NEW DELHI: Under pressure from the international community to cut emissions and support the fight against climate change,Indiais focusing on implementation of energy efficiency measures in a big way. The country has targeted to save as much as 12,000 mw of electricity by increasing energy efficiency standards of power equipment and appliances and buildings during the current Twelfth Five-Year Plan (April 2012-March 2017).
‘‘We have targeted energy savings of 12,000 mw during the 12th Plan,’’ Ajay Mathur, director general, BEE, told FE.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statutory body under the Union power ministry, has raised energy efficiency standards for split air-conditioners by 8%. The move comes in the wake of the upcoming freeze hydro-chlorofloro-carbons under the Montreal Compact on Environment next year. BEE introduced mandatory star labelling of electrical appliances in January 2010.
Star-labelleing indicates the level of energy savings. Consumers can make an informed choice about purchase of air-conditioners by looking at Stars inscribed on the appliance. A commercial consumer is likely to prefer air-conditioners with higher Star ratings because of larger potential energy savings, which would entail a shorter payback period for him.
“We are happy that our initial steps in introducing star labelling for airconditioners has borne such good results,” Mathur said.
The agency has also developed a mobile phone-based application “AC Power Saver” to create awareness among electricity consumers. It enables consumers to calculate energy consumption and savings on their mobile handsets. The application will be available for Android, Balckberry and iPhone users free of charge. These tools will help consumers calculate in advance their annual electricity bills and the potential savings. BEE is also training air-conditioner sales executives as part of its consumer awareness programme. It has already trained 1,544 salesmen across six cities. BEE has partnered with Emerson Climate Technologies and International Copper Promotion Council to educate the market on the benefits of the star labelling for split airconditioners. The agency plans to further tighten the energy efficiency norms for split air-conditioners in 2014.