Application of energy efficiency label mandatory from Thursday

Muscat: The mandatory application of the energy efficiency label for air conditioners will begin Thursday, July 25, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) announced.

According to the ministry, the new label will help to reduce the electricity bill by rationing the consumption of electricity and reducing the use of low quality air conditioners and limit its impact on the environment.

Ahlam Al Marhoubi, director of the department of conformity at the General Directorate of Standards and Metrology at MoCI said: " The energy efficiency label sticker will be placed on the front of air conditioners to give an idea of the appliance consumption and compare it with other appliance through the number of stars obtained."

"The more stars the appliance means it consumes less energy," Al Marhoubi explained.

"The new label will reducing energy demand, reducing electronic and electrical waste, reducing CO2 emissions and conserving energy," he explained: "this regulation will facilitate the movement of goods, get consumer confidence, reduce the damage of non-comply products and will Accelerate the time of custom clearance of the corresponding products and thus avoid the rejection of non-conforming shipments and save cost,” he added.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has invited companies to adhere to the GSO 2530/2016 standard, noting that the Ministry will, in cooperation with the concerned authorities, not allow the entry of any non-conforming air conditioning devices from the date of implementation of the standard and the institutions and companies that do not apply the standard will be violated.

The label will include data of issue date, trade mark, model number, energy efficiency rate, cooling capacity, annual energy capacity, heating capacity and power consumption.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has started an electronic system for the issuance of energy efficiency labels for air conditioners during the past period. A number of energy efficiency labels were issued to 136 of companies applying for the label.