What does the heart desire this summer? For one thing, fans that whirr away night and day without running up huge electricity bills. Dev Anand, Director, Sundev Appliances, says his company can help — it has launched new versions of Desire rechargeable fan that work during power cuts too.
But rechargeable fans of all kinds are already available. What makes this special?
Anand explains that most rechargeable fans are either fully India-made or imported. In the new version of Desire, though, only the plastic is imported, for aesthetics. The specification of circuit and battery is made in India, so as to meet the needs of Indian consumers. The battery runs five hours if the fan is run at slow speed, three hours if at high speed. It runs on an inverter too. Also, the battery has a dual charging option (chargeable on solar panel and electricity). Further, as it is India-made, the battery makes for easy replacement in case of repair or service.
Regarding pricing, Anand says Desire fans are comparable with other rechargeable fans. In terms of electricity saving, a rechargeable fan scores over a regular ceiling fan, consuming 16 watts per hour against 65 watts for the latter, in effect one-fourth the consumption, which means your electricity bill comes down.
While the Desire brand of rechargeable fans has been available for the past two years (sales of 20,000 units per year), the new series – with Indian PCB, Indian battery, dual charging option, mobile charging output (pedestal fan) and LED lights – was officially launched in March. The company will focus more on rural areas, through regular distribution, online mode and teleshopping.
“We are looking at pan-India distribution, more focused on areas with larger current cuts, such as Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana, UP, Bihar, Orissa, etc,” says Anand. The new versions come in table fan (12-inch and 16-inch at an MRP of Rs 2,990 and Rs 3,990, respectively) and pedestal fan (Rs 4,990) models.
The company plans to come out with rechargeable ceiling/wall-mounted fans too down the line.
Will Desire fulfil the consumer's wishes this summer?