Does the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) star label cover my 3 or 5 ton of refrigeration (TR) air conditioner (AC)?

BEE's room air conditioner label covers units up to a rated cooling capacity of 10,465 watts, which the release calls 2.97 TR. Split units above 10.5 kilowatts (kW) and up to 18 kW fall under a separate light commercial programme, voluntary when launched on 2 March 2020.

Two programmes, two capacity ranges

• Room air conditioners: up to a rated cooling capacity of 10,465 watts (9,000 kcal per hour), which the January 2020 release states as 2.97 TR. Both fixed and inverter units are covered.
• Light commercial air conditioners: split units with cooling capacity above 10.5 kilowatts and up to 18.0 kilowatts. The March 2020 release says the existing programme under Indian Standard (IS) 1391 part 1 and part 2 covers units up to 10.5 kilowatts.
• The light commercial programme was launched in voluntary mode from 2 March 2020 to 31 December 2021. The release says it would thereafter be made mandatory after reviewing market transformation. The releases do not say whether that happened.
• The two releases state the boundary differently: 10,465 watts in the January 2020 release and 10.5 kW in the March 2020 release, a gap of 35 watts.

Where common sizes fall (my arithmetic)

Using 1 TR = 3.517 kilowatts: 1.5 TR is 5.3 kW, 2 TR is 7.0 kW, 3 TR is 10.55 kW, 4 TR is 14.1 kW and 5 TR is 17.6 kW. A nominal 3 TR (10.55 kW) is just above both figures, and 4 TR and 5 TR sit in the light commercial range. The rated capacity on the label decides which programme applies. Sales names are nominal, so go by the rated cooling capacity in watts printed on the label or datasheet. Above 18 kilowatts (about 5.1 TR) neither programme in these releases applies.

What it means when you buy

For a 4 TR or 5 TR unit an unlabelled model is not proof of poor efficiency, and a label may not exist. Ask for the rated capacity and the test data.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into monthly records, so the kilowatt hours on your bills before and after a change sit in one place.

• BEE star label: mandatory or voluntary
• AC star label timeline by purchase date
• Chiller efficiency in kW per TR
• Office AC replacement: CO2 saved

Sources: Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Power: new energy performance standards for room air conditioners (6 January 2020), Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Power: star rating for deep freezers and light commercial air conditioners (2 March 2020)

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. The 10,465 watt limit and 2.97 TR are from the Press Information Bureau release of 6 January 2020. The light commercial range and dates are from the release of 2 March 2020. The tons of refrigeration conversions are my arithmetic with 3.517 kilowatts per ton. Check the current status of the light commercial programme with the Bureau of Energy Efficiency.