What do you usually look for when you buy a Refrigerator?
There are people who look at upfront costs. At the same time, there are those who look for savings in the long run.
This is due to savings in the consumption of electricity. Such people opt for energy efficient refrigerators.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) has introduced the standards and labeling program in May 2006. According to these conditions, every electrical and electronic goods manufacturer should place a label on the appliance indicating the amount of electricity it will consume under certain conditions.
This is a mandatory compliance for manufacturers of alliances like televisions, refrigerators, air conditioners, geysers, etc.
The Star Rating Concept
A lot of research has gone into the designing of these labels. If you look at it closely, it will contain many items. However, the highlight of these labels is the number of stars on it.
The more the number of stars on the label, the higher is the efficiency of the appliance.
Hence, it consumes less current. The maximum number of stars an appliance can get is 5. Therefore, we can say that a 5-star appliance is better than any other similar appliance with lesser number of stars. At the same time, these appliances cost more. Thus, a 1-star fridge is the cheapest whereas a 5-star refrigerator is the most expensive.
- You can Find More about BEE, EER, ISEER and Star Ratings here.
If you are too confused about the star rating aspect, you can simply opt to buy the product with a higher star rating. It will recover the upfront costs over a period through savings in your electricity bill.
Technology
It is true that technology is improving day by day. You can have your doubts that a refrigerator manufactured with the latest technology in 2018 is definitely better than the ones manufactured in say 2016.
However, you find that the 2016-made refrigerator has 5 stars whereas the 2018-manufactured one has 4. Which of the two is better?
The answer should be quite simple. You should also look at the year of manufacture of the refrigerator. This is why you should look into the other aspects that go in rating an appliance. You have these details on the label.
Are ratings for refrigerators different from that of the other appliances?
Different appliances have different star rating formulas. The principal consideration is consumption of electrical units.
Understanding the star rating for refrigerators is very simple because the labels include the expected annual power consumption in kWh. Using this figure, it is easy to comprehend the cost of electrical consumption. Hence, it becomes easier to compare refrigerators manufactured at different times.
The star ratings for a refrigerator also depend on the volume and capacity of the refrigerator. There is a specific formula for calculating and determining the BEE Star ratings. We need not go into the deeper aspects of the star ratings. One can conclude by saying that 5-star refrigeration is always better than others.