A refrigerator is a basic need for everyone. We store our food in the refrigerator for future use. It is a key appliance in every kitchen. But when you are buying a refrigerator, you must consider a few things. You can’t just go to a store and buy the first refrigerator we see, or the most attractive one.
One has to ask themselves a few questions: what size of a refrigerator will be perfect for their house, or do they have any fixed budget or which refrigerator is popular in the market and why. Besides this, what factors to look for while buying one. Does star rating matters in power consumption?
A clear knowledge about what are energy stars or what is the star rating in refrigerator is a must. Only after understanding what you exactly need and how we can save on power consumptions, you should go for refrigerator shopping.
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Things To Keep In Mind While Buying a Refrigerator
You have to keep a few things in mind while buying a refrigerator, those are:
1. Size
A bigger refrigerator costs more, but you get a bigger storage space. The small refrigerators struggle to keep our food fresh if we overfill it. This problem never occurs with big refrigerators. We get more than enough space to store all our food items.
2. Doors
We have one, two, and three door refrigerators available in the market. Experts say, one door refrigerators have a better cooling effect, but with two or three doors, we get separate spaces to keep food items separately. We can keep the iced products on the top section that need deep freezing and the rest items in the other parts of our refrigerator.
3. Model
Refrigerators that have top and bottom configuration are very energy efficient compared to those with side-by-side arrangements.
Panasonic 20 L Solo Microwave Oven (NN-ST26JMFDG, Silver, Stainless steel cavity with 51 Auto cook Menus)
4. Ratings
Whenever you are buying a refrigerator, you must check the rating stars. The more stars your model has, the more energy-efficient it is. Though 5-star refrigerators are costlier, they are great for the long run. They save a significant amount of electricity bill.
So, these are all the major things that you should check before buying any refrigerator.
What is a star rating?
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has introduced efficient usage and conservation of energy in different electrical appliances in India. BEE was established in 2002 as a Government agency in India. A star rating shows the storage volume, volume, and electricity the device consumes per unit.
What is the star rating in refrigerator in India?
Wondering what is star in refrigerator?
In India, the star rating of a refrigerator starts from 1 star, and the maximum is five stars. The price and the quality of a refrigerator increase with the number of stars it has. The star rating is only available for frost-free and single door refrigerators. That is why they are more expensive than others. A 5-star refrigerator is more costly than a 1-star refrigerator. But the five start refrigerator will save one’s money in the long run as they save a lot of your electricity bill.
Know more about the components of the refrigerator and how they work.
What does an energy efficiency rating do?
An energy star rating is a trusted symbol backed by the Government that shows the device’s energy-saving efficiency. Energy star label is primarily used to reduce the emission of different pollutants like greenhouse gas from the appliance and save the environment. It also helps one to protect the environment through energy saving. By this label, one can compare the energy-saving capacity of their device with other models.
What is the star rating in refrigerator: Different types of ratings
With Indian refrigerators, you get 1 to 5 stars at maximum.
1. 1-star rating refrigerator
The sticker of any refrigerator mentions the stars. If it is one starred refrigerator, only one star will be colored on the sticker, while the other four stars will be white. It is the lowest-rated refrigerator and consumes the maximum energy. Its price is always lower. The 1 starred refrigerator consumes 487 kWh annually, which becomes costly in the long run.
2. 2-star rating refrigerator
It saves more electricity compared to the one-starred refrigerator. The 2-star rating of refrigerator power consumption is 389 kWh per year. Its price is a bit higher.
3. 3-star rating refrigerator
The major difference between 2star and 3 star refrigerators is the energy-saving level. A 3-star refrigerator saves a lot more energy compared to a 2 star. It consumes 311 kWh every year. Though it has a higher price, it is an excellent investment for the future.
4. 4-star rating refrigerator
It consumes only 249 kWh annually. This is a great energy saver but costlier than others. The sticker has four red stars on it, so one can easily identify these refrigerators.
5. 5-star rating refrigerator
This is the best energy saver. People who are aware of the star rating usually go for a 5-star refrigerator. It consumes 199 kWh per year. So, you can easily calculate how much energy it saves per year. They are the most costly ones.
Want to buy a budget friendly refrigerator? We curated a list of fridge under 20K.
Energy and Money Saving with Different Star Rating Refrigerators
As we discussed above, there is a direct relation between star rating and energy consumption. So, if you want to buy the fridge with maximum energy efficiency, you must look for a refrigerator with higher stars.
5 star refrigerators are costlier to buy. A 5 star fridge has a more efficient compressor and is insulated better to avoid heat loss. Due to this, they are very efficient in energy saving. A 5 star fridge is expensive, but they help to save a lot on electricity bills and are good for the long run.
The Bureau of Energy Efficiency has shown the proper correlation between how the higher star rating can save the electricity cost in the table below.
|
Star Rating |
Energy Consumption Per Year (Approx.) | Per Unit Charge (Approx.) | Electricity Cost/year | Total Savings (w.r.t No Star Every Year) | Refrigerator Cost (Approx.) | Cost Difference |
Pay Back Period |
|
Units (kWh) |
Rs. | Rs. | Rs. | Rs. | Rs. | Years | |
|
No Star |
1100 | 2.50 | 2750 | 0 | 14000 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 977 | 2.50 | 2443 | 308 | 15000 | 1000 | 3.25 |
| 2 | 782 | 2.50 | 1955 | 795 | 15500 | 1500 | 1.89 |
| 3 | 626 | 2.50 | 1565 | 1185 | 16500 | 2500 | 2.11 |
| 4 | 501 | 2.50 | 1253 | 1498 | 17500 | 3500 | 2.34 |
| 5 | 400 | 2.50 | 1000 | 1750 | 18500 | 4500 | 2.57 |
(Source: Bureau of Energy Efficiency)
This is Crazy!!!
From the above table, we can see that we can save over 50% on our electricity bill for a 5 star refrigerator. This is because the higher star rated refrigerators are energy efficient, leading to lower power consumption.
For the 250 L frost-free refrigerator, the power consumption by 1 star refrigerator is 977 kWh whereas the same for the 5 star refrigerator is 400 kWh.
Conclusion
So, after understanding what is star in refrigerator and what does the star rating mean, we can buy the best-suited refrigerator and enjoy its benefits. Also, we have seen how star rating can impact our electricity bills. When the star ratings are higher, we save a lot on our electricity bills. The above explained graphs show us the difference in bills based on the star rating. Hence, star rating is an important factor in energy efficiency.
Let us know in the comment section how efficient your fridge is ? And now as you know what is star in refrigerator, dont forget to remember it while buying one..