Conserving energy is vital in today’s scenario. India is facing a considerable deficit in the supply of electricity. The demand far outweighs the supply.
Therefore, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency has launched its standards and labelling programme in 2006. They have since started rating electrical and electronic appliances on a scale of 1 to 5 depending on their energy efficiency.
A study done by a research group in Pune has come up with a startling revelation that a market transformation of four appliances, namely the ACs, refrigerators, TVs, and Ceiling fans can result in India saving 60 million units of electricity thereby increasing the supply position by a minimum of 20,000 MW.
BEE has now launched a programme supporting the manufacturing of super-efficient appliances starting with the ceiling fan.
What is a super-efficient ceiling fan?
A standard fan consumes about 75 to 80 watts of power. After the introduction of the BEE Star ratings, the ceiling fan manufacturers have started making efficient ceiling fans that consume around 45 to 50 watts.
These are the 5-star rated fans. The difference between the regular ceiling fans and the 5–star rated ones is that the 5-star rated fans have an air-delivery of 210 to 225 cumm as opposed to the 250 cumm of the regular fans.
It gives rise to the conception that the BEE star rated fan manufacturers have compromised on the air delivery factor while making energy-efficient fans.
The Super-efficient fans attempt to rectify this anomaly. The super-efficient fan has an air delivery of 230 cumm. However, they consume only 30 to 35 watts of power. Hence, these fans save approximately 50% of electricity.
What do the numbers say?
Let us compare the numbers about the performance of the super-efficient ceiling fans vis-à-vis the regular fans, and the BEE start rated fans.
| Regular Ceiling fan | BEE 5-star rated fan | Super-efficient fan | |
| Cost of the appliance | ₹ 1500 | ₹ 2000 | ₹ 3500 |
| Wattage | 75 | 50 | 35 |
| Yearly Consumption in units (8 hours a day) | 219 | 145 | 102 |
| Yearly Electricity Cost @ ₹ 5 per unit | ₹ 1095 | ₹ 730 | ₹ 511 |
Thus, you notice that the super-efficient fan will recover the difference in the costs within three and a half years.
The technology behind the Super-efficient fans
The improvement in the technology is in the following three areas.
- Improvisation of the induction motor in the regular ceiling fans
- Introduction of the Brushless DC motors also known as BLDC motors
- Improvement in the designing of the blades
Also, you will find the replacement of some electrical components like the capacitor and so on with electronic components like microcomputers.
The change you experience with the use of super-efficient ceiling fans
- Higher air flow at full speed
- Noiseless operation because of better quality of blades
- No degradation in the speed because of voltage fluctuations
- Reliability under high ambient temperatures
- Lowest power consumption
Inference
Considering the power situation in India, it is advisable for all households to switch over to the super-efficient fans one by one. You end up saving considerable power that can be put to better use at a national level.
Source: Atomberg, Superfan, prayaspune