BWI: BEE Launches National Awareness Programme on Standards and Labeling for Air Conditioners

Press release from Business Wire India
Source: The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE)
Thursday, April 08, 2010 10:23 AM IST (04:53 AM GMT)
Editors: General: Consumer interest, Environment; Business: Advertising, PR & marketing, Business services, Education & training, Electronic appliances & components, Energy companies
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BEE Launches National Awareness Programme on Standards and Labeling for Air Conditioners


Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, Thursday, April 08, 2010 -- (Business Wire India) -- -- Unveils the energy-saving calculator kiosk

-- 5000 salesmen across the country to be trained on benefits of energy saving

Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statutory body under the Union Ministry of Power, has launched a national education programme on star labeling for air conditioners. BEE, with support from Emerson Climate Technologies and International Copper Association, 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. These trained salesmen are expected to help consumers make energy efficient choice while buying their home air conditioners. BEE will provide 24 numbers of touch screen Energy-Calculating kiosks at the designated showrooms. These easy-to-use kiosks will allow end users to quickly calculate the amount of electricity spend they can save from buying a higher star rated air conditioning machine. College students have been brought in for reaching out to the salesmen, with the first 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, Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director General, BEE, said, "Conservation of energy is assuming greater significance with the widening gap between the demand and supply of electricity. And given the increase in pricing and consumption, today, energy efficiency has become relevant to every individual and every household. It is imperative for end users to make the right choices while purchasing appliances. BEE is committed to help consumers and the industry to achieve higher energy efficiency. Through programmes such as the star labelling, BEE is building greater awareness, which will lead to responsible energy consumption and lower energy intensity. Customers will not only be made aware of the quantum of saving but our effort will also be towards making consumers more knowledgeable towards energy consumption."

As a partner in this activity, Emerson Climate Technologies has been actively working on market education initiatives. Mr. Shrikant Bapat, Managing Director, Emerson Climate Technologies (India) Pvt. Limited, said - "Emerson has a proven track record of doing market education for the channels and consumers in other countries and we have leveraged our learning from other global markets to roll out the education programme in India. It is not enough to only produce energy efficient products; we must also strive to ensure that the consumers are well educated in understanding the benefits of buying energy efficient products - both from the point of view of economics as well as the impact to our environment."

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 appliances. 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 labelling programme 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 - electrical appliance showrooms and end users, BEE partnered with Emerson Climate Technologies and International Copper Association in 2009 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.

About BEE

The Government of India set up Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) on March 1, 2002 under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. The mission of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is to assist in developing policies and strategies with a thrust on self-regulation and market principles, within the overall framework of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 with the primary objective of reducing energy intensity of the Indian economy. This will be achieved with active participation of all stakeholders, resulting in accelerated and sustained adoption of energy efficiency in all sectors.

About Emerson:

Emerson (NYSE: EMR), based in St. Louis, Missouri (USA), is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses. Emerson's sales in fiscal 2009 were $20.9 billion. The company is ranked 94th on the Fortune 500 list of America's largest companies. For more information, visit www.emerson.com

About Emerson Climate Technologies:

Emerson Climate Technologies, a business platform of Emerson, is the world's leading provider of heating, air conditioning and refrigeration solutions for residential, industrial and commercial applications. The group combines best-in-class technology with proven engineering, design, distribution, educational and monitoring services to provide customized, integrated climate-control solutions for customers worldwide. Emerson Climate Technologies' innovative solutions, which include industry-leading brands such as Copeland Scroll and White-Rodgers, improve human comfort, safeguard food and protect the environment. For more information, visit www.emersonclimate.com


CONTACT DETAILS
Sanjay Rammoorthy, Aurum Media Technologies, +91 9820309691, sanjay@aurumpr.com
Puja Gentle, Aurum Media Technologies, +91 9820473457, puja@aurumpr.com
Saurabh Bhatnagar, Bureau of Energy Efficiency, +91 (11) 26179699, saurabh.bee@gmail/ sbhatnagar@beenet.in
Nitasha Pania, Emerson Climate Technologies, 020.4200.2024, nitasha.pania@emerson.com

KEYWORDS
CONSUMER, ENVIRONMENT, MARKETING, BUSINESS SERVICES, EDUCATION, ELECTRONICS, ENERGY

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