New Delhi, Sept. 7: The Centre's Bureau of Energy Efficiency has proposed rules for star labels on light emitting diode (LED) bulbs to help consumers pick the devices on the basis of energy consumption as possible now for air-conditioners or refrigerators.
The BEE, an agency under the Union power ministry, has released for public comments a draft notification for the display of labels on self-ballasted LED lamps that will specify the star level of the lamps based on its energy consumption.
The Centre is encouraging consumers to adopt LED bulbs whose lifespans typically are 50 times longer than those of standard incandescent bulbs and up to 10 times those of compact fluorescent lamps. The government's domestic efficient lighting programme has distributed LED bulbs to more than 75 million households, achieving savings of over 83 billion units, the power ministry had told Parliament in March last year.
The BEE's draft notification says LED manufacturers would need to display on each LED bulb the power consumption in watts, the luminous flux in lumens, the luminous efficacy in lumen per watt, and the star level - one to five - corresponding to the lamp's energy efficiency.
"Such labels help consumers make informed choices - they're part of a process to nudge consumers towards greater energy savings and cost-savings in the long run," said Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director for research and advocacy at the New Delhi-based non-government Centre for Science and Environment.
In July 2016, Orient Electric, a unit of the $1.6-billion CK Birla Group, became the first in the country to receive a BEE rating for its LED lamps, receiving a 3-star rating for its 5W, 7W, and 9W LED lamps.
The BEE considers lumen per watt and other criteria as key parameters to assign bulbs a star level on a five-star scale for its energy efficiency and the light it produces. A news release from Orient said the company is the third largest manufacturer of LED lamps in India.
The BEE has set 45 days for stakeholders to comment on the proposed rules.
