Check the star rating before purchasing an electrical appliance

Energy star for your appliance plays vital role in saving energy and reducing your carbon footprints. Energy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products.The Energy Star program was created in 1992 by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in an attempt to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emission by power plants. Energy Star specifications differ with each item, and are set by either the Environmental Protection Agency or the Department of Energy.The star labeling was made mandatory for refrigerators, AC's, tubular fluorescent lights and distribution transformers from January 2010.


How many of you actually check the star rating before purchasing an electrical appliance? The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has started a national education program on star labeling for AC's. They, along with Emerson Climate Technologies and International Copper Promotion Council of India, launched a program on Wednesday to train 450 salesmen across 120 showrooms in Bangalore. They will be trained by BEE on star-rated products. These salesmen will help customers choose energy-efficient AC's. BEE will also provide 24 touch screen energy calculating kiosks for designated showrooms.

Window AC's have got up to three star rating and may soon get a four star too. However, other models have already got five star rating. From January this year, one to five-star labeling, depending on the energy efficiency of the appliance, has been made mandatory for refrigerators, AC's and tube-lights. The room fitted with AC should be fully covered on all sides, with a firmly closing type door. If you are air conditioning your living room, which is open to the kitchen on one side, then you need to provide a partition.If any windows are exposed to direct sun rays, use a drape or venetian blind to keep away the radiation heat from entering the room.