Table and wall-mounted fans are common appliances for circulating cool breezes and regulating temperatures. Due to their portability and affordability, they are in high demand in India.

India’s fan industry generates over 60 million units annually, valued at around INR 8,000 crores (USD 1.07 billion; 2018–19), projected to exceed USD 2 billion by 2023. Growing presence of organized retail outlets, increasing spending power, and rising preference for online sales platforms and modular homes are expected to boost demand for electric fans in India over the coming years. This will be further boosted by the India Cooling Action Plan, which was launched in 2019 and has a long-term vision to address cooling demand across sectors.

Given the opportunity to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy consumption, CLASP collaborated with ICF Consulting India Pvt. Limited to conduct a thorough market assessment and technical analysis of table and wall-mounted fans. The study covers product sales, import and export trends, available Indian test standards and test facilities, international labeling program comparisons, and recommendations to the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) for transitioning to a mandatory energy efficiency program.

The team reached out to relevant stakeholders and key industry players with structured questionnaires and in-depth interviews, providing the following insights:

• Manufacturing of table and wall-mounted fans increased from FY 2018-19 to FY 2019-20, followed by a decline in FY 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Significant proportion of the current table and wall-mounted fan market in India is met through imports due to:
• high domestic costs for raw materials
• high domestic fuel costs
• competitive pricing of Chinese-manufactured fans (15%-20% cheaper)
• Fan exports have been growing at a compound annual growth rate of 5%.

• Fan models are categorized based on their sweep size. The highest market demand and manufacturing are observed for fans with a 400 mm sweep size (81%).
• Indian market offers 65+ manufacturers, 1,000+ variants of these fans with varying sweep sizes.

BEE has made the table and wall-mounted fan labelling program voluntary from March 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024. 

As per the analysis, it is estimated that India’s fan market could reach 11.1 million by 2030. Implementation of the policy is projected to save 1.8 TWh electricity and 1.5 MtCO2 emissions.

Energy-efficient appliances, lighting and equipment are key to climate-resilient development. Sitting at the nexus of three global priorities—climate change mitigation, climate change resilience, and sustainable development—efficient appliances can help lower greenhouse gas emissions globally and improve the quality of life for the 3.6 billion people living in regions that are highly vulnerable to climate change.

This report makes the case for prioritizing appliances in efforts to promote climate resilient development. It estimates appliance access gaps at the national level in Africa for five appliances: refrigerators, televisions, fans, air conditioners, and solar water pumps. The report closes with a summary of what is needed to bridge existing access gaps for African nations. Read the full report to learn more.

A full analysis of global appliance access gaps for ten appliances will be presented in CLASP’s forthcoming Net Zero Heroes report, scheduled for publication in late November 2023.

Pedestal fans are used for various purposes in residential, commercial, industrial, office spaces, warehouses, and institution settings due to their portability. They are common appliances for circulating cool breezes and regulating temperatures.

India’s fan industry generates over 60 million units annually, valued at around INR 8,000 crores (USD 1.07 billion; 2018–19), projected to exceed USD 2 billion by 2023. Growing presence of organized retail outlets, increasing spending power, and rising preference for online sales platforms and modular homes are expected to boost demand for electric fans in India over the coming years. As cooling demands increase, the usage of pedestal fans will grow.

Given the opportunity to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and reduce energy consumption, CLASP collaborated with ICF Consulting India Pvt. Limited to conduct a thorough market assessment of pedestal fans in India. The study covers product sales, import/export trends, available Indian test standards and test facilities, international labeling program comparisons, and recommendations for the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in developing a mandatory energy efficiency program for pedestal fans in India.

The team conducted in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and used structured questionnaires to provide the following insights:

• Manufacturing of pedestal fans increased steadily between FY 2018-19 to FY 2019-20. Followed by a decline in FY 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Export for pedestal fans has been increasing at a compound annual growth rate of 8%.
• The Indian market has over 50 manufacturers offering more than 1000 variants of pedestal fans.
• Significant proportion of the current market demand is met through import from external players due to:
• high domestic costs for raw materials
• high domestic fuel costs
• competitive pricing of Chinese-manufactured fans (15%-20% cheaper)

BEE has made the pedestal fan labelling program voluntary from March 1, 2023 to December 31, 2024.

According to the technical analysis, it is estimated that the Indian market for pedestal fans will grow up to 9.3 million by 2030. Transitioning of the policy is expected to save an estimated 4.4 TWh of electricity and reduce 3.5 MtCO2 emissions by 2030.

A new report from Catalytic Communities offers insights into the efficiency of service provision and use in favelas across Rio de Janeiro where inefficiency affects lowest income residents the worst. CLASP provided trainings to the researchers on energy efficiency, helping to craft the survey design and questions.

The data presented in the new report Energy Efficiency in the Favelas reflect the reality of 1,156 families (4,164 people) in 15 favelas from five municipalities across the Greater Rio metropolitan region, and specifically show the relationship between energy and poverty, focusing on the efficiency of service provision and use.

Key Findings

• The lowest-income families make up the majority of those facing energy poverty. 31% of surveyed families experience energy poverty,¹ with a disproportionate amount of the family budget going to pay the electric bill.
• 69% of respondents stated that if their electric bill were halved, they would use the money to buy food, which indicates that energy poverty is directly linked to food insecurity for interviewees.
• Air conditioning is responsible for over half (51.4%) of energy consumption in the sample, followed by electric showers (13.8%) and refrigerators (13.6%).
• Energy-saving habits are at a good level across the sample population. Among those interviewed, 78% always remember to turn off the lights when leaving a room and 67% choose LED bulbs.
• Knowledge of energy-efficient appliances and the country’s labeling and assistance programs is low among low-income families: 50.6% state they know what the National Energy Conservation Label (ENCE) means. Of those that know the label, 49.1% state they have bought an electrical appliance based on it being classified in the ENCE A category.
• The Social Electricity Tariff (TSEE) offers discounts on electric bills and provides rewards for energy savings. Approximately 60% of families in the study meet the income criteria for the TSEE, but only 8% state that they receive the benefit. Of the families that meet income criteria to qualify for the TSEE, 90% say they do not receive the benefit.   

This report is a follow-up to Water and Energy Justice in the Favelas.

Learn more

• Exploring Energy Efficiency in Rio’s Favelas
• Report in Portuguese
• Report in English
• Documentary

The millions of residents in low-income communities known as favelas are feeling the worst effects of the energy crisis in Brazil. Many government programs are ineffective due to structural inequality, gang-related violence, and general distrust of government by residents. As a result, there is often a mismatch between the community’s needs and municipal services. Catalytic Communities, a Rio-based NGO working to provide strategic support to favela organizers, led a research course to train favela youth to perform research and data collection that could be used for political advocacy. CLASP supported training on energy efficiency and its impacts on residents’ quality of life.

The research focused on the impact of minimal energy and water access for favela residents, highlighting the country’s unique relationship to hydroelectric power. Recent droughts — and floods — have led to a decrease in water quality and availability, subsequently affecting power availability and costs. Meanwhile, energy is needed to pump water to homes. Many people in the favelas struggle to choose between keeping the lights on and having enough to eat. Key findings from the report include:

• At least a fifth of interviewees suffer from blackouts at least once a month.
• 68.7% were not aware of Social Electricity Tariff (TSEE), a program aimed at subsidizing electricity costs for low-income households. Only 8% participated in the program.
• Energy as a cost disproportionally affects lower-income families — over 30% are considered to be in energy poverty.

These conditions are only worsening, as energy prices rise and utility companies are unresponsive to service requests. This collectively-produced report outlines recommendations for the government and utilities to improve responsiveness and keep the lights on.

This report precedes a more specialized “Energy Efficiency in the Favelas” report, which will be released 21 April, in advance of Earth Day 2023.

Minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) for appliances and equipment play a critical role in meeting ambitious international climate goals. By adopting updated MEPS aligned with international targets and best practice, governments can deliver further energy and cost savings to consumers and take action to curb the worst impacts of climate change.

CLASP evaluated the stringency of MEPS requirements for six major appliance categories—lighting, air conditioners, refrigerators, electric motors, water heating, and space heating—across ten of the world’s highest greenhouse gas-emitting economies—Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

This report identifies economies with the most ambitious MEPS, and highlights opportunities for further policy intervention across all economies. The analysis will be updated periodically, with updated data available on the World’s Best MEPS tool page. 

Improving inclusivity is crucial to achieving a just energy transition and maximising energy access gains, especially for vulnerable groups like women, people with disabilities and low-income households. CLASP through Efficiency for Access published a first-of-its-kind report which includes a meta-analysis of 19 household surveys spanning 5,483 solar lighting and appliance customers in eight countries and self-reported company data for nine solar product manufacturers and distributors. It is a first step towards establishing a baseline to understand how well the sector is performing across different dimensions of equity and inclusion, including:

• An understanding of the ‘typical solar product user’
• An assessment of how well the sector is reaching women, people living in poverty, and people with disabilities
• Analysis of gender gaps in hiring and compensation among private sector companies and the diversity of product expertise and offering

The report concludes with recommendations for donors, market development programs, investors, and private sector companies on improving data collection efforts and better integrating diversity, equity and inclusion principles into their work.

Download the Appliances for All: Assessing the Inclusivity of the Solar Lighting and Appliances Sector report.

About Efficiency for Access

Efficiency for Access is a global coalition working to promote renewable and energy efficient appliances to deliver clean energy to the world’s poorest people. It is coordinated jointly by CLASP and the UK’s Energy Saving Trust.

Most of Ethiopia’s population (78%) lives in rural areas, and only 36% of that population has access to electricity. Urban dwellers are well-electrified, with 93% of people having access to electricity. Still, households and businesses experience frequent power outages even in grid-connected areas. For example, a World Bank study found that 80% of surveyed companies in Ethiopia experienced frequent power outages – 8 times per month, for 6 hours on average during each outage. This unreliable access and large unelectrified rural population provide an opportunity for increased energy service delivery for Ethiopians via solar home systems and accompanying off-grid appliances.

CLASP, as co-Secretariat of Efficiency for Access, engaged a local consultant in collecting appliance data and reporting on the market conditions in Ethiopia. Our findings reveal that although Ethiopia’s solar market is emerging, with great potential for growing its productive use of renewable energy (PURE) product market, the solar appliance sector is nascent. Obstacles such as appliance affordability, low consumer awareness, and inconsistent interpretation of tax policies and importation guidelines require resolution for continued growth.

Read the full report for detailed insights on the off- and weak-grid market landscape, the common power type, size, price, and warranty of off-grid appliances sold in retail markets, and other findings relevant to sector stakeholders working in Ethiopia.

Download the Off- and Weak-Grid Appliance Market: Ethiopia report here.

About Efficiency for Access

Efficiency for Access is a global coalition working to promote renewable and energy efficient appliances to deliver clean energy to the world’s poorest people. It is coordinated jointly by CLASP and the UK’s Energy Saving Trust.