The star ratings (standards and labeling) program by BEE was till now applicable on air-conditioners and refrigerators only
An industry professional, who wished not to be named, said that the move can make washing machines and microwave ovens costlier. He explained that increasing one star rating aka making a product more environment friendly, many a times, leads to Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500 increase in its overall price.
It is to be noted here that the size of Indian microwave oven market stood at 1.21 million units in year FY 2017-18 and is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of around two per cent. Whereas, the size of Indian washing machine market stood at 6.1 million units in year FY 2017-18 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of around eight per cent.
Promoting advancement of technology and energy efficiency
A. K. Bhalla, Secretary, Ministry of Power, said that the move will promote advancement of technology and energy efficiency in microwaves ovens. The government said that the move will help save over 3.0 billion units of electricity by 2030.
Bhalla added, “As regard to the launch of revised program for Washing Machines, he commended BEEs efforts to revise the criteria for inclusion of water efficiency in addition to energy performance for grant of Star Rating. We have estimated savings of over 3.0 Billion Units of electricity at consume-end through adoption of Star Rated Microwave Ovens and Washing Machines by 2030. This would be equivalent to Green House Gases (GHG) reduction of 2.4 Million-ton of CO2 by the year 2030 through these initiatives.”
BEE’s official tweet read, “Star Rating Programme launched for Microwave Ovens & Washing Machines. It is expected to save over 3.0 Billion Units by the year 2030. National Energy Efficiency Strategy Plan 2031–UNNATEE (Unlocking NATional Energy Efficiency potential) was also launched.”
Online registration platform
As a major step towards faster adoption of standards and labeling program and with the objective of “Ease of implementation”, BEE has also developed an online registration platform for expeditious registration and approval under this initiative.
The manufacturers will be able to register products online for availing appropriate star rating for respective models and products. Any model or brand of washing machine or a microwave oven can avail star Rating on a scale of 1 to 5 based on test report from NABL or equivalent labs subsequent to scrutiny by BEE.
Ministry’s official tweet read, “Initially, the program for above two appliances will be implemented on a voluntary basis and will be valid up to 31st December 2020.”
%20program%20by%20BEE%20was%20till%20now%20applicable%20on%20air-conditioners%20and%20refrigerators%20only){kind=link}