Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio Welcomed by Godrej Appliances

MUMBAI:
Godrej Appliances welcomed the new Indian Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (ISEER) ratings for air conditioners set by the Central Government’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) to be implemented from January 1st, 2018.
Kamal Nandi, Business Head & EVP- Godrej Appliances, said that at Godrej Appliances, we have been at the forefront of offering the best in energy efficiency in the AC category. The Green Balance range of Air Conditioners with the greenest refrigerant R290 has been the most energy efficient AC range since 2012. True to our commitment towards offering energy efficient ACs, we had voluntarily adopted the ISEER rating system in 2016 itself, with the launch of our range of Godrej NXW inverter (variable speed) ACs and look forward to its implementation for fixed speed air conditioners.
The new ISEER ratings have been defined to match the globally accepted SEER standards. The rationale behind SEER is that the ambient temperature varies across seasons and thus there is variation in the amount of cooling required. SEER standards have to be different for different countries as every country has a different climate profile and thus the BEE has defined an Indian SEER.
Reports show that the weather profiles of 54 major cities in India have a temperature above 24ºC for 65% of the total number of hours in a year. However, until now, air conditioners in India have been tested at a standard temperature of 35ºC. The new calculation takes into consideration a weighted average of the performance at outside temperatures between 24ºC and 43ºC assuming that the air conditioner runs for 1600 hours in a year.
Appliances such as air conditioners consume high amounts of electricity and account for a major chunk of the monthly household electricity bill. Earlier there was a mandated rating system available for fixed speed ACs but not for variable speed ACs. This confused the consumers and impacted their buying decisions. It is imperative that consumers are made aware of correct energy efficiency ratings so that they can make informed buying decisions. Additionally, the new methodology will ensure appliances are made more energy efficient and consumers can purchase air conditioners with higher efficiency leading to lower electricity bills, he added.