Raising Minimum Energy Performance Standards for Air Conditioners

National Environment Agency - Pollution Control Department

Consultation Period: 13 Aug 2015 - 02 Sep 2015

Status: Closed - Summary of Responses

Consultation Outcome

Summary of Response to Public Consultation on Raising Minimum Energy Performance Standards for Air-conditioners

Introduction

In August 2015, the National Environment Agency (NEA) conducted a public consultation and sought feedback on the proposal to raise the Minimum Energy Performance Standard (MEPS) for air-conditioners from the one-tick to the two-tick level from 1 September 2016. NEA would like to thank everyone who participated in the exercise. This document summarises NEA’s response to the feedback received.

NEA’s Response to Feedback

2. The industry was generally receptive to the proposal. On the issue of implementation timeframe, air-conditioner suppliers requested more time to clear stocks that will not meet the proposed MEPS.

3. NEA has taken this feedback into consideration and will grant a one year grace period to air-conditioner suppliers.  Consequently, air-conditioner stocks that are imported into Singapore before 1 Sep 2016 will be exempted from the regulations until 31 Aug 17. 

Conclusion

4. NEA will draft the legislative requirements to raise the MEPS of air-conditioners to the 2-tick level.  

5. Through the proposed regulations, NEA hopes to improve the energy efficiency of air-conditioners in Singapore and lower the energy consumption and life cycle costs for consumers.

Summary

The National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore seeks comments and feedback on its proposal to raise the minimum energy performance standard for air-conditioners to the 2-tick level from 1 September 2016. The consultation exercise will start from 13 August 2015 and end on 2 September 2015.

Detailed Description

Introduction

The National Environment Agency (NEA) of Singapore seeks comments and feedback on its proposal to raise the minimum energy performance standard for air-conditioners to the 2-tick level from 1 September 2016.

Background

2 Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (MELS) is introduced to products that are designated as registrable goods under the Energy Conservation Act (ECA).  Energy labels enable consumers to identify energy efficient products and make better informed buying decisions.  They also spur suppliers to offer more energy efficient products. Under the Energy Conservation Act (ECA), manufacturers and suppliers are required to affix energy labels to such products.  Each label displays information on the energy consumption and energy costs of the product that it is affixed to.    In addition, the products are rated according to their relative energy efficiency performance and the rating is indicated on the energy labels via tick marks.  More tick marks indicates better energy efficiency.  The tick marks enable consumers to identify energy efficient appliances faster.

3 Home air-conditioners are designated as registrable goods and are rated from 1- to 5-ticks.  Air-conditioners consume the most energy in a typical Singaporean home, accounting on average for about 37% of household electricity consumption. (Refer to Annex 1 for a breakdown of household energy consumption by appliance). 

4 To help consumers avoid being locked into high energy consumption and energy costs, minimum energy performance standards (MEPS) were introduced in 2011 for household air conditioners, among other registrable goods.  Air conditioner models must meet or exceed the minimum specified energy performance standards if they are offered for sale in Singapore.  Setting minimum standards raises the average energy efficiency of products in the market. 

5 Several countries have introduced MEPS and MELS for home air-conditioners, including member states of the European Union (EU) and ASEAN, as well as Australia, Korea and China. 

Motivation for Raising MEPS for Air-conditioners 

6 Households, manufacturers and suppliers have responded positively to energy labelling and MEPS.  Demand for more efficient air-conditioners by households has increased over the years.  At the same time, manufacturers and suppliers have progressively introduced more energy efficient air-conditioners and withdrawn the less efficient ones from the market.  

7 Currently, 2-tick models are competitively priced compared to 1-tick models.  Purchasing a 2-tick rather than a 1-tick air-conditioner can save a household about $100¹  annually in energy costs.  If every household purchased 2-tick instead of 1-tick models, they would collectively enjoy $24 million in annual cost savings.  NEA therefore proposes raising the MEPS for air-conditioners from the current 1-tick to the 2-tick level, so that households can benefit from lower life cycle costs.  By purchasing more efficient models, households will also help to reduce Singapore’s carbon footprint. 

^{[1] Air-conditioners with cooling capacity of about 7 – 7.5kW have high sales volumes. It is assumed that the air-conditioners are used 8 hours daily.} 

8 When the MEPS is raised, models that no longer meet the new standard will be displaced from the market.  Studies conducted by NEA in 2015 show that setting MEPS at the 2-tick level will result in the removal of 23% of air-conditioner models currently registered with NEA under MELS. The impact on consumer options is limited since the models that will be affected only account for 6% of total sales of air-conditioners. Consumers will still be able to choose from a wide variety of models in the different capacity ranges and enjoy lower life cycle costs if the standard is raised to the 2-tick level.

Transitional Provisions

9 To cushion the impact of the revised MEPS, air-conditioners that are   imported into Singapore before 1 September 2016 will be exempted from the regulations until 31 Aug 2017.

Future Plans

10 NEA will review the MEPS for air-conditioners regularly.

Public Consultation

11 Interested parties may submit feedback to zulkifli_samuri@nea.gov.sg. The consultation exercise will end on 2 September 2015.

12 To ensure that the consultation is productive and focused, respondents are requested to observe these guidelines when providing their feedback:

• Please identify yourself as well as the organization you represent (if any) so that we may follow up with you to clarify any issues, if necessary.

• Please be clear and concise in your comments.

• Please focus your comments on the proposal and how it can be improved.

• As far as possible, please substantiate your points with illustrations, examples, data or alternative suggestions.

13 This proposal is released for the purpose of consultation. All comments received during the consultation exercise will be reviewed thoroughly and may be incorporated into the final measure.

Annex 1

Breakdown of Household Energy Consumption Across All Housing Types 

 

Source: Household Energy Consumption Study 2012

Annex 2

Current MEPS Levels

Proposed MEPS Levels for Air-conditioners