Shanghai to promote leading green appliances

Consumers in Shanghai now have one extra method way to choose better energy efficient home appliances, in addition to the National Energy Efficiency labeling, as the city has started to pioneer what it is callinged "energy saving leaders in home appliances."

The "extra methodway" is a sticker, a picture of the renownedfamous Olympic hurdle runner Liu Xiang competing in a race, and will be easily fairly recognizable for to average consumers, said Lu Linhua, vice director of Shanghai Institute of Quality Inspection and Technical Research (SQI), on Tuesday at the launch of the "2014 Shanghai Energy Saving Leaders in Home Appliances."

Since the project was launched in June of 2013, the Energy Foundation, the SQI, along with other industry societies in Shanghai set out to launch a feasibility study of the "Energy Saving Leaders" project.

Air conditioners, refrigerators and plat-panel TVs were among the first batch of home appliances to be included in the evaluation. Siemens, Skyworth, Gree, Haier, Mitsubishi, Panasonic and Midea were takingtook the lead in presenting their latest energy saving products, according to the above-mentioned aforementioned agencies.

This labeling system, according to Dr. He Shu of SQI, is a comprehensive evaluation based on a certain product's annual sales, price, national-recognized energy efficiency labeling and the cost of maintenance.

"It is not contradictory with the compulsory National Energy Efficiency Labeling, but a supplement that aims to subdivide the already energy efficient ones appliances in the national system," said Dr. He.

She explained that the National Energy Efficiency Labeling, which has five grades with the Grade 1 being the most energy efficient and the Grade 5 being the worst, is "compulsory on every single product in the appliance market," but the newly pioneered system in Shanghai only applies to products in Grade 1 and Grade 2.

"We aim to help consumers choose the best of the best," she said, summarizing how the "energy saving leaders" system would not make was not a redundancy to the existing evaluation system redundant.

This pioneering system is expected to influence the appliance market, especially when as China is entering what is called the "appliance upgrade era," meaning that a large number of consumers are mulling toconsidering replacinge their CRT or plasma TVs with the currently popular LCD and LED TVs, and are changing their decade-old air conditioners with ones that have variable-frequency compressor motors.

"It is a huge market for appliance manufacturers," said Mo Zhengchun, a senior official with the Energy Foundation. He said the move will not only raise the industry's general standard, but will have a wider impact on issues like emissions reduction and environmental protection.

It is because hHigh energy energy-efficient efficiency appliances mean less power consumption, which will ultimately be translated into less carbon emissions, given that thermal power still accounts for a major part in of China's electricity consumption.

The reason for introducingto pioneer this project in Shanghai is based on the city's global status as an economic center in China. Citizens in Shanghai are more prone to pursue the latest international trends, including the a low-carbon lifestyle and the carecaring for the environment and ecology. By the same token, consumers in Shanghai are likely to choose more energy-efficient appliances, with better energy efficiency although such products may cost them a bit more – yet save more in long runto take advantage of long-term savings.