People planning to buy large refrigerators or air conditioners can now hope to save money on their electricity bills. They should check the energy efficiency labels of these products—five stars will indicate high energy efficiency. The move to label electrical appliances follows a notification issued by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency on January 17 making it mandatory for manufacturers to label large refrigerators, distribution transformers, air conditioners and fluorescent tube lights. The bureau had announced the mandatory certification programme for the four products in July 2009 and gave the manufacturers six months to get their products certified.
The labels will carry the bureau’s logo and stars highlighted in colour. A senior bureau official said that washing machines, set-top boxes, inverters and laptops will also be brought under the labelling programme. He said the five-star rated products may cost more initially, but that the cost is recovered by way of energy savings in four years. The bureau is also trying to rope in BPOs to get their office buildings rated for energy efficiency.
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