More bang for your buck: Customers fancy green appliances

Infographic: TBS

Energy-efficiency is the future, at least as far as electronics manufacturers are concerned.

Amid spiralling prices of electricity, consumers too are turning to energy-efficient products, cutting down on their bills while contributing to the environment at the same time. 

And the electronics manufacturers are there to serve this changing taste.

Nowadays, some air conditioners come with an inverter which saves up to 70% in electricity consumption than an AC without one, claim appliance makers. Normally an AC consumes 1.6 units of electricity to run for an hour.

Other domestic appliances, such as refrigerators, LED lights, fans, washing machines, microwave ovens, and inductor cookers, which feature energy efficiency tech, consume 30-75% less electricity, they say. 

Mohammed Mesbah Uddin, chief marketing officer of Fair Group (distributor and manufacturer of Samsung in Bangladesh), told The Business Standard, "We are now manufacturing more and more energy-saving products because of growing demand from customers, mainly from those in cities."

The home appliance sector involving Tk32,000-Tk33,000 crore in annual sales is fast adopting improved technologies to save power as in developed countries. 

Walton, the electronics giant with an over 60% stake in the domestic market, manufactures almost all types of energy-efficient products, including refrigerators and freezers, air conditioners, televisions, washing machines, various home and kitchen appliances. 

Firoj Alam, chief marketing officer of Walton Hi-Tech Industries PLC, said Walton's inverter fridge generally consumes about 8-10 times less electricity to run the compressor. The company's refrigerators save 60% more energy than normal refrigerators.

"A 1-ton Walton AC consumes electricity worth Tk2.19 per hour, which means it is the most energy efficient AC in Bangladesh as well as in the subcontinent," he noted

Almost all brands, including Samsung, Walton, Vision, Konka, LG, Transtec, VISTA, Gree, Sony-Rangs and Minister, are producing energy-saving products.

Vision Electronics is the second largest manufacturing company in the country.

Chowdhury Kamruzzaman Kamal, director (Marketing) of PRAN-RFL Group – the parent company of Vision Electronics, told TBS that the group's appliances, such as ACs, refrigerators, induction cookers, ceiling fans and lights save energy between 30% and 70% compared to normal ones.

Gree, a top global electronic brand based in China, has a 60% stake in the overall AC market, is currently supplying super energy-saving ACs equipped with nano-technology compressors to the market.

Nurul Afsar, deputy managing director of Electro Mart, said the world's first boost inverter compressor, Gree ACs, save up to 70% of power consumption. The T-3 technology can reduce airflow up to 8°C in any working conditions, providing extreme cooling and a comfortable atmosphere.

"In just one minute, Gree AC can reduce the temperature of 27°c inside and 35°c outside to 8°c," he added.

Besides, different factories are also giving importance to energy efficiency while constructing structures and decorating interiors.  

Experts say up to 40% of electricity can be saved by using inverter machines, automatic Voltage Regulator (AVR) or Voltage Stabilizer in factories.

Moreover, they think it is possible to reduce energy consumption in homes, offices, hospitals, shopping malls, factories, shops, mosques, banks and insurance by 20-30% through inverter generators.

Humayun Rashid, president of International Business Forum of Bangladesh and managing director and chief executive officer of Energypac Power Generation Ltd, said, "We see the use of electricity-saving technology in manufacturing almost all electronics products in Bangladesh for several years."

Green technology has been adopted in factories and offices, leading to a reduction in power consumption by up to 40%, he noted.