From this month Saudi Customs will stop issuing “certificates of conformity” for air conditioners that do not comply with the minimum requirements for energy efficiency.
The customs authorities made it clear in mid-May that it would make the requirements mandatory to ensure that air conditioners meet standard specifications to save energy.
A customs official said it would stop issuing conformity certificates to products which are not in line with the new specifications.
The official said certificates for products not in line with the new standards will be accepted for a period of two months from the beginning of July to Sept. 7 to facilitate compliance. After this date, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will not allow sale of such air conditioners and will begin inspection visits in early 2014.
The source clarified that until September, the conformity certificates will be made according to their new design and would be valid for two years, and the old certificates will be replaced with new ones. The recipients will be notified on the continued validity without imposing any additional fee.
The customs department announced recently that it will not allow import of air conditioners which were in violation as of Sept. 7, and that the Ministry of Commerce and Industry will not allow their sale.
The Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) said the Kingdom would gain immensely on energy conservation once the new standards are made mandatory. “The higher the level of efficiency of electrical appliances including air conditioners, the greater will be the savings on electricity consumption, said Abdul Salam Yamani of SEC.
A recent study conducted by Saudi Center for Energy Efficiency revealed that air conditioners with six-star ratings had high efficiency while those with lower ratings had lower efficiency.
The study also revealed that high efficiency air conditioners save up to 25 percent on energy. Air conditioners are on top of electrical household appliances bought by consumers and constitute 65 percent of a household’s energy consumption. It also accounts for 53 percent of the total energy consumption in the Kingdom.
Customs not to certify poor-quality ACs
