Past Initiatives

To demonstrate how easy it is to save energy, NEA partnered with SP Group to launch the Energy-Saving Challenge on 15 June 2017. The Challenge was a call to households to practise simple energy-saving habits as a way of life to reduce their electricity consumption and contribute to a sustainable environment. Households were encouraged to adopt practices such as (i) switching off appliances at the power socket, (ii) raising the air-conditioner temperature set-point to 25°C or higher and (iii) buying electrical appliances with more ticks. By practising these electricity-saving habits, households would save money on their electricity bills and show care for the environment.

Participants who reduced their electricity use by 1% or more for the Challenge period stood to win prizes worth more than $70,000 in total. This could be easily done by practising any one of the three tips mentioned above. Prizes included air tickets, home appliances, hotel stays and vouchers amongst others. The sponsors for this Challenge were City Developments Limited, Daikin, Gain City, PacificLight Power, Philips, Ricoh, Siloso Beach Resort and Singapore Airlines.

More information about the Energy-Saving Challenge can be found here.

The Switch and Save – Use LED programme was led by NEA to encourage the adoption of LED lights in smaller flats. The programme was launched in 2018 at the North East District and in Hong Kah North, and ended on 31 December 2019. More than 70,000 households across Singapore were eligible for the programme.

The aim of the programme was to help households living in one- and two-room public housing flats to switch to using LED lights, which are more energy efficient. According to a study by NEA in 2017, one- and two-room HDB households had the lowest adoption rate of LED lights, with only 28 per cent of households using at least one LED light in their home. In comparison, the average LED adoption rate for all the other housing types taken together was 53 per cent.

LED lights are 80 per cent more energy-efficient compared to incandescent lights, and 40 per cent more energy-efficient compared to compact fluorescent lights (CFL). LED lights generally can last longer as well, and in the long-run, households can save money on both electricity costs and replacement lights by switching to using LED.

NEA conducted the second household energy consumption study between 2016 and 2017 to establish energy consumption patterns in homes. A total of 550 households participated in this study, representing a mix of housing types and geographical regions. As part of the study, each household’s total electricity use as well as the consumption of key electrical appliances was metered over a week. NEA also surveyed households to understand their attitudes towards energy conservation and efficiency.