MNRE Issues Quality Control Order for Solar Water Heaters

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), in an important order that was long awaited by the industry, has issued an official Quality Control Order for Solar Water Heaters. With this, India joins a select group of countries that mandate a standard for Solar Water Heaters.

Called the Solar Thermal Systems, Devices and Components (Quality Control) Order, 2024, the order is to come into force on the expiry of one hundred and eighty days from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, issued on Oct 8. So within this Financial year, we understand.

The  Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has been designated as the certifying and enforcing authority for the new standards, with the bureau, in consultation with the MNRE to conduct market surveillance to ensure the conformity to Indian Standard for goods or article bearing Standard Mark mentioned in the column (2) of the said Schedule.

According to Jaideep N Malviya, Founder – Secretary General, Solar Thermal Federation of India, the order is a welcome development for the sector and consumers in India. “India joins select ranks of countries that mandate strict Quality for Solar Water Heaters. With this Order domestic consumer is protected but most importantly domestic manufacturing will get a boost as inferior imported products will not longer find place”, he said.

Solar heaters, for long one of the earliest and most widespread use of solar power have been mandated for use in any institutional cases in India, making them a visible solar application until recently, when rooftop solar finally took off. The latest orders, it is hoped will bring in a level of standardisation and quality control to the sector and weed out many operators who have been supplying sub-standard material. Hotels and other institutions have also been guilty of chasing the lowest cost option, seeing the use of solar heaters as more a compliance issue than a genuine effort to use more clean energy to run operations.