Star ratings and your electricity bill: a worked example

Customers often ask whether a 5-star appliance is worth its higher price. The answer depends on how many hours you use it. Here is a worked example for the appliance where it matters most in Madurai: a 1.5 ton split AC.

A 3-star inverter AC of 1.5 tons uses roughly 1,100 to 1,200 units of electricity a year if it runs about eight hours a night for eight months. A 5-star inverter model of the same size uses roughly 800 to 900 units for the same use. That is a difference of about 300 units a year. The exact figures for each model are printed on the star label, in units per year, so you can compare them directly.

At a household tariff of around ₹6 to ₹8 a unit for the higher slabs, which is where an AC usually pushes a summer bill, 300 units comes to between ₹1,800 and ₹2,400 a year. If the 5-star model costs ₹5,000 more, it pays back that difference in about two to three years. Most ACs last ten years or more, so for a bedroom AC used every night, the 5-star model is usually the better buy.

For appliances you use less, the sums change. A microwave or a mixer grinder runs for minutes a day, and the star rating makes little difference to your bill. A refrigerator runs all day, every day, so the rating matters again. Our staff can show you the label figures and work out the sums for your own use before you decide.