.S. households maintained an unsafe indoor temperature in 2020 to reduce energy costs.
(Residential Buildings: Overview of Existing…)
DOE cites HHS LIHEAP data; the comparison uses the cited 2017 basis.
Unsafe indoor temperature is broader than lacking AC equipment.
Cooling access and electricity demand
- India’s electricity peak load rose from 148 GW in 2014 to 250 GW in 2024, a 68% increase (2014-2024).
(Electricity 2025: Demand)
* Cooling contributed an estimated 60 GW to India’s total peak load in 2024 while fewer than 20% of Indian households had an AC.
(Electricity 2025: Demand)
* India sold 14 million AC units in 2024, 27% more than the 11 million sold in 2023 (2023-2024).
(Electricity 2025: Demand)
* Each 1°C increase in India’s daily average temperature was associated with more than 7 GW of additional peak demand in 2024, about twice the 2019 increase (2019 and 2024).
Multiple drivers contribute, so this is not a cooling-only effect.
Rounded penetration and modeled cooling contribution have different denominators.
Sales are a flow and do not equal households gaining access in the same year.
Includes all temperature-sensitive electricity uses, not cooling alone.
Adoption and infrastructure scenarios
- Global cooled floor area was 105 billion square metres in 2022 and is projected to reach 250 billion square metres in 2050 in the IEA Net Zero pathway (2022-2050).
(Space cooling)
* The global share of households with AC was 36% in 2022 and is projected at 45% in 2030, 50% in 2035 and 60% in 2050 in the IEA pathway (2022, 2030, 2035 and 2050).
(Space cooling)
* Installed global space-cooling capacity was 850 GW in 2022 and is projected at 1,400 GW in 2030, 1,750 GW in 2035 and 2,700 GW in 2050 (2022, 2030, 2035 and 2050).
(Space cooling)
* Space cooling accounted for 9% of final electricity consumption in 2022 and is projected at 7% in 2030, 6% in 2035 and 5% in 2050 in the IEA pathway (2022, 2030, 2035 and 2050).
2050 is a pathway milestone, not a certain outcome.
Future values are pathway milestones; 2022 is the baseline.
Installed capacity is not actual electricity consumption or household access.
The share can fall while absolute cooling energy rises.