MTS brings ''energy labeling’ to India

A new concept of safety and performance measuring in the area of water heaters has entered the country -- that of "energy labeling" -- brought in by Merloni TermoSanitari (India), a leading player in the water heating industry.

Energy labeling is the certifying process by which an appliance is certified to meet certain safety and energy saving parameters. MTS India has obtained such certification from the Canadian standards, testing and certifying agency, CSA International.

Accordingly, the MTS storage water heaters are certified to meet IEC 60335-2-21 safety standards and energy efficiency rating to IEC 60379 standards, and achieve 40 per cent energy savings as compared to the Indian Specification IS 2082 standards. Each of the MTS storage water heaters will carry these labels prominently.

Energy labeling, which is a new concept in the Indian market, is an established practice in the west, notably Canada, Europe and US. In fact, energy labeling is a mandatory factor in some of these places, where protection of the environment, and energy conservation are active concerns.

"The main purpose of standards in efficiency is to provide a test method and to standardise product efficiency claims," says Brij Aggarwal, manager, technical support, Asia region of the Canadian Standards Association, Canada, who addressed a seminar on energy labeling in Mumbai, early June.

In Canada, says Aggarwal, energy labeling came about as a result of public demand, where the people prompted the government to impose energy conserving and environment protecting measures.

Thus, in Canada, where energy efficiency programs have now been in existence for over a decade, all major appliances, water heaters, air conditioners, motors, etc, require energy guide labels before they can be sold in the market. Similar rules apply in the US, while Mexico, the European Union and the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Conference) countries are also moving towards similar programs.

In India, the growing demand for electrical energy and rising energy costs induce manufacturers to produce more energy efficient products. But these need third party testing and endorsement, to lend credibility to manufacturer claims, says Aggarwal.

While energy labelling has come in for the first time in the country, the practice will soon catch up, says M G Sathyendra, manager, India liaison office, CSA. Electric motors will be the next in line, with Kirloskar Electric Ltd., opting for such labeling. CSA, which has been in India for some years, certifying products of over 150 companies for their safety parameters, will carry out the energy performance test for KEL.

MTS India expects to gain from energy labeling. "It will add to the excitement, " agrees managing director A K Rathi, and help it to retain its leadership position in the market. The new labeling will also create a new aspiration benchmark among other players.

MTS (India) Ltd, fully owned subsidiary of Merloni TermoSanitari SpA of Italy is a leader in the water heating business. It bought majority stake in Racold Appliances, and later bought over the entire stake, including brand and assets. Today it has a fully integrated manufacturing set up in Chakan near Pune, put up with an investment of Rs 30 crores, and makes water heaters in the Racold and Ariston range.

The company has recently introduced branded kitchen chimneys and instant gas water heaters. It has also been planning to enter the air conditioner market with the entire range of split air-conditioners. "We have begun test marketing. Our full fledged launch will now be made next season," says Rathi.