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Hey searchers, today we will be covering the BEE star rating for refrigerators 2023-2024. But firstly, would you tell me that how do you save electricity? You would say that by switching off unused electrical equipments.
But, is that enough? The answer is NO, you should use energy efficient appliances too to save more energy and your money as well. If you’ve recently bought an electrical appliance, you may have noticed the rating label on that appliance.
If you’ve noticed, but don’t know much about it, don’t worry because that is what this article is all about. So stay tuned with us to know more exciting knowledge further.
Talking more about energy efficiency, then it is an important checkpoint when someone is considering to buy an electrical appliance. And, that’s where the BEE comes into place to guide buyers about the energy efficiency of the appliances.
So, let’s know about it little deeper, ahead.
What is BEE?
BEE stands for (Bureau of Energy Efficiency) a central government regulated body established in March 1, 2002. The government set it under the control of Ministry of Power of India with the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
The main purpose of setting up of BEE is to promote energy conservation and help in developing polices and strategies with a thrust on self regulation and market principles within the overall framework of Energy Conservation Act 2001.
BEE give star ratings to almost all the electrical appliances selling in India. But, if we talk about the numbers, there are 26 different types of appliance on which you get BEE ratings. Those appliances includes domestic, commercial, industrial, etc.
What does BEE star rating indicates?
The BEE offers ratings ranging from 1 to 5 stars. The higher the ratings means higher the efficiency of the appliance. It means an appliance with 5 star rating is the most energy efficient than the appliance, which has lower star rating, but irrespective to their storage capacities.
For Example: A refrigerator of 190 liters of capacity with 5 Star BEE rating will always be more efficient than a refrigerator of 200 liters of capacity with same 5 Star BEE rating.
Where is BEE Star Rating Labelled on the Refrigerator?
Typically, you will find the BEE rating labeled in the top right corner of the refrigerator when you look at the refrigerator unit.
Latest Notification Imposed By BEE For Refrigerators
In the recent notification issued by the Ministry of Power of India and Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in the gazette for the refrigerators’ star ratings 2023, you will see that the validity period of updated numbers for both Frost Free & Direct Cool refrigerators has increased to two years, which is valid from (1st Jan, 2023 to 31st Dec, 2024)
For more detailed information about the notification, you can check it on BEE’s Official Site.
What Information You Get In BEE Label For Refrigerators?
If you have ever noticed that there are lot of information given on the label of BEE. If you don’t know about it, then let’s take a look at them step by step down below:
- Firstly at the top you will find BEE star rating ranging from 1 to 5 Star.
- Electricity Consumption (in units per year)
- Label Period
- Appliance/Type
- Brand name
- Model and year of manufacturing/import
- Technology Type (Like Direct Cool or Frost Free)
- Gross Volume
- Storage Volume
- BEE Logo
- Unique Code just underneath the BEE logo
- Applicable Conditions
Process Of Calculating Power Consumption
As there are two types of technologies used in refrigerators, namely –
- Direct Cool, and
- Frost Free
I have written a dedicated article on these two Direct Cool & Frost Free already, where I’ve explained them deeply. You can refer to that article if you want to learn about them extensively.
In both of these refrigerator technologies BEE used different values, but the formula of calculating is similar.
BEE Star Ratings For Direct Cool Refrigerators
In Direct Cool refrigerators, the star rating bands are determined through the following parameters and formula:
Formula -:
Comparative Energy Consumption (CEC) = k x V + c
Where parameters,
k = Constant Multiplier (kWh/liter/year)
V = Total adjusted storage volume for household Direct Cool refrigerator (l)
c = Constant Fixed Allowance (kWh/year)
The BEE star level values for the Direct Cool refrigerators are shown in the table below valid from (1st Jan 2023 to 31st Dec 2024).
Star Rating Band | Comparative Energy Consumption (CEC) | |
Minimum CEC | Maximum CEC | |
1 Star | 0.115 x V + 179 | 0.129 x V + 201 |
2 Star | 0.103 x V + 160 | 0.115 x V + 179 |
3 Star | 0.091 x V + 141 | 0.103 x V + 160 |
4 Star | 0.080 x V + 124 | 0.091 x V + 141 |
5 Star | - | 0.080 x V + 124 |
Related: Best Refrigerators in India
BEE Star Ratings For Frost Free Refrigerators
On the other hand, in the Frost Free refrigerators, the formula for calculating CEC or star rating bands is similar to Direct Cool. But, the only difference here is in its values of Constant Multiplier (k) and Constant Fixed Allowance (c).
Formula -:
Comparative Energy Consumption (CEC) = k x V + c
Where parameters,
k = Constant Multiplier (kWh/liter/year)
V = Total adjusted storage volume for household Frost Free refrigerator (l)
c = Constant Fixed Allowance (kWh/year)
The BEE star level values for the Frost Free refrigerators are shown in the table below valid from (1st Jan 2023 to 31st Dec 2024).
Star Rating Band | Annual Energy Consumption (CEC) | |
Minimum CEC | Maximum CEC | |
1 Star | 0.157 x V + 243 | 0.180 x V + 279 |
2 Star | 0.136 x V + 211 | 0.157 x V + 243 |
3 Star | 0.118 x V + 184 | 0.136 x V + 211 |
4 Star | 0.103 x V + 160 | 0.118 x V + 184 |
5 Star | - | 0.103 x V + 160 |
Data Reference: Ministry of Power Notification under S.O. 4554(E), dated 26th September, 2022.
Conclusion
So this is all about the BEE star rating for refrigerators in India for year 2023-2024. I hope you got some great insights about BEE, their label structure, and how BEE star rating standards for refrigerators are calculated.
In the end, I would suggest you all always go for a refrigerator with a higher BEE star rating. It is always a better bet against just saving money for once if you want to save more energy and money in the long run. I hope you got my point.
Now, it’s your turn to share with us your refrigerator star ratings. Do tell us how many star ratings your current refrigerator have in the comments below.
We would love to hear from you.
Cheers!!
Hi,
Thank you for your blog. Useful stuff!
Below is the example that I came across in your blog.
“A refrigerator of 190 liters of capacity with 5 Star BEE rating will always be more efficient than a refrigerator of 200 liters of capacity with same 5 Star BEE rating.”
Hope there is a typo error. 190 L of 5Star BEE rating is compared against 200 L of 5star BEE rating and it is concluded that 190 L of 5star BEE rating is more energy efficient. Volume doesn’t play a role while comparing energy efficiency. I hope, example should be updated as below:
“A refrigerator of 190 liters of capacity with 5 Star BEE rating will always be more efficient than a refrigerator of 200 liters of capacity with 3 Star BEE rating”.
Please correct me if my understanding is wrong!
Thank You for your comment Vivek, but if you see the formula for calculating energy efficiency you will find there is a volume component included in it (kxV+c). Hence, it clearly indicates that volume does affect the energy efficiency of a refrigerator. Cheers!