In a clear sign of changing weather as well as preferences of people, the sale of air- conditioners (AC) in Dehradun is witnessing an increasing trend. The Joint Managing Director of Air-conditioning and commercial refrigeration major, Blue Star, B Thiagarajan informed that AC market is growing at a robust 15-17 per cent per year in the capital city of Uttarakhand as compared to pan India average of 10 per cent.
Thiagarajan who also is a former President of Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Manufacturers Association (RAMA) told newsmen here on Monday that in India the penetration of AC is only 4 percent in the population while the corresponding figure of China is 25 percent which underlies the scale of opportunities the industry has in India.
He listed general increase in temperature in Doon valley in recent years as one of a reason for higher sales in Dehradun. Thiagarajan also informed that the people of Dehradun show markedly different preferences when compared to other north Indian cities. He said that Doonites prefer high end products. In the cities of neighboring Uttar Pradesh window ACs are more in vogue while in Dehradun people prefer split ACs, he added.
listing future trends, Thiagarajan said that use of E commerce platforms for sale, Wi-Fi enabled systems and inverter ACs are the three things on which the industry would grow.
He informed that a 5-star inverter air conditioner saves up to 30 Percent power over the 5-star non-inverter machines.
“Blue Star plans to invest over Rs 30 crores on new product development as well as its research and design initiatives in FY 16-17 to develop customised, modern and sophisticated machines.
The room air-conditioners market in India grew by about 10 Percent during the year 2015, while Blue Star outperformed the market growing by 20 percent,’’ he claimed.
Thiagarajan informed that Blue Star’s new line-up of room air-conditioners consists of over 135 models all of which are in sync with the new energy standards prescribed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE).