Singapore Energy Labelling Scheme
National Climate Control Committee
With the announcement of Singapore’s plan to accede to the Kyoto Protocol in 2006, the NEEC has been expanded in scope to cover climate change issues and has been renamed the National Climate Change Committee (NCCC) to better reflect its expanded function.
The terms of reference of the NCCC are as follows:
To address climate change by:
a) Promoting greater energy efficiency and less carbon-intensive energy in key sectors;
b) Raising awareness amongst the people, private and public sectors on the impacts and opportunities arising from climate change, and the actions they can take;
c) Building competency in Singapore to better respond to climate change such as through promoting research and development of low-carbon technologies;
d) Understanding Singapore’s vulnerability to climate change and facilitating the adaptation actions needed.
***Article taken directly from www.nccc.gov.sg
*** For more information, please visit www.nccc.gov.sg
Energy Labelling of Appliances
"Of course, the more energy efficient an appliance is, the less electricity it consumes. The obvious benefit is a smaller energy bill every month. In some instances, you may even break even after a number of years of use.Right now, it is almost impossible for consumers to be sure which appliances in the market are more energy efficient than the others. Commercials claiming "energy efficient" may not provide a fair basis of comparison. Hence, energy labelling is helpful in that the information it provides allows consumers to compare fairly.The Singapore Green Labelling Scheme was launched in April 2002 to provide such information to consumers. Starting with refrigerators and air-conditioners, appliances can now be labelled and consumers can find out which models are more efficient than the others. The more Green Ticks, the more energy efficient!"
** article taken from National Climate Control Committee, www.nccc.gov.sg
GO FOR ENERGY
LABELLED PRODUCTS!!!!
"The Singapore Energy Labelling Scheme was launched in April 2002 to provide such information to consumers. Starting with refrigerators and air-conditioners, appliances can now be labelled and consumers can find out which models are more efficient than the others. The more Energy Ticks, the more energy efficient.
To increase the visibility of energy labelled products in retail stores, Green Corners were launched in March 2003. Under the programme, participating retail stores would allocated a section of their showroom to feature energy labelled products.
In July 2003, the first store featuring only energy labelled products was set up to make it even easier for consumers to view and purchase such products. This store is commonly referred to as the Energy Efficient Product Information Centre or EEPIC.
Following the success of the Green Corners and the EEPICs, the Associate Green Corners, where 35% of models on display are labelled, were introduced in July 2005.
The next time you plan to buy a new air-conditioner or refrigerator, do make your way down to any of the green corners to view models with the energy label."
** The above text is quoted directly from www.nccc.gov.sg
Air Conditioning, the Main Culprit
This article is published on Tuesday, 10 Jan 2006, Straits Times.
In a report from World Bank in 2003, it showed Singapore is second to United States in the amount of energy used per person.
A group in Singapore, foucsing in environmental issues, feel that the main culprit is the air conditioning.
How we can play a part in preserving our environment and save our money at the same time
1) Buy energy saving or energy efficient products. This includes all electrical appliances. Currently for air conditioning and fridge, you can refer to the Energy Label ticks given by Singapore Energy Labelling Scheme.
For US products, you can go online and check if that model is having any Energy Stars.
2) If possible, try to change all your incandescent lights to Energy Saving bulbs. U may have to spend some money changing some components as not all are suitable for use of Energy Saving bulbs. But an energy saving bulb from a reputable manufactuer can save you between 50% to 80% of electricity. That is actually quite a lot.
3) U can consider getting an inverter air con and fridge if your usage and budget justifies. These are more energy efficient.
4) Reduce the use of electrical heating appliance like instant water heater, electrical oven and electrical heat pot..etc. These are very high energy consuming products. U can compared the power consumption written on the label behind the appliance with your radio or TV. I am not saying these products are no good..just that try reduce the usage. For example, if u want to warm up your food, you might want to consider using the gas cooker instead.
5) Use a fan. This will help to save you energy when use together with air con.
Firstly, if u are using an air con, a fan will first assist in circulating the air in the room thus improving cool air distribution.
Secondly, when the fan on, u will feel both the cold and the wind. The fan will actually make us feel colder due to the wind chill effect. Thus u can set a higher temp.
A single split air con uses on average 800 watts per hour while a fan uses an average of 70 watts per hour.
6) Off your appliance when you are not around. But if u are just leaving for a while or so, it is better to leave it on or standby mode. There is a power surge everytime we on an appliance.
But never leave it on standy mode when u are away for sometime.
7) LASTLY, i urge Singaporeans to support the Singapore Energy Labelling Scheme by buying only products with energy label ticks. This pressure can caused the manufacturers to 'push' themselves to produce more energy efficient products in order to meet the requirements.
8) I also hoped NCCC can bring in more products into the Singapore Energy Labelling Scheme like ceiling fans, washing machines and ligthing equipment.
1) EER or Energy Efficient Ratio is a measure of how much BTU per hour the air con system is capable of producing using 1 watt of electricity. In other words, an air con system which uses less electricity but is able to produce more cooling power will have a higher EER rating.
2) EER is used by NCCC under the Singapore Energy Labeling Scheme to classify the different models of Non Inverter and Inverter air conditioner and refridgerators. 
3) For easy comparsion, theses products are given Energy Label Ticks ranging from 1 to 4. The more the ticks, the more energy efficient is the product.
How to read the Energy Labels @ home appliance shops or megamarts?
For the complete list of energy efficient air conditioners, click below to access the National Climate Control Committee Product Database.
