ARTICLE IN PRESS

Energy Policy 33 (2005) 63–68

Energy labeling for electric fans in Malaysia

T.M.I. Mahliaa,*, H.H. Masjukia, F.M. Tahab, N.A. Rahimc, R. Saidura
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
b
Faculty of Electrical Engineering, University of Technology Malaysia, 81310 UTM Johor, Malaysia
c
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Abstract

To reduce energy consumption in the residential sector, Malaysia Energy Commission is considering implementing energy labels
for household electrical appliances including electric fans in 2005. The purpose of the energy labels is to provide the consumers a
guideline to compare the size, features, price and efficiency of the appliance. This paper discusses the energy label for electric fans in
this country based on Malaysian Standards developed by a technical committee that reviewed the performance of household
electrical appliances. This study includes methodology for the calculation of the energy efficiency star rating and projected energy
usage, performance requirements, details of the energy label and the requirements for the valid application in Malaysia. The label
also can be adopted for other household electrical appliances with only slight modifications.
r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Energy labels; Appliance labelling; Energy guide; Electric fan

1. Introduction appliances. However, an important aspect of energy

labels is to provide the consumers a procedure to
Energy labels enable consumers to compare the compare the performances of similar product units. This
energy efficiency of appliances on a fair and equitable has been done in some cases by showing the energy
basis. It is also encourages manufacturers to improve consumption of a particular model on a scale that shows
energy performance of the appliance (Egan, 1998). the lowest and highest energy consuming models. The
Usually energy efficiency standards and labels are labels must be displayed in the front part of each
developed together. Standards are more on technical product and their packaging so that the consumers get
setting of energy efficiency while labels are educating the information at the time of purchase.
consumers about the relative efficiencies of various units The energy label presented in this study was devel-
(Mahlia et al., 2002). By educating consumers, energy oped by the Technical Committee on Performance of
labels will create competition between manufactures. Household Electrical Appliances of Malaysia. This
The energy labels acts as an indicator telling the study includes methodology for the calculation of the
potential buyer how energy efficient the product is. By energy efficiency star rating and projected annually
introducing an appropriate energy label, electric fans energy usage, performance requirements, details of the
with the best energy ratings and most competitive price energy label, and requirements for the valid application
are more likely to be sold in large numbers. Energy in Malaysia. It has been structured to be suitable for
labels not only set guidelines of efficiency that manu- reference in legislation and easier for consumers to
factures should follow; it also encourages them to understand.
improve their product while keeping their cost low to The objective of this paper is to provide a method of
win the market. Some energy labels also show the cost of calculating performance testing for energy labelling
operating the model over a period of time, often one- requirements for electric fans, in order to develop a
year. Others display the rate of efficiency of the valid energy label.
In particular, this paper will discuss the following:
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +60-379-676842; fax: +60-379-
675317. (i) Projected annual energy consumption (PAE);
E-mail address: indra@um.edu.my, i mahlia@hotmail.com (ii) Coefficient of performance (COP);
(T.M.I. Mahlia). (iii) Star rating;

0301-4215/$ - see front matter r 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0301-4215(03)00198-8
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64 T.M.I. Mahlia et al. / Energy Policy 33 (2005) 63–68

Nomenclature OH operating hour (h)

P measured power input (W)
COP coefficient of performance (m3/min/W) PAE projected annual energy consumption (kWh)
COPave average coefficient of performance Pave average measured power input (W)
(m3/min/W) V measured air delivered (kg)
COPmin minimum coefficient of performance d step size increment of COP
(m3/min/W)

(iv) Some of the requirements for energy label energy labels that are currently being used in most
validity; countries around the world. These can be grouped into
(v) Performance criteria for energy labelling ap- three basic styles which are (i) Australian-style label, (ii)
proval; and European-style label, (iii) US-style label (Wiel and
(vi) Printing requirements for labelling the electric McMahon, 2001). The Australian style label is having
fan. a rectangular base with a semi-circle across the top. The
semi-circle resembles a speedometer or gauge, the
2. Energy label further advanced the gauge is in the clockwise direction,
the better the product. This type of label is used in
There are three categories of energy labels used in Australia, Thailand, and South Korea and is proposed
various countries those are (Wiel and McMahon, 2001); for India. The number of stars or the grading numeral
(a) endorsement, (b) comparative, and (c) information- on the scale depends on the energy performance that the
only. Endorsement labels offer a seal of approval that a model is able to meet (there are five, six, or seven
product meets certain pre-specified criteria. One exam- rankings). The European style label is a vertical rectangle
ple of an endorsement label is the energy star label with letters ranging from A (best) near the top of the
which is the energy star label introduced with joint label to G (worst) at the bottom. There is a bar next to
administered by US Environmental Protection Agency each letter: e.g., short and green for A and long and red
(EPAs) and US Department of Energy (USDOE) for G. All seven grade bars are visible on every label.
(Energy Star, 2003). This label type has been discussed The grade of the product is indicated by a black arrow
extensively by Banerjee and Solomon (2003) and Truffer marker located next to the appropriate bar (e.g., for a C-
et al. (2001). A Comparative label is dividing in two grade product the marker carries the letter C and is
subcategories: one uses a categorical ranking system; the positioned against the C bar). This label is used
other uses a continuous scale or bar graph to show throughout Western Europe and in some countries of
relative energy use. The categorical labels use a ranking Eastern Europe. Iran uses a variant of the European-
system that telling the consumers how energy-efficient of style label that is a mirror image because of the direction
a model is compared to other. The main emphasis is on of Persian script and uses numerals rather than Roman
establishing clear categories so that the consumer can script letters for rankings: i.e., 1 (best) to 7 (worst) (Wiel
easily understand how energy-efficient of the product and McMahon, 2001).
compare to others by looking at a single label (CLASP, The US-style label shows energy cost, which is based
2002). The continuous-scale labels provide comparative on the national average energy tariff. It also has a linear
information that allows consumers to choose between scale indicating the highest and lowest energy use of
models, but do not use specific categories. The sample of models in the market and locates the specific model on
this label is the Canadian energy guide. The Information- that scale. This type of label is used in the US and
only labels provide information on the technical Canada, where labels are now technically but not
performance of the single labelled product and offer visually harmonized (e.g., US labels show energy costs,
no simple way (such as a ranking system) to compare and Canadian labels do not) (Thorne, 2000; Harrington
energy performance between products (Wiel and and Damnics, 2001). In both cases, use of monetary
McMahon, 2001). units (dollars) was abandoned in favour of physical
The details of energy labels for different products may units (i.e., kWh or efficiency) because variability in
differ slightly. According to Wiel and McMahon (2001) energy prices causes labels based on outdated prices to
it is important to keep a consistent label style and be misleading (Wiel and McMahon, 2001).
format across product types. This is easier for con- The literatures showed that only two types of energy
sumers who can learn to understand one type of labels labels work effectively. First, the letter grade energy
to evaluate different products. labels which was introduced in the European Union
Most of the countries had selected a comparative countries, Iran and Brazil and second, the star or
label for implementing energy labels for household number type of energy labels that have been used in
appliances; therefore it is useful to review the similar Thailand, Australia, and India.
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T.M.I. Mahlia et al. / Energy Policy 33 (2005) 63–68 65

3. Energy labels in Malaysia

The energy label for the electric fan is cut to the

outline shown in Fig. 1 and is self-adhesive. If there is no
suitable smooth location on the fan or its packaging for
an adhesive label, the label may be printed and attached
as a swing tag. In this case the material should be
suitably durable and rigid. Methods of attachment
should not disfigure the artwork of the label. The label
must be attached so that it is not obscured when the unit
is displayed.

3.1. Colours, fonts and dimensions

The energy label for the electric fan selected is based

on two colours, on a white background, and has font
size and colour scheme as illustrated in Fig. 2 and listed
below:
(a) Futura Extra Bold 19pt;
(b) Futura Book 17pt—Tracking 300;
(c) Futura Bold 4.7pt;
(d) Futura Heavy 12pt;
(e) Futura Bold 12pt;
(f ) Futura Extra Bold 18pt—Horizontal Scale 71.4%;
Fig. 2. Font and colour scheme.

(g) Futura Extra Bold 18pt;

(h) Zapt Dingbats 30pt;
(i) Futura Bold 11pt;
(j) Futura Bold 18pt;
(k) Helvetica Bold 12pt;
(l) Futura Bold 9pt.

The colour scheme of the label on a white background

is as follows:
Red: Pantone 032
Black: Pantone Black.
The dimensions of this energy label is illustrated in
Fig. 3:

3.2. Number of tests and processing of data

To get acceptable testing data each fan model should

be subjected to at least three test-runs to obtain values
for power input and COP: Measured power input and
COP should be averaged and treated as the result for the
unit. According to the TCPHEA (2002), the COP for a
fan model is calculated by the following equation:
V
COP ¼ ; ð1Þ
P

Fig. 1. Example of energy label. PAE ¼ P  OH  365: ð2Þ

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66 T.M.I. Mahlia et al. / Energy Policy 33 (2005) 63–68

Fig. 3. Energy label dimensions.

For standards proposed in the energy label the value following equation (TCPHEA, 2002):
of PAE yield by this calculation is usually rounded to COPave  COPmin
kWh/yr. d¼ ; ð3Þ
3
3.3. Star rating calculation where minimum efficiency standards COP for electric
ceiling fan=2.5 m3/min/W, minimum efficiency stan-
A five star rating system has been proposed, which dards COP for electric table, stand and wall
will divide the electric fan into five classes. The highest fan=1.0 m3/min/W, COPave =average COP value of
efficiency grade receives five stars and the lowest samples collected and tested.
efficiency grade (the minimum energy efficiency stan-
dards set for each type of electric fan) will carry one star. 3.4. Proposed star rating and COP
The star rating is calculated based on test data as shown
in Table 1. The proposed star rating and COP is calculated using
The label grade is increase with a fixed incremental Eqs. (1) and (3) based on the minimum energy efficiency
step size of COP: This increment is calculated by the standards COP discussed in the previous section. The
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T.M.I. Mahlia et al. / Energy Policy 33 (2005) 63–68 67

Table 1 Table 4
Star rating calculation Test data for 1200 mm ceiling fan
Star rating Minimum value Maximum value Test- run P (W) V (m3/min) Pave (W) Vave (m3/min)
1 Star Minimum COP Minimum COP þ d No. 1 80.00 210.47
2 Star Maximum value of 1 Minimum value of 2 No. 2 81.00 211.79 80.33 210.94
Star+0.01 Star+d No. 3 80.00 210.56
3 Star Maximum value of 2 Minimum value of 3
Star+0.01 Star+d
4 Star Maximum value of 3 1.1  Average COP
Star+0.01
5 Star Maximum value of 4 Unlimited
Star+0.01 For a sample calculation, a 1200 mm ceiling fan has
been tested in order to prepare an energy labelling
application. Three test runs were made to get an
acceptable result for the appliances. The test data for
Table 2 the model are presented in Table 4.
Star rating for electric ceiling fan The PAE of the model is calculated as follows (2):
Star rating COP (m3/min/W)

1 Star 2.50–2.57
PAE ¼ Pave ðW Þ  OHð8 h=dayÞ  365 days=yr
2 Star 2.58–2.65 ¼ 80:33  8  365
3 Star 2.66–2.73
4 Star 2.74–2.99
¼ 234; 563:60 Wh=yr
5 Star X3.00 ¼ 235 kWh=yr:

The COP of the model is calculated as follows (1):

Table 3
Star rating for electric table, stand and wall fan
Vave ðm3 =minÞ
Star rating 3
COP (m /min/W)
COP ¼ ;
Pave ðWÞ
1 Star 1.00–1.03
2 Star 1.04–1.07
3 Star 1.08–1.11 210:94
4 Star 1.12–1.19 COP ¼ ¼ 2:63 m3 =min=W:
5 Star X1.20
80:33

From the result of the COP; the star rating of the

electric ceiling fan model is determined from Table 2. In
proposed star rating for electric fans in Malaysia is this case the star rating for this particular electric fan is 2
tabulated in Tables 2 and 3. A complete sample Stars.
calculation on a typical set of test results is discussed
in the following section.

5. Conclusion

4. Performance criteria Even though energy labels are spreading from North
America and Europe to many other countries around
This section discussed the methods and procedures for the world, the references for developing energy labels are
calculating values of the COP and the star rating for the very limited. The study has presented the energy label
electric fan, which appear on an energy label and in the proposed for electric fans in Malaysia that could be used
application for registration of an appliance for energy elsewhere too in order to save energy and indirectly
labelling. It demonstrates the application of the appro- reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The label star rating of
priate procedures required to calculate the tested energy electric fans is only effective for a limited period of
performance for each unit. The process consists of years, because energy efficiency of the electric fan will
measuring the power input of each unit tested, then continuously improve due to technological advance.
calculating the PAE consumption of the unit. Therefore, after a certain period, most of the appliances
The minimum air delivery proposed for the electric will receive the highest star rating and the label will lose
ceiling fan is 200 m3/min and the minimum air delivery its effectiveness. At that later time the COP rating for
proposed for an electric table fan, electric stand fan and the star should be increased in accordance with the
electric wall fan is 40 m3/min. average rating of electric fan in the market.
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68 T.M.I. Mahlia et al. / Energy Policy 33 (2005) 63–68

Acknowledgements Harrington, L., Damnics, M., 2001. Energy Labelling and

Standards Programs Throughout the World. The
The authors would like to acknowledge the National Appliance and Equipment Energy Efficiency Committee,
Australia.
Technical Committee on Performance of Household Mahlia, T.M.I., Masjuki, H.H., Choudhury, I.A., 2002. A theory on
Electrical Appliances of Malaysia for their cooperation energy efficiency standards and labels. Energy Conversion and
in developing the draft of Malaysian Standards for Management 43 (6), 1985–1997.
Energy Labelling of Electric Fans. TCPHEA, 2002. Draft Malaysian Standard of Energy labeling for
electric fan in Malaysia, No: 02E003R0. Technical Committee on
Performance of Household Electrical Appliances of Malaysia.
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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