Consumers must be incentivised to buy energy-efficient cooling appliances, discard old ones, says Jamshyd Godrej

“A good policy will be for old products to be taken out of the market, and I think that's been done in many cases (for manufacturers), for example, automobiles and things like air-conditioners and refrigerators," Godrej said in an interview. “Remove the inefficient ones from usage. It's easier said than done because what you must do is you've got to be able to give the right incentive for the consumer to move to a new product, which is more efficient."

Demand for cooling appliances and beverages rose sharply in north India this summer, with temperatures touching 50 degrees Celsius in some parts of New Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. Resultant heat waves led to complaints of cooling products not working efficiently and incidents of air-conditioners catching fire, raising concerns about their ability to effectively manage extreme heat.

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Incentivising consumers to buy more efficient air-conditioners and refrigerators will reduce electricity consumption and ease the burden on generation companies to meet the nation’s peak power demand, which touched a record 250 GW in May this year.

“Governments have, from time to time, realised that even if you pay somebody to take something out of use, it's a benefit to society because now if energy companies have to go on producing more energy, it's a big burden on cost. But if you can reduce that, it's better, they're more efficient," Godrej said.

Manufacturer claims

Manufacturers often promote their air-conditioners with bold claims, suggesting they can transform the hottest environment into comfortable and cool spaces. Earlier this week, the government issued new guidelines to rein in misleading ‘eco-friendly’ advertisements and said false claims could result in fines or imprisonment.

Godrej advised consumers to buy appliances with higher energy efficiency ratings, based on the capacity required for the season.

Also Read | Greenwashing: Govt unveils new guidelines to rein in misleading ‘eco-friendly’ ads

“Consumers must try to understand what it is that they need, what they can afford. What the industry can do is to try to keep on improving energy efficiency," Godrej said.

However, he acknowledged that the existing inventory of air-conditioners and refrigerators would have to be cleared first.

“Now, one of the problems that we face, and all industries would face, is that you have a legacy in the market, lots of old products. So, your energy-efficient stock coming into the market may take a long time," he said.

Asked if Godrej Appliances plans to revisit its cooling appliances, especially air-conditioners, the chairman did not comment. In April 2021, Godrej Appliances launched its range of made-in-India air-conditioners. The company plans to invest ₹100 crore in its manufacturing units at Shirwal and Mohali by 2025 to augment their air-conditioner production capacity to 800,000 units.

According to the company, global demand for air-conditioners is projected to rise from 1.2 billion to 4.5 billion by 2050, of which India will account for 1 billion.

Also Read | Backed by air-conditioning demand, India to lead global electricity consumption growth over next 25 years: IEA

India’s soaring electricity demand growth—estimated at over 4% every year till 2050—will exceed the global average due to rising demand for household cooling appliances, industrial requirements, and wider availability of electric vehicles, the Paris-based International Energy Agency said on Wednesday.