One of the common misconceptions that we hear of when we talk about BEE star rating is that BEE standards do not include Indian Standards. Many people believe that BEE has set its own standards and they are separate from IS or Indian Standards. But fortunately that is not true. Most appliances for which there is a standard set by BIS (Bureau of Indian Standards), BEE adopts these standards and additional specifications have been defined to set new BEE standards. In fact BEE while defining the star rating also adopts a lot of international best practices along with the BIS standards to define the star ratings in India.

What is BIS and IS?

BIS or Bureau of Indian Standards was setup by Government of India in 1986 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods. BIS has standards for various types of goods: Food, Cement, Electrical and Electronic Goods, etc. Products certified by BIS are most commonly marked with “ISI” mark. All the standards defined by BIS are coded with IS followed by a unique number (e.g. IS 3854 for Electrical Switches for domestic and similar purposes).

For most electrical and electronic equipment, BIS standards make sure that they follow safety and performance standards. So BEE star ratings which are built on top of IS make sure that the products follow safety, performance as well as efficiency standards.

International Best Practices in BEE Star Rating

BEE Star ratings also incorporate international best practices for efficiency standards. For e.g. EER is a universally accepted method for air conditioners and BEE star rating for ACs are based on EER, Star Rating for computers and laptops also have similar standards as Energy Star standards. While setting up standards for appliances, BEE makes sure that it adopts best standards and make sure that they suit Indian situation.

IS standards adopted by BEE for various appliances

Below are some IS standards adopted by BEE for various appliances:

1. Tubelights:  IS 2418 (part I and II) – 1977 with all amendments for General Lighting.
2. Frost Free Refrigerators: IS 15750:2006
3. Air Conditioners: IS1391 Part 1 and Part 2
4. Electric Geysers: IS 2082:1993 and clause 15 of IS 302-2-21with all amendments
5. Ceiling Fans: IS 374:1979 with all amendments
6. Color TVs: IS 13384:1992(Part 1&Part 2) and IS 13900:1993 for CRT’s

References:

www.beeindia.in