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Climate change, urbanization, and economic growth are expected to drive increases in the installation of new air conditioners, as well as increases in utilization of existing air conditioning (AC) units, in the coming decades. This growth will provide challenges for a diversity of stakeholders, from grid operators charged with maintaining a reliable and cost-effective power system, to low-income communities that may struggle to afford increased electricity costs. Despite the importance of building a quantitative understanding of trends in existing and future AC usage, methods to estimate AC penetration with high spatial and temporal resolution are lacking. In this study we develop a new classification method to characterize AC penetration patterns with unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution (i.e. at the census tract level), using the Greater Los Angeles Area as a case study. The method utilizes smart meter data records from 180 476 households over two years, along with local ambient temperature records. When spatially aggregated, the overall AC penetration rate of the Greater Los Angeles Area is 69%, which is similar to values reported by previous studies. We believe this method can be applied to other regions of the world where household smart meter data are available.