Industry challenges
Stakeholders at the workshop shared their perspectives on durability issues, market demand, consumer expectations, and gap areas for R&D. They highlighted sector needs and solutions that would help drive innovation in technology, financing, and the market for ceiling fans, including:
Cost instability of BLDC ceiling fans: The cost of raw materials and overall cost of production for BLDC ceiling fans has not been consistent over time. Due to higher servicing costs and processing materials expenses, the total life cycle cost of BLDC fans is significantly higher than that of induction fans. BLDC fans also often use permanent magnets, which can be both a significant cost and an environmental issue. More sustainable ferrite magnets are available in India, but a reliable supply chain is still missing.
Sustainability of induction technology: Despite the push for BLDC technology, induction motors remain cost-effective and sustainable. The industry continues to sustain induction technology due to the lower dependency on rare earth materials and lower cost of ownership.
Durability concerns and warranty proposals: Manufacturers are highly sensitive to product durability. To ensure quality assurance for electronics, warranty mandates could act as a stopgap measure. However, quality assurance of electronics needs to be prioritized over extended warranties to guarantee product longevity and customer satisfaction.
Component sourcing and import dependency: Printed circuit board (PCB) components account for 80 to 85 percent of the cost of materials. Most PCB components are currently imported, which creates a reliance on foreign supply chains. Once wafer plants and chip packaging units are established in India, import dependency is expected to decrease, leading to long-term cost benefits for ceiling fan manufacturers.
Key research areas for ceiling fans: Optimizing airflow velocity for different climates, reducing leakage current in electronics, and establishing a thermal comfort target for India were highlighted as areas for further research. More investment is needed in blade, motor, and electronics technology, along with system-level durability testing to ensure long-term performance and energy efficiency.
At the workshop, participants were driven by the objective of reducing the cost of manufacturing a high-efficiency ceiling fan. Given the rising heat and heat-related illnesses, making ceiling fans more affordable and providing the most basic form of cooling to all in India has become more urgent than ever. Greentree Global, in collaboration with NRDC, released a fact sheet on the ceiling fan technology road map at the workshop. Over the next several months, we will continue to work with industry players to develop a road map for building an ecosystem of affordable, high-efficiency, domestically produced ceiling fans in India.
