Speedy uptake of five-star rated fans needs government push to make them affordable, say experts
- August 24, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Speedy uptake of five-star rated fans needs government push to make them affordable, say experts
Subject : Environment
Section: Conservation
Context:
- Super energy efficient fans with better cooling are available in the market, but are prohibitively expensive, with only three percent of households reporting they owned one, according to a survey.
Energy saving ceiling fans:
- Study by the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW).
- Since this year, all fans produced and sold in the market come bearing a ‘star rating’ from one to five – an indicator of how much electricity the fan consumes.
- The higher the star rating, the less electricity it consumes and greater the potential for energy savings.
- The super efficient five-star rated fans use 35 watts of electricity or less and run on expensive brushless direct current (BLDC) motors.
- If India is to reduce its electricity consumption, tapping into low income households and scaling up the sale and distribution of five-star rated fans is key. But experts say retail prices need to drop before this can happen.
- Super energy-efficient fans with five stars perform better when it comes to air delivery – the volume of air pushed out per minute.
Making it affordable:
- A number of financial tools and incentives can be used to reduce upfront costs with a high payback period, including reducing tax rates and enabling low cost credit schemes.
- Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture company of four public sector undertakings plans on buying and distributing 10 million BLDC fans – one fourth of the stock that is sold in the market – in a bid to drive down the price.
- The EESL played a significant role in reducing the prices of energy efficient LED bulbs through bulk procurement, which led to the success of the government’s Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) scheme, launched in 2014.
- Reducing the GST on ceiling fans which currently is 18%.
Concept of Brushless Direct Current Motors (BLDC) fans:
- A brushless DC electric motor (BLDC), also known as an electronically commutated motor, is a synchronous motor using a direct current (DC) electric power supply.
- It uses an electronic controller to switch DC currents to the motor windings producing magnetic fields that effectively rotate in space and which the permanent magnet rotor follows.
- The controller adjusts the phase and amplitude of the DC current pulses to control the speed and torque of the motor.
- This control system is an alternative to the mechanical commutator (brushes) used in many conventional electric motors.
Advantages of BLDC ceiling fans:
- BLDC fans use BLDC motors compared to induction motors in normal ceiling fans. With the use of bldc motor in the ceiling fan we can save 60% electricity in the ceiling fan.
- BLDC fan lifespan is more than a normal ceiling fan because there is no heat generated in BLDC Motor.
- Also there are fewer chances for the winding failure due to the use of high thickness copper wire in the winding.
Building awareness:
- Every year around 45 million fans are sold, and once bought these fans are used for another 20 years. So, awareness about energy efficient fans is necessary.
- The Bureau of Energy Efficiency made star rating for ceiling fans a voluntary programme in 2010.
- The energy efficiency standards were revised once in 2019 and made mandatory only in 2022.