Star labels to be made compulsory for laptops

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In the near future, ‘star labels’ denoting energy efficiency levels would be made compulsory for laptops and, possibly, automobiles as well. Laptops are the latest in the list of appliances for which the labels are now optional.Consultations have begun with stakeholders at the national level for including automobiles also in the list. An initiative of the Union Power Ministry’s  Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), star-labelling is a simple method for letting the  customers know how energy efficient are the appliances available in the market.The labels grade energy efficiency using one to five stars, with five stars denoting maximum efficiency.Appliances go through a ‘voluntary phase’ first, when it is optional for manufacturers to meet the required energy efficiency standards and affix the label.“Ordinarily, a period of five years is allowed in the voluntary phase before labels and the corresponding energy efficiency standards are made mandatory,” said A M Narayanan, who heads the energy efficiency division at the Energy Management Centre (EMC), BEE’s designated agency for energy conservation in Kerala.Once included in the ‘mandatory’ list, a non-labelled product is a strict no-no. At present, star labels are mandatory for frost-free refrigerators, air conditioners, tubular fluorescent lamps and distribution transformers. Electric geysers, direct cool refrigerators, electric motors and pumps, ceiling fans, colour TVs and laptops are in the ‘voluntary’ list. Today, quite a few laptop brands are available in the Kerala market including Sony, Dell, Lenovo, HCL, Toshiba and Samsung. “Nowadays, the demand is for those in the price bracket of Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000. Customers, however, rarely look at aspects other than configuration and price,” said Sijo of Oxygen, a leading laptop vendor in Thiruvananthapuram.“Many firms are shifting from desktops to laptops as they save more energy,” he said. Also, once the State Government passes the required regulation, the EMC would deploy inspectors to ensure that non-star labelled items are not sold in the state.