The Energy Commission of Ghana is advocating for Ghanaians to purchase and use energy-efficient appliances to help save electricity.
According to officers from the commission, energy-efficient appliances are now very common in the market and are urging consumers to make the right choices and desist from purchasing second-hand goods.
Speaking on the Jolly Breakfast Show on Friday, December 2, the Public Relations Officer for the Energy Commission in the Greater Accra Region, Mr Samuel Frimpong told the general public to desist from using their refrigerators after 10 years.
According to him, refrigerators are built to be only efficient for a span of 10 years and after that time period, they become less efficient and begin to consume more energy which affects users financially in terms of energy bills.
He also said users must purchase appliances with the label of the Energy Commission, indicating their efficiency level.
Mr Frimpong said appliances with the Energy Commission labels are standardised appliances which consume moderate energy.
He said, “When buying appliances in the market, buy brand new appliances with the yellow energy commission label, on the label, the appliance is rated from 1 to 5 stars to determine the efficiency of the appliance that you are buying.
Mr Frimpong said, the Certified Refrigerating App will help consumers identify energy-efficient refrigerators and also help the commission eliminate sub-standard refrigerating appliances that are smuggled into the country.
The smartphone app, which was developed in-house by the IT department of the Energy Commission, has unique features that help the consumer to use the model number of the appliance to do a quick verification while at the shopping centre.
It also aids the commission to identify the location of stores that stock inefficient and uncertified refrigerating appliances to aid in effective monitoring.
The App will tell the consumer within a 10km to 14km radius, the list of shops that deal in energy-efficient refrigerating appliances and is assisted by Google maps. Within the app, you have from 1 to 5-star rated appliances to help consumers choose what models and brand names are most suitable for their budget.
In the event that an appliance is uncertified, the app will return an error message when the model number is entered.
The App is presently available for all Android devices on the Google Playstore and App Store platforms.