Singapore: NEA to raise energy performance standards for refrigerators from December 2017

Singapore: NEA to raise energy performance standards for refrigerators from
December 2017

Continuing its drive to make households more energy efficient, the National
Environment Agency (NEA) is raising the energy performance standards of
refrigerators and phrasing out the least efficient ones.

From December next year, the NEA will raise its Minimum Energy Performance
Standards (MEPS) for each refrigerator category by between 5 to 13 per cent.
The least energy efficient one-tick refrigerator models, which make up about
15 per cent of the models currently available in the market, do not meet the
new MEPS and will be phased out when the new standards are introduced.

By switching from a one-tick refrigerator model to a three-tick model, a
household could save about S$75 in electricity bills each year, said the NEA
in a statement on Friday (Nov 25).

"There will still be a wide range of refrigerator models available to
consumers, and suppliers are also expected to introduce new models over
time. By choosing more energy efficient refrigerators, households can expect
to enjoy more cost savings over the operating lifespan of the refrigerators
and also help reduce Singapore's carbon footprint," added the NEA.

This move is part of the NEA's efforts to contribute to Singapore's Climate
Action Plan to reduce carbon emissions.

An NEA survey conducted in 2012 found that, in a typical household,
refrigerators were the third largest consumers of energy - after water
heaters and air-conditioning units - and account for about 18 per cent of
total household electricity consumption.

Since mandatory energy labelling was introduced in 2008 and MEPS for
refrigerators were introduced in 2011, the average efficiency of
refrigerators has improved by about 26 per cent, resulting in more than S$18
million in annual energy cost savings for households, or the yearly
electricity consumption of around 14,000 homes.

These measures have also led to a total carbon abatement of about 0.03 MT,
equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of around 9,000 cars, said the
NEA.

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Link to Original Article:
http://www.todayonline.com/singapore/nea-raise-energy-performance-standards-
refrigerators-december-2017

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John Diecker
APT Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

www.aptthailand.com