This summer, citizens can use air coolers to the fullest and yet expect a reduction in power bills with Orient Electric launching on Wednesday new generation coolers with inverter and ‘electronically commutated motor’ technology to save power with more efficiency.
Orient Electric’s managing director & chief executive officer Rakesh Khanna and business head Salil Kappoor, told a press conference that the latest range of air coolers will provide 45% power saving or up to ₹1,500 a year at an average and enables the life of the motor to be doubled. Besides, it has 25% less noise when compared to other branded counterparts and works on low voltage too.
“We are launching the products nationwide starting from Hyderabad as both Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are top selling air cooler states across the country with 2.5 lakh/2lakh unit sales, respectively. Branded air coolers sale across the country is about 27-30 lakh annually and the numbers could be double in the unorganised sector,” they said.
Air coolers have been categorised into three - mass, mass-premium and premium with 54 models having capacity of 8-105 litres. Price range for inverter coolers is between ₹15,000-₹20,000, other range of air coolers prices begin from ₹5,190 and are equipped with auto fill function, anti-mosquito breeding, humidity control, etc.
Select models can be controlled by a mobile, wi-fi and voice control as they are IoT - Internet of Things, enabled. Orient Electric belongs to the $2.4 billion C.K. Birla Group and claims to have “40% of the premium market and healthy double digit growth in this segment”, according to Mr. Khanna.
Former Indian cricket captain M.S. Dhoni is the brand ambassador and commercials featuring him are scheduled to be on TV and various digital platforms. A contest to choose 11 favourite models will entail special prizes if the ‘team’ tallies with that of Dhoni. For details visit www.orientelectric.com, said Mr. Kappoor. The firm is also scouting for a location down south for a new manufacturing base for fans but investment and proposed capacity are yet to be finalised, they added.
