With the start of a new year, BEE has some shocking news for households. The refrigerators and ceiling fans can be expensive this year per the new norms formulated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency. The changes in the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) rules came into force on January 1, 2023. In this write-up, we will discuss more about BEE Norms regarding Refrigerators and Ceiling Fans.
In an interview Fumiyasu Fujimori, MD of Panasonic Life Solutions Pvt Ltd said, “With the revised BEE norms coming into effect, we expect the pricing of refrigerators to increase by up to 5 per cent. We are keeping a close eye on the development & will try to absorb maximum costs. Entry-level buyers will face some challenge.”
Also, Rakesh Khanna, MD and CEO of Orient Electric Ltd said in an interview that, “We are trying to contain the price hikes to 7-8 per cent levels. While consumers will pay a tad higher price, they will also be able to get higher value from energy-efficient fans.” He also added that, ‘The industry is prepared for the transition to the mandatory star labelling norms and the industry will focus on raising consumer awareness about energy-efficient fans in the coming months.”
What is BEE?
Before discussing the BEE norms regarding refrigerators and ceiling fans, lets talk about BEE. On March 1, 2002, the central government set up the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, also can be called as BEE. The Bureau was set up under the provisions and guidelines of the Energy Conservation Act of 2001. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency is a self-governing body which works with the mission to assist in developing such policies and strategies which will help reduce the energy intensity of the Indian economy. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency works by coordinating with designated consumers, designated agencies and other organisations.
The Bureau recognises, identifies and utilises the existing resources and infrastructure to perform its functions assigned to it under the Energy Conservation Act of 2001[1]. The Energy Conservation Act provides for regulatory and promotional functions.
What Are the New Norms Regarding Refrigerators and Ceiling Fans?
In the recent course of time, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has introduced some new norms for the manufacturers of refrigerators and ceiling fans. These guidelines came into force on January 1, 2023. If any manufacturer fails to comply with these rules, then BEE can ask the central government to prohibit manufacturers from selling their products and levy a fine under the Energy Conservation Act of 2001.
Let’s look at these changes one by one.
- Changes for ceiling fans
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency mandates the manufacturer of ceiling fans mandatory to comply with its Standards and Labelling (S&L) program. This means all the manufacturers of ceiling fan must mention energy efficiency star labels issued by the BEE on their product. According to the rules, the ceiling fan should have an efficiency level of at least 1 star
- Changes for refrigerators
BEE has enacted two changes for refrigerators. These are as follows:
Changes related to star labelling
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has made the changes in the star labelling, which means from now onwards, all the manufacturers have to star label freezers and refrigerator provisioning units (this is the storage part of a fridge of frost-free models only.)
Changes related to the net capacity of a refrigerator
Another change that requires all the manufacturers to mention the net capacity of a refrigerator unit and not the gross capacity of the product. The net capacity is the storage capacity of the refrigerator, while gross capacity is based on the total volume which could be stored in a unit.
According to BEE, this will help a customer make a reasonable decision while buying the refrigerator based on the available space for storage.
Effect of New Norms on the Household – Refrigerators and Ceiling Fans
We will see a significant effect on the cost of the products. As per the market survey, tightening energy efficiency, it will lead to an increase of 2 – 3 per cent in the cost of the products. However, the cost will totally depend on the model and star rating of the product.
The rating on the product is given by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, on the basis of energy consumption. These ratings start from one and go up to five. The higher the star rating of the product, the more efficient it is in terms of energy consumption.
So in a good way, if your appliance consumes less electricity, then then your electricity bill will also come down.
While giving an interview to PTI, Kamal Nandi, Business Head and Executive Vice-President of Godrej Appliances, said, “Under the star rating, now we have to give separate labeling for Refrigerators and Ceiling Fans. This is a new change. Regarding the effect of this on the prices, he said that there will be an effect on the hardening of energy efficiency. Due to this, the prices can increase by two to three percent.”
Conclusion
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency assists in developing the policies and strategies to reduce the intensity of the Indian economy. The Central Government of India set up the Bureau in 2002 under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act of 2002 to develop policies and different strategies for energy conservation in India. BEE is a self-regulating body with its own rules and regulations but with the framework of the act. One of the significant regulatory function of the Bureau is to develop such minimum energy performance standards and labelling designs for equipment and appliances.
Therefore to implement this, BEE introduced the new norms on January 1, 2023. The efforts behind these norms to renew the star ratings of the appliances is really commendable. As per the Bureau, this will push the manufacturers to develop and come up with such designs and models which are energy efficient, which will ultimately help to save money and reduce the energy wastage.
A key objective of this scheme is to bring the manufacturers of ceiling fans and refrigerators under the ambit of the Standards and Labelling (S&L) program. This program is an initiative to provide the consumer with an informed choice about the energy saving and, thereby, cost-saving potential of the relevant marketed product.
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