Standards Labels Government of India enacted the Energy Conservation (EC) Act, 2001 to realize the benefits of energy efficiency through reduced energy consumption. The Act provides the legal framework, institutional arrangement, and regulatory mechanism to embark upon an energy efficiency drive in the country. Energy efficiency institutional practices and programs in India are being guided through various voluntary and mandatory provisions of the Act. The Government of India set up Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), also referred to as ‘BEE’ or ‘Bureau’ on 1st March 2002 under the provisions of the EC Act, 2001. The mission of the Bureau is to assist in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles, within the overall framework of the EC Act, 2001 with the primary objective of reducing the energy intensity of the Indian economy.
Standards
Energy-efficiency standards are procedures and regulations that prescribe the energy performance of manufactured products, sometimes prohibiting the sale of products that are less efficient than a minimum level. The term “standards” commonly encompasses two possible meanings: a) well-defined test protocols (or test procedures) to obtain a sufficiently accurate estimate of the energy performance of a product, or at least a relative ranking of its energy performance compared to that of other models; and b) target limits on energy performance (usually maximum use or minimum efficiency) based on a specified test protocol.
Labels
Energy efficiency labels are informative labels affixed to products to describe energy performance (usually in the form of energy use, efficiency, or energy cost); these labels give consumers the necessary information to make informed purchases. Mainly there are two types of labels namely endorsement labels and comparative labels :
a) Comparative label: allow consumers to compare the efficiency of all the models of a product in order to make an informed choice. It shows the relative energy use of a product compared to other models available in the market.
b) Endorsement label: define a group of products as efficient when they meet minimum energy performance criteria specified in the respective product schedule/ regulation/statutory order.
For the labeling program, the Bureau works through technical committees of experts and stakeholders, comprising of representatives from industry, industry association, consumer organizations, academia, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), Research & Development (R&D) institutions, testing laboratories, government organizations, and regulatory bodies, etc.
The appliances covered under the S&L scheme are as follows:
1. Frost Free (No-Frost) Refrigerator
2. Tubular Fluorescent Lamps
3. Room Air-conditioners
4. Distribution Transformers
5. Room Air Conditioners (Cassette, Floor Standing Tower, Ceiling, Corner AC)
1. Direct Cool Refrigerator
2. Colour TV
3. Electric Geysers
4. Induction Motors
5. Agricultural Pump Sets
6. Ceiling Fans
7. LPG Stoves
8. Washing Machines
9. Laptops/Notebooks
10. Office Equipment’s
11. Ballast
12. Diesel Engine Driven Monoset Pumps for Agricultural Purposes
13. Solid State Inverters
14. Diesel Generator
15. Variable Capacity Air Conditioner (Inverter ACs)
16. LED Retrofit lamps
- Registration
- Company Registration
- Model Registration
- Renewal of Registration
- Renewal of model registration
- Renewal of agreement between BEE and permittee
- Withdrawal of Registration by the Permittee
- Suspension of registration at the request of the permittee
- Cancellation of Permission to Affix Label
- Submission of fresh application on cancellation of registration
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TIMELINE
BEE sets the standards and labels for marking star-rating of various appliances. Star ratings are provided to all the major kinds of appliances in the form of labels. These star ratings are given out of 5 where higher the rating, lower is the energy consumption. The label provides a basic sense of how energy efficient each product is, just at a single glance.
The prime purpose of BEE star rating is to educate and inform the consumers about the energy efficiency of the product they are buying. Usually, the consumer can find a BEE Star Label on heavy electrical home appliances like Air conditioners, Refrigerators and Washing machines, etc. with a number of stars it has got and estimated power consumption of the appliance in a year that it is expected to consume (Power consumption = 1 electrical unit). This also makes the manufacturer responsible for creating energy-efficient products as consumers may eventually prefer better-rated products.
The BEE star rating of a product is decided on factors more than one. Usually, there is a preconceived myth that a star rating is generally based upon the appliance’s power consumption. However, this is not true. BEE sets all the standards and norms which need to be followed while rating an appliance and the manufacturer labels the product accordingly.