The Global LEAP Awards Buyer’s Guide is a catalog of the world’s best off-grid appliances. The 2016 edition contains information about off-grid fans and televisions that were named Winners and Finalists in the 2015-16 Global LEAP Awards. It is designed to serve as a procurement tool for use by off-grid solar companies and other distributors, and to provide general market intelligence to other interested stakeholders. It includes rated product specifications, performance metrics based on laboratory testing, and sales contact information.

The Global LEAP Awards identify one Winner as the best overall product in each category, with other high-quality products in that category identified as Finalists. The 2016 Buyer’s Guide lists these products, and contains a total of 13 off-grid fans and 13 off-grid televisions.

The 2016 Global LEAP Awards Buyer’s Guide is published by Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (Global LEAP), an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM) led by the US Department of Energy.

Download the 2016 Global LEAP Awards Buyer’s Guide: Fans and Televisions 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.

The Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (Global LEAP™) Outstanding Off-Grid Appliance Awards Competition (Global LEAP Awards™) seeks to transform the global market for off-grid energy products by recognizing and rewarding the most energy-efficient, highest quality off-grid appliances. As a Clean Energy Ministerial initiative, Global LEAP seeks to advance global clean energy access policy goals by harnessing the power of marketplace competition to drive technical and market innovations in the off-grid appliance sector.

The inaugural Global LEAP Awards were announced in May 2014 at the 5th Clean Energy Ministerial in Seoul, Korea. The second Global LEAP Awards were announced in June 2016 at the 7th Clean Energy Ministerial in San Francisco, USA, and featured off-grid televisions and fans. This competition (“Competition” or “Contest”) will recognize high-quality, energy-efficient, and affordable electric fans that are appropriate for use with off-grid energy systems. Fans are frequently in high demand in un- and under-electrified regions where distributed (“off-grid”) energy systems are used. However, fans present significant technical challenges to off-grid energy systems since their operation can be energy intensive, and they can quickly deplete off-grid energy systems’ limited energy supply. By extending run times, leaving more electricity for other uses, and reducing energy supply costs, quality-assured, energy efficient off-grid fans can optimize energy access benefits.

The Global LEAP Awards is an international competition to identify and promote the world’s best off-grid appliances. The 2016-17 round of competitions will identify super-efficient, high quality off-grid fans. By providing the off-grid marketplace clear and actionable signals about the quality and energy performance of off-grid appliances, the Global LEAP Awards accelerate global for off-grid appliance and clean energy system market.The resource below provides an overview of the 2016-17 Global LEAP Awards Off-Grid Fan Competition.

This 4-page document summarizes the findings from The State of the Global Off-Grid Appliance Market 2016 report. This brochure-style guide lays out the landscape of the rapidly evolving off-grid appliance market, diving into the importance of efficiency, market potential, and challenges and opportunities for stakeholders.

Key Takeaway: The global market for off-grid appliances is poised for rapid, significant growth. By 2020, the market for three of the most promising off-grid appliances — fans, televisions, and refrigerators — has the potential to reach $4.7B per year.

The Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (Global LEAP™) Outstanding Off-Grid Appliance Awards Competition (Global LEAP Awards™) seeks to transform the global market for off-grid energy products by recognizing and rewarding the most energy-efficient, highest quality off-grid appliances. As a Clean Energy Ministerial initiative, Global LEAP seeks to advance global clean energy access policy goals by harnessing the power of marketplace competition to drive technical and market innovations in the off-grid appliance sector.

The inaugural Global LEAP Awards were announced in May 2014 at the 5th Clean Energy Ministerial in Seoul, Korea. This competition recognized high quality, energy-efficient, and affordable electric fans that are appropriate for use with off-grid energy systems. Fans are frequently in high demand in un- and under-electrified regions where distributed energy systems are used. However, fans present significant technical challenges to off-grid energy systems since their operation can be energy-intensive, and they can quickly deplete off-grid energy systems’ limited energy supply. By extending run times, leaving more electricity for other uses, and reducing energy supply costs, quality-assured, energy-efficient off-grid fans can optimize energy access benefits. The awards will enhance buyers’ ability to differentiate and choose among products on the basis of their energy efficiency and quality.

The Global LEAP Awards is an international competition to identify and promote the world’s best off-grid appliances. The 2015-2016 round of competitions will identify super-efficient, high quality off-grid fans. By providing the off-grid marketplace clear and actionable signals about the quality and energy performance of off-grid appliances, the Global LEAP Awards accelerate global for off-grid appliance and clean energy system market. The resource below provides more information about the 2015-16 Global LEAP Off-Grid Fan Competition.

The Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (“Global LEAP”) Outstanding Off-Grid Appliance Awards (“Global LEAP Awards”) seeks to transform the global market for off-grid energy products by recognizing and rewarding the most energy-efficient, highest quality off-grid appliances. As an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial led by the U.S. Department of Energy, Global LEAP seeks to advance global clean energy access goals by harnessing the power of marketplace competition to drive technical and market innovations in the off-grid appliance sector.

The inaugural Global LEAP Awards fans competition (“Competition”) recognized high-quality, energy efficient, and affordable electric fans that are appropriate for use with off-grid energy systems. Fans are frequently in high demand in un- and under-electrified regions where distributed (“off-grid”) energy systems are used. However, fans present significant technical challenges to off-grid energy systems since their operation can be energy-intensive, and they can quickly deplete off-grid energy systems’ limited energy supply. By extending run times, leaving more electricity for other uses, and reducing energy supply costs, quality-assured, energy-efficient off-grid fans can optimize energy access benefits.

The Global Lighting and Energy Access Partnership (“Global LEAP”) Outstanding Off-Grid Appliance Awards (“Global LEAP Awards”) seeks to transform the global market for off-grid energy products by recognizing and rewarding the most energy-efficient, highest quality off-grid appliances. As an initiative of the Clean Energy Ministerial led by the U.S. Department of Energy, and supported by Power Africa and other partners, Global LEAP seeks to advance global clean energy access goals by harnessing the power of marketplace competition to drive technical and market innovations in the off-grid appliance sector.

The second Global LEAP Awards fans competition (“Competition”) will recognize high-quality, energy efficient, and affordable electric fans that are appropriate for use with off-grid energy systems. Fans are frequently in high demand in un- and under-electrified regions where distributed (“off-grid”) energy systems are used. However, fans present significant technical challenges to off-grid energy systems since their operation can be energy-intensive, and they can quickly deplete off-grid energy systems’ limited energy supply. By extending run times, leaving more electricity for other uses, and reducing energy supply costs, quality-assured, energy-efficient off-grid fans can optimize energy access benefit. The resource below further explores the 2016-2016 Global LEAP Awards Off-Grid Fans Competition.

The Super-Efficient Equipment Program (SEEP), a national initiative of India’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), is preparing to administer a new endorsement label to highly efficient appliances in India. The new “Super Efficient Appliance” (SEA) label will indicate to consumers that the labeled product is significantly more efficient than others on the market – including products that already display BEE’s 5-star comparative label or the BEE endorsement label. The label will first be applied to ceiling fans, and later to air conditioners. Ceiling fans account for about 70% of all fans on India’s market and will consume over 8 TWh of energy in 2014.  SEEP will provide financial incentives to manufacturers who produce ceiling fans that meet the specifications of the SEA label; specifically, the product must consume 30-50% less energy than a typical ceiling fan while delivering the same level of comfort to consumers.

In support of SEEP, CLASP and Market Xcel Data Matrix conducted a pan-India survey including consumers, manufacturers, policymakers, retailers, and energy consultants. Drawing on cues from 1985 interviews and 22 focus group discussions, the project team developed several prototypes with the objective of creating a label that would be appealing, understandable, effective in promoting the purchase of super-efficient products, and complementary to BEE’s  existing energy labels.

A group of stakeholders including the World Bank, Prayas Energy Group, and the Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation were also consulted on the findings of the first phase of focus groups, and designs were adjusted according to their feedback. The final designs, ranked the highest among consumers, are shown below.

In addition to informing the label design, the survey revealed several important characteristics in consumer purchasing of ceiling fans:

• As the first point of contact for consumers, retailers were considered imperative to generating awareness about the labeling program.
• Endorsement by a trustworthy government body, such as BEE, engendered confidence in the label’s credibility
• Very few people understood technical information on the label. Consumers were interested in less information and more visual cues, in addition to per-hour energy consumption.
• While Indian consumers considered electricity consumption to highly be important for appliances such as air conditioners and refrigerators, they did not consider it very important for fans.
• In order of priority, factors influencing consumer purchase decisions on ceiling fans were:  appearance, brand, price, warranty, and word of mouth.
• The label was expected to educate consumers by stating power saved per hour versus energy consumed. However, consumers’ main concerns were monetary savings, so this aspect was emphasized in the label designs.
• For Indian consumers, important factors in energy label design were:
  • Not impinging on the aesthetic of the product
  • Simplicity
  • Universality
  • The presence of stars, as on the BEE comparative label. Along with the BEE logo, these were the most recognizable factors in the existing energy labels.
  • Visual appeal
  • Not easily imitated or counterfeited
  • Eye-catching
  • Clearly visible on the product

This paper provides an analysis of costs and benefits of several options to improve the efficiency of ceiling fans to assess the global potential for electricity savings and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions.