GSO Held a Meeting to Discuss the Electronic Platform Project for Energy Efficiency Label for AC Appliances
The GCC Standardization Organization (GSO) held a virtual meeting with the representatives from the Electricity and Water Authority and the Inspection and Metrology Department at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism in the Kingdom of Bahrain, to discuss the developments of launching the electronic platform for energy efficiency label for air-conditioning appliances in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
During the meeting, specialists from both sides discussed several important issues, most notably the procedures for using Gulf electronic systems to issue energy efficiency labels and appointing notified bodies to audit and verify the validity of energy efficiency label data registered nationally. Additionally, examining the legal, administrative, and technical requirements required by the accepted authorities, mechanisms, and tools for legal and administrative evaluation.
H.E Sheikh Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa, Assistant Undersecretary for Local and Foreign Trade at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism, said that the electronic platform developed by GSO in cooperation with the Inspection and Metrology Department of the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism provides the ability to verify data and information of air-conditioning appliances bearing the energy efficiency label in electronic form. It also provides the ability to view all technical data related to the energy consumption of the air-conditioning appliances before buying by the consumer through the technique of “QR CODE”, whereby all air-conditioning appliances’ importers will be required to print the new energy efficiency label with “QR CODE”, on the air-conditioning appliances for sale.
Sheikh Hamad bin Salman Al Khalifa pointed out the easy use of the electronic platform, which will provide an easy experience to consumer to verify the information of the air-conditioning appliances before buying by through scanning the energy efficiency label to be confirmed using a smartphone to compare the visible data shown on the platform with the data actually on the poster, the platform will review in detail the technical data on the air conditioner’s energy consumption.
The platform is very necessary to reduce the incidence of manipulation of data on energy consumption with air-conditioning appliances available in the local markets in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Also, the platform will enable the inspection staff in the ministry to monitor irregularities and fraud cases easily.
It is worth mentioning that the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Tourism began to implement energy efficiency standards on air-conditioning appliances since February 2016. The electronic platform project for energy efficiency labels for air-conditioning appliances comes within the program of the main strategic initiatives that the ministry is working on to reduce the consumption of electrical energy appliances and to reduce the carbon footprint of electrical appliances.
