The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has seized 40,000 air conditioners for failing to meet energy saving requirements.
The ministry also inspected stores over the past few days to check whether they were selling air conditioners with energy efficiency labels.
The ministry’s teams confiscated 25,413 air conditioners of various models and sizes, including split-type air conditioners, of which 5,083 did not feature energy efficiency labels and 20,330 were less than the recommended four-star grade for air conditioning systems.
The energy saving label shows the minimum number of stars that each unit must have. For window units, three is the minimum, while it is four for split units. The teams also confiscated 10,595 window units, of which 3,531 had no labels and 7,064 were less than three-star grade.
The ministry said it would conduct these inspections all year. In the next phase, it will select samples from the air conditioning units and send them to specialized laboratories, to make sure that they meet energy efficiency standards. The ministry said that its teams noticed a decrease in units violating standards, because dealers have become more aware of the need to stock the proper goods.
The ministry started its inspections on Jan. 1 after conducting awareness campaigns.
The ministry confiscated 3,000 units on the first day and 10,000 on the second day. On day four, the total number stood at 15,433 units.
The ministry is conducting the campaign in coordination with the Saudi Center for Energy Efficiency, the Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization, the Customs Department and various government agencies. The ministry urged merchants and consumers to cooperate and report stores that display air conditioners without energy efficiency labels on the toll free number 8001241616.
40,000 non-energy efficient ACs seized
