CNA Explains: With rising energy costs, how much can an energy-efficient home appliance save you?

WHAT CAN I USE MY CLIMATE VOUCHERS ON?

As of Apr 1, there are 775 participating retail outlets where you can use your climate vouchers.

These vouchers can be used to buy: 

• Refrigerators: Three-tick and above

• Air-conditioners: Five-tick 

• Direct-current fans: Typically labelled as DC fan. Stand fans, ceiling fans, and table fans that use DC motors are eligible, while DC fans with non-LED lights are not eligible.

• LED lights: Two-tick and above are eligible, but those with the old round energy label are not eligible. Some examples of eligible LED lights without energy labels include downlights, spotlights, and circular tubelights.

• Water heaters: Five-tick

• Washing machines: Four-tick

• Water closets: Three-tick

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• Sink, basin or water taps: Three-tick

• Shower fittings: Three-tick

From Apr 15, the programme will be expanded to include five-tick clothes dryers and induction stoves.

HOW DO I CHOOSE THE RIGHT APPLIANCE?

For air-conditioners, it is important to choose the right cooling capacity. If it is too big or too small for your space, it will not run efficiently – and that can drive up your bills.

Don’t just look at the upfront price – consider the “life cycle cost”. That means adding the purchase price to the estimated electricity cost over about seven years. 

For refrigerators, go for the smallest size that fits your needs. Extra features like ice makers or water dispensers may be convenient, but they also use more energy. 

Just like air-conditioners, you should look at the life cycle cost for refrigerators, which are typically used for about 10 years.

WHY FIX WHAT ISN’T BROKEN?

If your appliance is still working perfectly fine, should you replace it anyway?

Short answer: It depends. 

Prof Lee said the better question is not “Is it still working?” but “Is it still working efficiently enough to justify keeping it?” – a more useful test both economically and environmentally.

If you have an older, inefficient air-conditioner that runs for many hours a day, the economics of replacing it can be quite compelling, particularly with the CFHP offsetting part of the upfront cost, he said. 

From an environmental point of view, it may not be the best move to replace a relatively new, lightly used appliance that is already reasonably efficient.

However if you have an old, energy-hungry unit that will continue consuming excessive electricity for years, this can make good environmental sense, he said. 

Prof Lee added that the fastest savings often come from simply using your biggest appliances more efficiently – especially air-conditioning.

For instance, using a fan instead of air-conditioning could save about S$441 a year. Even using the air-conditioner briefly before switching to a fan could save around S$386 annually.

GETTING MORE FOR GOING GREEN 

Besides climate vouchers, there are existing schemes to encourage households to switch to energy and water efficient appliances.

For instance, the North West District has a scheme to invite residents to “green” their homes by meeting a set of criteria, such as using higher-rated appliances (for example, energy-efficient air-conditioners and refrigerators), and installing efficient water heaters.  

Households that meet these benchmarks can receive tiered cash rewards – ranging from about S$100 to S$500 – depending on how many criteria they fulfil.