Racold Thermo Ltd, a leader in manufacturing and marketing of water heating products, has bagged an award for the 'Best Performed Manufacturer on Solar Water Heater Installations in 2011-12' instituted by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). The award was presented by Dr Farooq Abdullah, Minister of New and Renewable Energy, under the UNDP-GEF (United Nations Development Program-Global Environment Facility)-supported project on solar water heaters.

"Water heating forms one of the key components of electricity consumption in homes and commercial applications such as hospitality, restaurants, hospitals, hostels, etc. Through its key initiatives such as subsidy programs, MNRE is attempting to accelerate and promote the use of solar water heaters in India. With the abundance of solar energy available, tapping it for useful purposes is of prime importance. The basic objective of the project was to accelerate the growth of solar water heating market by generating market demand, strengthening supply chain, adopting qualitative measures and establishing supportive regulatory environment," a press release states.

Racold Thermo Ltd received this award as recognition of their contribution to this objective. The award was presented at a national workshop on solar water heaters organised by the MNRE. The company has so far installed solar water heaters with a combined capacity of more than 1 crore litres per day capacity across homes and commercial applications in 15 states of India. Acknowledging the recognition bestowed by the ministry, Mathew Job, Managing Director, Racold Thermo Ltd, said, "Looking at the current environmental concerns, there is an urgent need of adopting renewable and energy-efficient technologies. We as a group are making serious efforts to develop and promote products that are more energy-efficient or work on renewable energy. Racold Thermo Ltd has taken the lead in introducing a more advanced range of solar water heaters in the country."

The company registered the highest growth in total number of collectors installed in 2011-12 over 2010-11. The installations done in 2011-12 alone have approximately contributed towards saving of close to 40 million units of electricity this year across the domestic and commercial installations, which includes builders, industries, institutions and government organisations. "It's worthwhile to note that the installations have reduced carbon emissions by 34,000 metric tonnes in 2011-12. In simple terms, if 1.32 lakh small cars will travel for 2,000 km, they will emit 34,000 tonnes of CO2," the press release adds.

Racold Thermo Ltd, a fully owned subsidiary of Ariston Thermo Spa - Italy, has the country's largest and fully integrated water heater plant in Chakan near Pune, offering the latest in technology and international standards, especially adapted to suit Indian conditions. The company has a pan-India presence with over 4,000 retail outlets and 145 service centers. It has redefined industry standards and set new benchmarks in water heating by enhancing the aesthetics, quality, durability, safety and performance of the product. "The continuous focus on innovation and R&D has resulted in many a 'firsts' for Racold. As a further testimony to our continuous delivery on performance, we have been the first to obtain quality and performance certifications as per IEC, CE and other similar international standards," the release states.