Study Reveals Houston Leads the Globe in A/C Usage

Everything is bigger in Texas — at least that’s one of the key findings from a new global survey on air conditioning usage released earlier this month.

KEEP IT RUNNING: When it comes to the average time an AC is left running during the hottest month of the year, Houston, Tex., had the highest average of 17.2 hours of all the 12 global cities surveyed by Daikin. (Courtesy of Daikin)

Conducted by Daikin Industries, Ltd., the extensive study highlights how people across the planet use, and perceive, air conditioners in their daily lives.

With the global average temperature reaching the highest on record in July 2024, the need for a/c systems has become even more apparent, which means the HVAC industry will play a vital role in the coming years when it comes to human comfort and safety across the globe.

“We encourage contractors to offer homeowners personalized solutions to meet their indoor comfort needs, so these insights may interest contractors in the cities covered by the survey,” Marc Bellanger, vice president of marketing communications, Daikin Comfort Technologies North America, Inc., said.

The survey gathered input from 1,200 people in 12 cities around the world, including New York City, U.S.; Houston, U.S.; Paris, France; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Madrid, Spain; Lago, Nigeria; Istanbul, Turkey; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; New Delhi, India; Bangkok, Thailand’ Shanghai, China; and Tokyo, Japan.

Typical A/C Usage Findings

While it was tied with two other cities for average maximum air temperature at 93.2°, Houston was at the top of the pack for the average number of hours of air conditioner use per day during the hottest month of the year, at 17.2.

“A surprising 41% of Houston residents used them for 24 hours,” a Daikin press release states. “The cities with the second and third longest hours of use were Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with 14.9 hours, and New York with 12.6 hours. It seems to have become commonplace for people in the U.S. where central air conditioning systems are widely adopted, to ‘leave their air conditioners on all the time’ rather than turning them on and off frequently.”

As for what people choose as their set temperatures, that varied by about 8°, with Tokyo at the upper end of the range at 79.2° and Lagos at the other end at 71.4°. New York and Houston reported the third and fourth lowest set temperatures, at 72.3° and 73.4°, respectively, only being outdone by Sao Paulo (72°) and Lagos (71.4°).

Thailand topped the list for average months of air conditioner use at 10.4, with 70% of people in Bangkok reporting using their a/c for 12 months a year. For New York, it was 4.7 months and Houston checked in at 8.9 months.

The study also notes that while a/c systems in the U.S. are typically “central air conditioning system(s),” many other regions across the globe commonly use “individual control air conditioning,” such as ductless mini-split air conditioners.

What Customers are Saying is Important

While how a household utilizes an a/c system may vary across the globe, there is one nearly universal constant — they are all worried about how much running the a/c is going to cost them.

“This study helps to affirm that energy efficiency is top of mind relative to an HVAC purchase,” Bellanger said. “In 11 out of 12 cities around the world, ‘energy efficiency’ was selected as the most important factor when purchasing air conditioners.”

Not surprisingly, when asked why customers placed such a high priority on energy efficiency, cost was the biggest factor.

“The study found the reason why people placed the highest priority on ‘energy efficiency’ when purchasing air conditioners, was ‘to reduce electricity bill,’ which ranked higher than ‘to reduce environmental impact’ (e.g., global warming), across all cities,” Bellanger said.

But in New York, around 45.2% selected “to reduce environmental impact,” making it the most environmentally conscious city in the survey, a statistic Bellanger said he found interesting. In Houston, 26% prioritized the environment, but the other 74% were more concerned with energy savings.

“In addition, New York, Houston, Paris, France; and Madrid, Spain had the percentage of people who chose ‘affordable price’ nearly as high as that of ‘energy efficiency’ (with a difference of less than 10%), indicating that people place importance on both the electricity costs and the initial cost of air conditioners,” the study states. “Meanwhile, people in Sao Paulo, Brazil; Bangkok; New Delhi, India; and Shanghai, China seem to place lower importance on the price of purchase than other cities.

Perceptions Toward Temperatures

When asked if they felt their city was warmer or cooler compared to 10 years ago, the “percentage of people answering ‘It has become much hotter’ was highest in 10 out of 12 cities.”

“In addition, when asked whether people think that air conditioners have become more necessary than 10 years ago?” the percentage of people answering “I strongly think so” was highest in 11 out of 12 cities.”

Along with that perception, the prevalence of a/c systems has also grown significantly across the globe — the data reports 90% of homes in the U.S. have a/c, with Japan at 91%, Saudi Arabia 63%, China 60%, Brazil 16%, Indonesia 9%, South Africa 6%, and India 5%.

“As you can see, air conditioners have become an essential part of people’s lives. On the other hand, it is also true that in some countries and regions air conditioners are not yet widely used due to the circumstances surrounding the infrastructure and income levels, even when air temperatures are high,” the study states. “According to the IEA, the penetration rate is said to be 5% in India, 6% in South Africa and 16% in Brazil. However, the number of air conditioners in operation worldwide is expected to approximately triple by 2050 due to the development in emerging countries, and further popularization is expected in the future.”

Other Air Quality Findings

The survey also sought opinions on air quality, with 10 of the 12 cities reporting at least 50% of respondents considering it “very important.” Of that group, Madrid was at the low end with 51%, and Lagos at the top with 95%. Houston was 73% and New York 63% — Paris (31%) and Tokyo (39%) were the only cities under the 50% threshold.

“When asked about ‘air-related concerns people have in their daily lives,’ many people in most cities mentioned concerns about temperature and humidity, which are easy to feel,” the report states. “However, people also seem to suffer from ‘air pollution’ such as viruses, odors, and exhaust gas.”

Full copies of the study’s findings can be viewed at https://www.daikin.com/press/2024/20240808 and https://www.daikin.com/air/daikin_techknowledge/air_survey.