Mandatory Energy Labelling

Country / jurisdiction: Singapore · Year: 2008 · Status: In force · Level: National · Type: Voluntary

Mandatory Energy Labelling was introduced for registrable goods since 1 January 2008. Under the Energy Conservation Act (Cap. 92C), all registrable goods must carry energy labels. Under Section 12 of the Act, no person shall, in the course of any trade or business, supply any registrable goods in Singapore on or after the effective date unless the registrable goods are registered and labelled in the prescribed manner, and meet minimum energy efficiency standards where prescribed. Under Section 13 of the Act, any importer and manufacturer who intends, in the course of any trade or business, to supply any registrable goods in Singapore on or after the effective date shall apply to the National Environment Agency (NEA) to be registered as a registered supplier and to register any registrable goods, which the importer or manufacturer intends to supply in Singapore.

The regulations governing these requirements are:

Energy Conservation (Registrable Goods) Order 2013

Energy Conservation (Energy Labelling and Minimum Performance Standards For Registrable Goods) Regulations 2013

Energy Conservation (Composition of Offences) Regulations 2013

Energy Conservation (Exemption for Registrable Lamps) Order 2015.

Over the years, the energy performance of products offered in the market improved and a wide range of models with differing levels of energy efficiency were catergorised together in the same tick rating band. There was little incentive for suppliers to develop and offer more efficient models as they would be given the same tick rating as other models already in the market. In order to help consumers better identify the more energy efficient models and spur suppliers to offer more efficient products, the energy rating system for air-conditioners, refrigerators and clothes dryers was revised on 1 September 2014.

The design of the energy label was also updated to improve its readability. In the same year, NEA completed the first verification testing (VT) exercise on a selection of air-conditioner, refrigerator and clothes dryer models registered under MELS. Overall, all models tested were assessed to have passed the VT. A report summarising the results can be found here [PDF, 472Kb]

From 1 July 2015, incandescent lamps, compact fluorescent lamps with integrated ballasts (CFLi) and LED lamps must meet minimum energy performance standards and comply with mandatory energy labelling requirements. To allow lamp importers, manufacturers and retailers time to clear their existing stocks of lamps, products that were supplied to the market before 1 July 2015 will be exempted from the requirements for one year. From 1 Dec 2017, the Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) for Refrigerators will be enhanced. For more details on the enhanced MEPS, please click here. [PDF, 325Kb]