The ability of an inverter air conditioner compressor to modify the speed of its motor to match the temperature of the room. Inverter air conditioners reduce the speed of the compressor motor once a room is cool to conserve electricity and refrigerant.

Non-inverter motors, on the other hand, only run at maximum speed until the room temperature exceeds the target temperature. This on-and-off cycle generates more noise and uses more energy.

While non-inverter air conditioners may be less expensive, inverter air conditioners run quietly and deliver more consistent, energy-efficient cooling comfort, resulting in superior long-term value.

What is the Importance of BEE?

The main objective of BEE star labeling scheme is to ensure that the end consumers of India get high-energy efficiency products.

In May 2006, the Minister of Power launched a star labeling program to make electrical appliances more energy efficient. Under the province of this scheme, total 26 products are covered. From which 10 are covered under mandatory scheme and 16 under voluntary scheme.

Mandatory Product List

Voluntary Product List

What Does the Star Rating Means?

Any buyer willing to buy a BEE registered product can identify the product energy efficiency just by looking at the number of stars the label on the product have. More the stars, more energy efficient is the product and more electricity it will save. 

A 5 star rated product has the highest efficiency and the 1 star rated product has the lowest efficiency. 

The star label acts as an energy efficiency guide for the end consumer or buyer. However, in the market the price of the 5 star rated products are on a high side as compared to the 1 star or 2 star rated products. But on a long term the high efficient product save you more money on your electricity bills.

BEE Registration Process

The entire BEE registration process is categorised in three major steps, which include online fillings and hardcopy submission. The entire lifecycle of getting your product registered with BEE involves company registration followed with product testing and model approval. Below is a brief description of the process involved on each step of registration.

Company Registration: The very first step of star labelling registration is to get the company registered with the BEE on their online portal. Any manufacturer/importer/trader who wishes to apply under the scheme has to undergo this step. The registration process involves submission of mandatory documents and details of the applicant. Documents such as ISO 9001, Trademark, COI, Authorisation letter etc are required to be uploaded at the time of online filling. Also, the applicant needs to submit the hardcopy originals to the Bureau of Energy office.

Apart from the online filling, the applicant needs to pay a fees of 1, 00,000/- (If the applicant is a large scale industry) or 25,000/- (If the applicant is a MSME).

Testing: Once the company registration application is approved by the bureau, the applicant receives login credentials for his portal over the registered email ID. Using the same the applicant can fill the model registration application. However before proceeding with the model registration process, the applicant needs to get his products tested from an NABL accredited lab or from an ILAC MRA lab. The test report must be as per the BEE defined format and must consist of all the testing parameters. For product testing, the applicant needs to share the testing documents along with the product sample as prescribed by the testing facility. Also, before applying for the model registration, it must be cross checked that the LAB reports issue date is not greater than 90 days. 

Model Registration: Once the testing is complete, the applicant can now apply for model registration on the online BEE portal. The registration requires mandatory documents in specified format along with the test report (not older than 90 days). Once all the documents and details are uploaded online along with a sample label. A fees of INR 2000 is to be paid to the bureau.

Once the application is submitted online, all the hardcopy originals along with online application and payment receipt are to submit to the department.

The department scrutinizes all the submitted and received documents to provide the final license to the applicant. 

Validity for BEE Registration

The BEE validity is dependent upon the labelling period which is released by the bureau. For example the current labeling period for Variable Air Conditioner is 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2023, hence before 31st December 2023, the applicant has two options, either to degrade its star rating or to renew the same star rating as per the new released table by making necessary changes in their product and enhance its efficiency.

Sample Label and labelling period

Energy efficiency labels are mandatory labels affixed to a registered product, describing its energy efficiency and consumption. A star rating, ranging from 1 to 5 in the ascending order of energy efficiency is provided to the permittee and products registered with the Bureau.  

A label period is the duration prescribed by BEE for which the star rating of a product is valid. When the label period for a particular product is revised by the department, the star rating calculation table and energy performance criteria for the product also upgrades.