Climate friendly household vouchers: How to redeem & what to buy with them

The government wants you to be more eco-friendly. Luckily, instead of decreeing that you’re stuck taking public transport forever in order to reduce carbon emissions, they’re giving out free money! In the form of climate friendly household vouchers.

1-, 2- and 3-room HDB flat residents are eligible to redeem these e-vouchers, which are subdivided into the following:

• $150 e-vouchers for refrigerator
• $50 e-vouchers for shower fittings
• $25 e-vouchers for LED lights

The idea is that you replace your older, malfunctioning appliances with more energy-efficient ones. Although you’ll most likely need to top up the remainder, you should be able to lower your utility bills in the long run.

Here’s a guide to using your climate friendly household vouchers.

How to redeem climate friendly household vouchers

If you are a registered owner or renter of a 1-, 2- or 3-room HDB flat, your household is eligible for climate friendly household vouchers or cfh vouchers.

You must claim your vouchers by logging in here with your SingPass and filling in and submitting the online form. Make sure you include a valid mobile number.

You will then receive a link to your 3 e-vouchers via SMS within two days of correctly submitting the form.

Click on the links in the SMSes to redeem your vouchers. You can then use them whenever you buy energy-efficient appliances at any of the participating retailers.

The list of retailers is different for each subset of e-vouchers. We’ll show you where to use them and what items you can buy below.

By the way, you don’t need to be in a hurry to replace your perfectly fine appliances as the vouchers expire on Dec 31, 2023.

1. $150 refrigerator CFH vouchers

Refrigerators consume a fair bit of electricity as they have to be left on 24/7. unlike your air con, you can’t just “use your refrigerator less” in order to save electricity.

Here are the participating retailers where you can buy a new fridge with your climate friendly household vouchers:

• Best Denki
• Courts
• Gain City
• Harvey Norman
• Mega Discount Store

In Singapore, refrigerators’ energy efficiency levels are indicated by a rating system called the Energy Efficiency Rating. The most energy-efficient models have 5 ticks, while the least have only 1.

You can use your vouchers to buy fridges with 3 ticks and above. Switching from a 1-tick to a 3-tick fridge can lower your electricity bill by about $50 per year.

From an environmental point of view, it is best to buy a fridge that is the perfect size for your household’s needs. Overly large fridges cost more to run, and an overly small fridge might force you to buy a second one. Look out for fridges with an energy efficient switch that lets you lower your electricity usage further.

3-tick fridges tend to cost at least $1,000 to $1,500 if you’re opting for a family-sized fridge (about 400 to 500 litres, such as the 421-litre Electrolux EBE4500B-A). The more bells and whistles (like ice dispensers and bottom freezers) the more expensive it gets.

You can save money by opting for a more compact model under 400 litres, in the conventional 2-door style. We checked out what’s available on Best Denki and here are our top picks for the cheapest 3-tick fridges:

• Sharp SJRX34E-SL2 ($649)
• Europace ER5311U ($699)
• Samsung RT32K503ASL ($749)

2. $50 shower fitting CFH vouchers

Taking at least 2 showers a day is the norm in Singapore, and given the climate, who can blame us?

You can minimise water wastage by using a shower fitting that limits the amount of water flowing through the showerhead without compromising on water pressure.

Here’s where you can use your shower fitting vouchers:

• Bathroom Warehouse
• Gain City

Shower fittings have Water Efficiency Labelling Scheme (WELS) ratings that ranges from 4 ticks for the most water-saving devices, to zero ticks for the least.

The vouchers can only be used for 3-tick models. Upgrading from a 1- to 3-tick shower fitting can save you about $10 to $20 per year.

We looked at the options on the Gain City website and found some options from a brand called Tuscani. You can use your vouchers on 3-tick hand shower sets like:

• Tuscani Hand Shower Rombusto R3180T ($49.90)
• Tuscani Hand Shower Rombusto R12T ($65)
• Tuscani Hand Shower Rombusto R7180T ($78.90)

3. $25 LED light CFH vouchers

There’s more that you can do to save electricity than just turning off the lights when not in use — like using LED bulbs.

LED lights consume approximately 75 per cent to 90 per cent less electricity than regular incandescent light bulbs. LED bulbs also have a much longer lifespan so you won’t have to replace them as often.

You can use your vouchers to buy LED light bulbs at the following places:

• Best Denki
• Gain City
• Mega Discount Store
• NTUC FairPrice
• Sheng Siong

Your vouchers are meant to be used to buy a supply of LED light bulbs, which you can do the next time you do the groceries at FairPrice or Sheng Siong. $25 should be enough to buy 4 or 5 LED bulbs.

That being said, if you’d like to commit to more energy-efficient lighting, here are some other LED products to consider:

• Daiyo Light Tubes LT5-50-DL ($10.90) — These LED light tubes can be installed on your ceiling, walls or incorporated into furniture
• Elpa Torch Light PM-L112(W) LED Light ($12.30) – This automatic LED nightlight gives a little illumination to make it easier to make your way around in the dark or at least find the light switch
• 3M Lamp LED5000 Task Light-White ($249) – This desk lamp uses energy-saving light bulbs and has five adjustable brightness levels

This article was first published in MoneySmart.