what is meant by the V star rating and on which products is this mark used ?
Answers
If budget and brand weren’t enough to confuse your buying decision, there’s an energy rating label on home appliances to influence your choice. Everyone wants a five-star energy rated appliance as an efficient option compared to a lower rated one. If the stars are to be believed they better be understood as well.
What are energy rating labels?
Energy rating labels are labels that provide information about an appliance’s energy consumption. In India, BEE (Bureau of energy efficiency), an initiative of the Ministry of Power, Government of India, regularises these labels. It’s the government’s way to standardise energy consumption levels and help consumers make an informed decision.
Understand the label and choose wisely
Many consider the cost of the product but fail to gauge the cost of usage. Large appliances are used on a daily basis for years and this label allows you to forecast energy consumption of household appliances. It is hard to miss these labels and most people flaunt these labels for years after the buying decision is made. Let’s understand the information portrayed by these energy labels.
What do the stars mean?
Like we follow in most hierarchies, more the stars, more energy efficient the appliance. This is a visual representation of the appliance’s efficiency. These stars usually range from one, being the least efficient to five, being the most efficient product in its category. This is the quickest way to understand the appliance’s power consumption. Be aware though as these stars vary ever so slightly from product to product. For eg.: A 200L (litre) refrigerator with 5 stars is efficient in the 200L category but anything above or below its capacity and the star ratings would be an incomplete matrix for comparison. What then?
Beyond the stars?
No two appliances are identical and hence the star based visual representation is thus not very accurate. In such a case, BEE insists that the energy label must have the device’s kWh (KiloWatt Hour) usage per annum printed on their energy labels. This figure is usually available at the centre of the BEE energy label. For reference, here is a table of energy consumption in units and subsequent tariff rates in India.
1 unit = 1 kWh (KiloWatt Hour)
Tariff rate for power supply to homes (residential establishments)
Consumption slab / Power supplier Tata Power Reliance BEST MSEB
0 – 30 units 40 paise NA 50 paise 40 paise
0 – 100 units Rs 1.60 Rs 1.15 75 paise Rs 1.90
100 – 300 units Rs 3.60 Rs 3.20 Rs 2.15 Rs 3.40
Above 300 units Rs 5.75 Rs 4.40 Rs 4.65 Rs 4.50
In addition to per-unit cost, there is a fixed charge applicable to all consumers, which varies from Rs 3 per month to Rs 150 per month, depending on consumer category of the appliance. Most families (without multiple air conditioners) consume less than 300 units per month.
Calculate your appliance’s energy consumption in rupees based on this matrix and be aware of the overall cost of purchase + usage of most electric appliances.
Answer:
Filters. The definition of five-star is something, such as a hotel or restaurant, that has the highest rating. An example of five-star is a top notch, world-class hotel.