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building
| 1) | Q: | How
can I compare my building's energy consumption against other buildings in Singapore?
| | A: |
An online performance-based building energy benchmarking
tool is available at the Energy Smart website. |
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| 2) | Q: | What
are the codes and regulations regarding energy use in buildings? |
| A: | The
Building Control Regulations are under the purview of the BCA.
Some of the local
energy standards are also listed at the BCA-NUS Building Energy Research and
Information Centre website. |
Households
| 1) | Q: | What
is EER? | | | A: |
EER stands for "Energy Efficiency
Ratio" and is defined as "the ratio of the total cooling capacity to
the effective power input under specific set of rating conditions." i.e.
how much cooling can this air-conditioner model do for the amount of electrical
energy input into it.
| EER | = | Total
Cooling Capacity (Btu/hr) | | Electrical
Energy Input (W) |
The
higher the EER, the more energy efficient the air-conditioner is. |
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| 2) | Q: | What
is the difference between "inverter" and "non-inverter" types
of air-conditioners? | | A: | "Non-inverter"
types of air-conditioners regulate room temperatures by switching the compressor
motors on and off. The electricity consumption by the compressor motors tend to
be much higher during the start-up operations.
"Inverter"
types of air-conditioners avoid such operations by regulating the speed of the
compressor motors through the use of built-in microprocessors, thus leading to
energy savings. | | | | |
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| 3) | Q: | How
does the consumer benefit by choosing energy-efficient products? |
| A: | Energy
efficient products consume less energy for the same amount of usage, and therefore
cost less to operate. Consumers may therefore wish to take into consideration
the lower operating costs of such products when making their purchase. They may
also wish to look out for the Energy
Label on participating product models, which provides information on their
energy performance. |
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| 4) | Q: | How
much can be saved from using energy efficient products? |
| A: | The
potential annual (cost savings by a more efficient product) is equal to the product
of the difference in energy consumption per year and the tariff
rate.
For example, a refrigerator that consumes 300 kWh less annually
can lead to savings of (300 x 0.2164) $65 per year.
To help consumers
make better-informed decisions, the Energy
Label provides factual information on energy consumption by participating
models, i.e. annual kWh consumed by participating refrigerator models and kWh
per hour consumed by participating air-conditioner models.
Consumers
can also make use of the refrigerator energy cost calculator available at the
Energy Labelling Scheme Product
Database, which lists participating product models. |
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| 5) | Q: | What
is the difference between Energy Labels and Green Labels? |
| A: | Under
the Singapore Green Labelling Scheme (SGLS), Green Labels are awarded to environment-friendly
products based on various qualifying criteria for different types of product.
Further information on the SGLS is available at the SEC website.
The Energy Labelling Scheme is administered by the Singapore Environment
Council (SEC) under the umbrella of the SGLS, and the Energy Labels provide specific
information on the energy performances of labelled products. |
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| 6) | Q: | Where
can I obtain educational materials such as stickers, brochures and posters on
energy conservation and energy efficiency? | | A: | Details
on obtaining educational materials are available at the following webpage:
SP Services Energy Efficiency Centre
http://services.spservices.sg/
cs_eec_edu_materials.asp?ID=&OriginalUrl=cs_EEC_frameset.asp
ECO-OFFICE
http://www.ecooffice.com.sg/site/SaveEnergyReminder.htm
NEA (look under Energy Conservation)
http://app.nea.gov.sg/cms/htdocs/category_sub.asp?cid=39 |
industry
| 1) | Q: | Which
companies can participate in the Energy Audit Scheme? |
| | A: | The
scheme is targeted at large industrial consumers of energy (electricity and fossil
fuel). However, other companies that wish to opt into the scheme are also welcomed. |
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| 2) | Q: | What
are the benefits of opting into the Energy Audit Scheme? |
| A: | The
monetary benefits are mainly self-generating, as savings from reduced energy consumption
through improved energy efficiency could be used to repay the costs of conducting
energy audits and implementing the economically viable recommendations. The extent
of savings depends largely on the potential for improvements. Companies
can consider applying for the Innovation
for Environmental Sustainability (IES) Fund when implementing energy efficiency
improvement projects that satisfy the IES fund criteria. They can also consider
the Accelerated Tax Depreciation Scheme,
which allows businesses to write off capital expenditure on the qualifying energy
efficient or energy-saving equipment against their taxable income in the year
following the year of purchase, instead of the usual three years. Collective
efforts by companies to conduct energy audits and implement energy efficiency
improvement projects will also help our nation to mitigate pollution and the emission
of greenhouse gases. | | | | |
| 3) |
Q: | What
do I have to do if I opt into the Energy Audit Scheme? |
| | A: |
Companies that opt into the scheme
are required to follow the procedure below:
| (a)
| To contact
the Officer-in-charge for notification and clarification, if any. |
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| (b) | To
send a letter of participation addressed to Head, Resource Conservation Department. |
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| (c) | Companies
that have not conducted any detailed plant-wide energy audits before are to do
so according to their preferred schedule, preferably within 6 months from the
date of participation, and submit the Energy Audit Report using the Energy Audit
Scheme's guidelines as a reference. Companies that had carried out detailed plant-wide
energy audits not more than 5 years before the participation date can submit the
Energy Audit Report based on the past audit information, using the Energy Audit
Scheme's guidelines as a reference. | | | |
| (d)
| Companies
are to implement energy efficiency improvement projects recommended in the report
upon evaluation that these projects meet their selection criteria, such as economic
viability and technical feasibility. | | | |
| (e)
| Companies
are to carry out post implementation energy audits to determine the actual energy
efficiency improvements achieved. | | | |
| (e)
| Companies
are encouraged to carry out detailed plant-wide energy audits once every 5 years
or less. | |
transportation
| 1) | Q: | What
are green vehicles? Are they available in Singapore? |
| | A: | Green
vehicles refer to clean-energy vehicles that use energy sources other than petroleum
and diesel, such as compressed natural gas (CNG), electricity, methanol, hydrogen,
or solar energy. A write up on these vehicles is available here.
Among the various types of green vehicles, hybrid and CNG vehicles are already
available on the market. | | | | |
| | | |
| 2) | Q: | What
are the incentives offered for green vehicles? | | A: |
The Green Vehicle Rebate (GVR) have been extended for another two years from 1 Jan 2008 to 31 Dec 2009. Owners of new green vehicles registered in Singapore will enjoy the following GVR given on the Additional Registration Fee:
- For hybrid, electric and CNG passenger vehicles: 40% of OMV at registration
- For hybrid, electric and CNG buses and commercial vehicles: 5% of OMV at registration
Other tax incentives enjoyed by green vehicles are:
- For CNG vehicles: Special tax exemption until 31 Dec 2009
- For hybrid, electric and CNG buses and commercial vehicles: Road tax is pegged to that for petrol equivalents, which is 20% lower than their diesel equivalents.
More information on the Green Vehicle Rebate is available at here
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