Hyderabad|India|April'2010: Bureau of Energy Efficiency BEE, a statutory body under the Union Ministry of Power, has embarked on a national education programme on star labeling for air conditioners. BEE, with support from Emerson Climate Technologies and International Copper Promotion Council of India, will conduct a comprehensive education programme across India aimed at the sales channels and end users to explain and promote the value of using energy efficient appliances of higher star ratings.

In 2010, BEE has set a target of training 5,000 salesmen at multiple showrooms across India.In Hyderabad , over 400 salesmen from 125 showrooms will be trained. These trained salesmen are expected to help consumers make energy efficient choice while buying their home air conditioners. BEE will provide 24 touch screen Energy-Calculating kiosks at the designated showrooms. These easy-to-use kiosks will allow end users to quickly calculate the amount of money they can save on their electricity bill if they buy higher star air-conditioners. College students have been brought in for reaching out to the salesmen, with a batch of training commencing in Pune and Chennai. For a wider reach among end users, a dedicated web site -- www.saveenergy.co.in -- has also been created.

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Sandeep Garg, Energy Economist BEE said, “Let us take the opportunity of the World Earth Day today, to reflect on how we can all work together to help preserve our precious energy resources, by managing them efficiently. BEE provides the information customers can leverage to plan utilizing energy-efficient solutions that reduce utility costs and builds a greener future. Using energy-efficient solutions for both, residential and commercial applications, offer the greatest opportunity to tackle the power crisis. As we strive to build a vibrant economy, energy conservation is vital. This new education program is committed to reduce energy bill of consumers and also eliminate costly energy wastage.”

As a partner in this activity, Emerson Climate Technologies has been actively working on market education initiatives. Mr. Arup Majumdar, Global Program Director, Emerson Climate Technologies Asia Pacific, said - “World Earth Day is an opportune occasion to kick start the educational awareness programme in Hyderabad . This education programme advocates energy efficient products that are value for money in the long run. They not only help conserve energy, but also cut electricity bills and have a short payback period. We hope to train over 400 salesmen across the city this year on the benefits of higher star rated machines. The salesmen in turn will educate the consumers and facilitate a prudent purchase. Through this program we aim to spread the message of the vast economic and environmental benefits of energy efficient products to a much larger audience.”

The star labelling scheme for electrical appliances, developed in collaboration with all the stakeholders in May 2006, aims at providing information on energy performance so that consumers can make informed decisions while purchasing air conditioners. The star labeling was made mandatory for refrigerators, air-conditioners, Tubular Florescent Lights and Distribution Transformers from January 2010 while several other common household appliances such as colour television sets, ceiling fans, water heaters and LPG stoves are presently under the voluntary phase.

Before the labeling program was introduced, manufacturers could sell room air conditioners of any efficiency as there was no minimum requirement. As a result, most machines sold in the market were at low levels of energy efficiency resulting in excessive electricity consumption. The labeling programme ensured that energy consumption data was properly reported to the consumer who in turn could do payback calculations to determine their choice of efficiency level (stars) for the air conditioners.

Since the labeling programme is a new concept for electrical appliance showrooms and end users, BEE partnered with Emerson Climate Technologies and International Copper Association in 2008 to start several initiatives to educate the market on the benefits of star labeling. Training sessions were conducted for store salesmen across multiple showrooms throughout India that were provided several sales tools. Post the education programme, a survey was conducted across 19 cities covering over 1,200 salesmen and 400 home owners to understand the perception on star labeling. The survey results showed that end users cared about energy efficiency, price and brand. The survey also indicated that salesmen needed more education and sales tools to explain to the end user the concept of payback period.

-April' 2010