Indian consumers are becoming power conscious and opting for energy-efficient appliances even if such products cost much more.
Conscious of this trend, manufacturers are introducing ranges of energy-efficient products.
At LG India, the country's top durables manufacturer, more than 70 per cent of refrigerators sold are five-star rated units – rated for energy efficiency by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE). LG says the demand for energy efficient televisions is also picking up. “Star rated products save up to 37 per cent energy,” claims Mr Rajeev Jain, Business Head, Home Appliances, LG India.
Mr Jain adds that the cost of such products is 10-15 per cent higher than the price of non-star rated products.
Mr Sunil Sinha, CEO, Sharp Corporation, India, says that 30 per cent of the company's air-conditioner sales were accounted by higher priced inverter AC product.
Inverter ACs are smart products in which the compressor changes frequency according to the ambient load and cools according to the need. The claim is it cuts energy bills by 40-50 per cent.
According to Mr Sinha, the big difference in prices, surprisingly, does not deter consumer. A 1.5-tonne Sharp AC costs Rs 32,000 while its inverter AC range starts at Rs 47,000. Most of the durable makers Business Line spoke with confirmed this trend.
Mr Pradeep Bakshi, COO of the Unitary Products Business, Voltas, said, “We have noticed the change in the consumer preference from non-energy efficient products to energy-efficient products. Thus, we have started targeting the maturing customers in metros and non-metros to upgrade to this technology.”
He says Voltas has introduced five energy saving AC models this year. Voltas has also launched a DC inverter technology model, Ecotron, that claims to save up to 40 per cent power consumption. Blue Star, too, launched an inverter AC model this summer.
Panasonic's Director, Marketing and Sales, Mr Manish Sharma, says the company has over 300 energy star qualifying models in diverse categories now. In fact, the power theme has now become rather pivotal for durables makers in their marketing campaigns. For the second year running, Mr Bakshi says, Voltas continued its ‘Sensible Cooling' campaign that talks about savings in a customer's electricity bills.
Just last month, Market Xcel Data Matrix, a market research firm, came out with a survey that showed that energy efficiency labels have begun playing a role in the purchase decision of consumer durables. According to its study, 51 per cent of the respondents it spoke with were aware of energy efficiency labels, and 65 per cent of these respondents considered the efficiency aspect when they made the buy decision.
The Ministry of Power, through the BEE, has been driving a campaign to make appliance majors switch to more star-rated products.