Cooling energy is expanding across buildings, vehicles and households, while access remains uneven. The figures below distinguish observed data, estimates, surveys and modelled pathways by geography and measurement period.
Key Cooling Energy Statistics
These highlights summarize the most broadly useful measurements:
- 105 billion square metres of cooled building floor area was estimated globally for 2022 in the IEA Net Zero pathway baseline.
- 140 billion square metres of global cooled building floor area is forecast for 2030 in the IEA Net Zero pathway.
- 250 billion square metres of global cooled building floor area is forecast for 2050 in the IEA Net Zero pathway.
- 850 GW of installed space-cooling capacity was estimated globally in the 2022 IEA Net Zero pathway baseline.
- 9% of global final electricity consumption was represented by space cooling in the 2022 IEA Net Zero pathway baseline.
- 1.6 billion building air conditioners were estimated globally in the IEA’s 2018 baseline.
- Less than one-third of global households owned an air conditioner in the IEA’s 2018 assessment.
- More than 90% of households in the United States and Japan had air conditioning in the IEA’s 2018 assessment.
- 8% of the 2.8 billion people in the world’s hottest areas had air conditioning in the IEA’s 2018 assessment.
- About 1.2 billion people in Africa and Asia lacked access to cooling services in UNEP’s 2023 assessment.
- 254 billion kWh of U.S. household electricity was used for air conditioning in 2020.
- About 89% of U.S. homes used air conditioning in 2020.
- 170 billion kWh of U.S. commercial-building electricity was used for cooling in 2018.
- Almost 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day were consumed by mobile air conditioning in the IEA’s global baseline.
- About 420 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent were emitted by global mobile air conditioning in 2015.
- More than 70% of mobile-air-conditioning emissions came from fuel energy use in 2015, compared with 30% from refrigerant leakage.
- More than 3% annual growth in space-cooling demand was projected globally from the IEA’s 2019 baseline under stated policies.
- About 1 Gt of CO2 from electricity use was attributed to global building space cooling in 2019.
- About 20% of total electricity consumption was represented by cooling in UNEP’s 2023 assessment.
- US$17 trillion in cumulative end-user electricity bills could be reduced globally between 2022 and 2050 under UNEP’s recommendations.
Contents
- Global cooling energy scale and infrastructure
- Cooling adoption, access and household participation
- U.S. residential cooling electricity data
- Commercial, industrial and mobile cooling energy
- Peak demand, climate exposure and cooling outcomes
- Cooling efficiency, refrigerants, costs and 2050 pathways
Global Cooling Energy Statistics: Scale and Infrastructure
The IEA’s Space cooling report provides two different lenses on the global system: the floor area served and the equipment capacity installed. Its 2022 Net Zero pathway baseline estimated 105 billion square metres of cooled building floor area and 850 GW of installed space-cooling equipment capacity globally.
The same pathway projects substantial expansion:
| Measure | 2022 baseline | 2030 forecast | 2035 forecast | 2050 forecast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cooled building floor area | 105 billion m² | 140 billion m² | 170 billion m² | 250 billion m² |
| Installed space-cooling capacity | 850 GW | — | 1,750 GW | 2,700 GW |
| Share of final electricity consumption | 9% | — | 6% | 5% |
These are pathway values, not a single observed time series; the 2030, 2035 and 2050 figures are forecasts within the IEA Net Zero pathway. Source: IEA, “Space cooling”.
A separate IEA outlook estimated 1.6 billion building air conditioners globally in its 2018 baseline and projected 5.6 billion units by 2050. The equipment count and the cooled-floor-area series use different reported measures, so they should not be treated as interchangeable.
Source: IEA, “Air conditioning use emerges as one of the key drivers of global electricity-demand growth”.
Cooling Energy Adoption, Access and Household Participation
Global ownership figures show a wide gap between places with widespread air conditioning and populations exposed to heat without equipment. In the IEA’s 2018 assessment, less than one-third of global households owned an air conditioner, while more than 90% of households did so in both the United States and Japan.
The same assessment reported that only 8% of the 2.8 billion people living in the hottest parts of the world had air conditioning. The population base is explicitly the hottest areas, not the world’s entire population.
| Population or subgroup | Cooling-access measure | Period and type |
|---|---|---|
| Global households | Less than one-third owned an air conditioner | IEA 2018 estimate |
| United States and Japan households | More than 90% had air conditioning | IEA 2018 estimate |
| People in the hottest parts of the world | 8% had air conditioning, among 2.8 billion people | IEA 2018 estimate |
| Africa and Asia | About 1.2 billion people lacked cooling services | UNEP 2023 estimate |
| High-income urban households in India | 75%–85% owned an air conditioner | IEA assessment published 2020 survey estimate |
UNEP’s 2023 assessment counts cooling services beyond air conditioning in its Africa-and-Asia access figure. The India range is a subgroup estimate and is not necessarily representative of the full country.
The IEA also estimated that about 35% of the global population lived in areas hot every day, but only around 15% of people in those areas owned an air conditioner. Its pathway projects ownership in hot-every-day areas reaching 60% by 2050; this is modelled, not an observed outcome.
Sources: IEA, “Air conditioning use emerges as one of the key drivers of global electricity-demand growth”, UNEP, “Key measures could slash predicted 2050 emissions from cooling sector”, and IEA, “Is cooling the future of heating?”.
U.S. Residential Cooling Electricity Statistics
U.S. energy-accounting data provides a detailed national example of household cooling demand. In 2020, household air conditioning used 254 billion kWh, equal to about 19% of residential electricity consumption, while the average U.S. household consumed about 10,500 kWh of electricity during the year.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that air conditioning accounted for 19% of residential site electricity use in 2020, compared with 12% for space heating. About 89% of U.S. homes used air conditioning in that year.
| U.S. residential measure | Result | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Household air-conditioning electricity | 254 billion kWh | 2020 |
| Average household electricity use | About 10,500 kWh per household | 2020 |
| Air conditioning share of residential site electricity | 19% | 2020 |
| Space-heating share of residential site electricity | 12% | 2020 |
| Homes using air conditioning | About 89% | 2020 |
Adoption also changed over the longer period covered by the EIA data. The share of U.S. homes using air conditioning increased from 57% in 1980 to about 89% in 2020, while central-air adoption rose from 27% to 67%.
Separately, U.S. commercial-building cooling used 170 billion kWh in 2018, or about 14% of commercial-building electricity. The residential and commercial figures use different sectors and years.
Sources: EIA, “How much electricity is used for air conditioning in the United States?” and EIA, “Electricity use in homes”.
Commercial, Industrial and Mobile Cooling Energy Data
Cooling energy is not limited to buildings. The IEA’s Cooling on the Move assessment estimated that mobile air conditioning in global road vehicles consumed almost 2 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in its baseline, published in 2019.
For 2015, the IEA estimated global mobile-air-conditioning emissions at about 420 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Fuel energy use caused about 70% of those emissions, while refrigerant leakage caused 30%.
Vehicle conditions produce a wide range of energy effects:
- Mobile air conditioning used about 3% to 20% of annual vehicle fuel consumption depending on country and climate; the range also varies with driving and congestion.
- Mobile air conditioning can exceed 40% of vehicle fuel use in warm climates and congested traffic.
- In electric vehicles, mobile air conditioning can reduce driving range by up to 50% on hot and humid days.
- The IEA baseline projects global passenger-car stock to grow from around 1 billion vehicles to more than 2 billion by 2050; this is a no-further-policy baseline forecast.
- Estimated Indian air-conditioner sales grew by more than 25% year on year between 2021 and 2023, with production volume used as a sales proxy.
These mobile figures concern road vehicles and should not be added to building electricity totals. Source: IEA, “Cooling on the Move”.
Peak Demand, Climate Exposure and Cooling Outcomes
Cooling affects electricity systems most sharply during heat events. The IEA reported that space cooling’s share of total peak demand averages 10% to 20% globally and in emerging markets such as India and Brazil, but local peaks can be much higher.
| Location or condition | Cooling share of peak demand | Measurement context |
|---|---|---|
| Middle East and parts of the United States | More than 70% | Peak residential demand on extremely hot days |
| Texas, United States | 50% | Total peak electricity demand on the warmest days |
| Global and selected emerging markets | 10%–20% | Average share of total peak demand |
In the IEA’s 2019 assessment, building space cooling required 15% as much energy as heating and generated about 1 Gt of CO2 from electricity use globally. Space-cooling demand was projected to grow by more than 3% per year over the three decades after that baseline under stated policies.
Climate exposure is also measured through cooling-degree days. The IEA projects increases of up to 50% by 2050 and up to 70% by 2070, with the result varying by region and climate scenario.
Source: IEA, “How can energy efficiency alleviate rising heatwave-driven electricity demand?” and IEA, “Is cooling the future of heating?”.
Cooling Efficiency, Refrigerants, Costs and 2050 Pathways
UNEP’s 2023 assessment estimated that cooling represented about 20% of total electricity consumption. Under business as usual, cooling emissions are forecast to exceed 10% of global emissions in 2050, but the assessment also models large reductions from efficiency, refrigerant and passive-cooling measures.
| Modelled 2050 outcome | UNEP estimate or forecast |
|---|---|
| Cooling emissions avoided under recommendations | About 3.8 billion tonnes CO2e |
| Additional people gaining access to refrigerators, air conditioners or passive cooling | 3.5 billion |
| End-user electricity-bill reduction in 2050 | US$1 trillion |
| Peak-power reduction | 1.5–2 TW |
| Reduction in cooling-capacity growth from passive cooling alone | 24% |
| Avoided new cooling-equipment capital costs from passive cooling | Up to US$3 trillion through 2050 |
These are modelled pathway results, not observed outcomes. UNEP also projects a cumulative US$17 trillion reduction in end-user electricity bills between 2022 and 2050 under its recommendations.
Policy coverage is uneven. More than 80% of countries assessed by UNEP had at least one cooling-related regulatory instrument in 2022, but only 30% had regulations enabling action on all three UNEP cooling fronts.
The IEA Net Zero pathway separately projects space cooling at 6% of final electricity consumption in 2035 and 5% in 2050, compared with 9% in its 2022 baseline. Those percentages belong to that specific IEA pathway and should not be read as a universal forecast.
Source: UNEP, “Key measures could slash predicted 2050 emissions from cooling sector” and IEA, “Space cooling”.