Delhi Targets Heat Crisis with Subscription Cooling

Delhi Targets Heat Crisis with Subscription Cooling

The benefits of moving to a subscription model include lower electricity consumption, reduced emissions, and improved accessibility for families who cannot afford the high upfront cost of a traditional AC.

By Imrana

NEW DELHI — As extreme heat waves become a permanent fixture of life in India’s capital, a new “phygital” economic model is emerging that could change how residents stay cool. Instead of purchasing individual air conditioning units, Delhi is looking toward Cooling as a Service (CaaS), a subscription-based model where consumers pay only for the cooling they use.

With India’s cooling demand projected to rise by nearly 40 percent by 2040, the traditional method of individual AC ownership—known as a Capex model—is increasingly seen as unsustainable. Experts argue that the current reliance on millions of separate machines strains the city’s power grid, increases greenhouse gas emissions, and deepens social inequality.

The proposed “phygital” heat economy seeks to bridge this gap by combining physical infrastructure with digital intelligence. At the heart of this system are district cooling plants, which produce chilled water and distribute it to multiple buildings through underground pipes. This centralized approach is significantly more efficient than individual units.

Supplementing this infrastructure is Artificial Intelligence (AI), which monitors energy demand in real time. These smart networks can predict peak usage during heat waves and redistribute energy to prevent grid failure. Furthermore, AI can balance cooling loads between high-consumption commercial hubs and residential neighborhoods.

The benefits of moving to a subscription model include lower electricity consumption, reduced emissions, and improved accessibility for families who cannot afford the high upfront cost of a traditional AC. However, implementing this system faces hurdles, including the high cost of retrofitting older, densely populated parts of Delhi and establishing clear governance policies.

The India Cooling Action Plan already encourages such energy-efficient technologies, but the success of a phygital economy will ultimately depend on consumer trust. “Ownership often feels like control,” notes the source, suggesting that transparency and reliability will be essential to convince residents to give up their personal machines.

As temperatures continue to cross 45 degrees Celsius, the city stands at a crossroads between a strained, traditional grid and a smarter, shared service future. For a city facing a survival need for cooling, the question is no longer if it can adopt these innovations, but whether it can afford not to.

You can click here to read the full article which was published on RMN News on May 2, 2026.