How to buy an AC this summer

Beginning this year, there’s a mandatory energy efficiency rating to look out for.

Beginning this year, there’s a mandatory energy efficiency rating to look out for.

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Prepare to feel empowered. In a country where people spend 15 per cent of their income buying electricity, it is profitable to shift to energy-efficient appliances.

Also, the way you buy white goods has changed this summer with the enforcement of energy-efficiency ratings for fridges, tubelights and air-conditioners.

An EER of 3.1 or more means the appliance is a five-star one. “Manufacturers can’t sell appliances that don’t meet the minimum energy efficiency rating of 2.1,” says Saurabh Kumar, Secretary, Bureau of Energy Efficiency.

Gurmeet Singh, Vice President, Hitachi Home and Life Solutions India Limited, says: “With star ratings getting mandatory, buyers are spending more at the point of purchase. When they consider the life-cycle cost, they can recover their investment in the first two years.” (See box below). Adds Samsung India Deputy MD Ravinder Zutshi. “At least 10 of our AC models are rated 5-star.

More than the concern for environment, says Hindustan Times consumer rights columnist Pushpa Girimaji, the idea of saving money appeals to people. “The logic works better in places with higher power tariffs such as Gurgaon and Mumbai.”

Indians spend 15 per cent of their per capita income on buying electricity, says Kumar. “The world average for expenditure on power is between 3-5 per cent. So, it makes immense sense to invest in efficient appliances rather than energy guzzlers.”