As a result of the rapid economic growth in the past, the usage of residential electrical appliances for the last two decades has increased rapidly in Malaysia. Like other developing countries with hot and humid climates, Malaysia has been experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of air conditioners used, which will be higher in the future. In order to reduce energy consumption in the residential sector, the Malaysia Energy Center considered implementing minimum energy efficiency standards for room air conditioners sometime in the coming year. This paper attempts to predict the amount of energy saved in the residential sector by implementing minimum energy efficiency standards for room air conditioners. The calculations were made based on the growth of ownership data of air conditioners. The number of room air conditioners has increased from 13 251 units in 1970 to 253 399 in 1991, and will be about 1 511 276 in the year 2020. As such, efficiency improvement on this particular appliance will have a significant impact on the future electricity consumption in this country. Moreover, it has been found that the energy efficiency standards for room air conditioners are very favorable. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
