Read the energy label: compare air-con and fridge running costs

Two bedroom air-conditioners can sit side by side in a showroom at similar prices with different numbers of ticks. To compare what they will cost to run, use the kWh figure on Singapore’s energy label, not just the ticks, and adjust it to your own hours and electricity rate. NEA’s estimated annual cost assumes eight hours of use a day for air-conditioners and 24 hours for refrigerators. Since 1 July 2026, advertisements and online listings for labelled appliances must also show the label beside the product.

The label has been mandatory for air-conditioners and refrigerators since 2008, according to NEA’s overview of the labelling scheme. Minimum energy performance standards, introduced in 2011, prohibit the sale of models below set efficiency levels. The scheme also covers appliances such as clothes dryers, televisions and lamps.

What does the energy label show?

• Ticks: from one to five. More ticks mean a more efficient appliance, as NEA’s tick rating explainer sets out.
• Annual energy consumption: a kWh figure, which is the number to compare.
• Estimated annual energy cost: a dollar figure calculated from standard assumptions.

NEA’s energy label explainer lists those assumptions, including eight hours a day for air-conditioners and 24 hours a day for refrigerators. Your own use may be longer or shorter than eight hours, and your electricity rate may differ from the one behind the label, so treat the dollar figure as a common yardstick rather than a forecast of your bill.

Ticks and kWh answer different questions. Ticks describe efficiency; kWh describes consumption. A larger air-conditioner can carry more ticks and still use more electricity than a smaller one, so compare kWh between models that would do the same job in the same room.

How to rescale the label for your home

1. Copy the annual kWh figure from each label you are comparing.
2. For an air-conditioner, multiply it by your usual daily hours divided by eight. If you use it only on some days, multiply by that share of the year too.
3. Multiply the result by the rate per kWh on your latest electricity bill or retailer plan.
4. Take the yearly difference between models, multiply it by the years you expect to keep the unit, and set it against the difference in purchase price.

For a refrigerator, skip step 2: the label already assumes it runs all day. NEA’s life-cycle cost calculator can do the arithmetic if you prefer not to work it by hand.

A worked example with illustrative numbers

The figures below are invented for illustration. They do not come from any model’s label or a current tariff.

• Air-con A has 3 ticks and a label figure of 800 kWh a year. Air-con B has 5 ticks and 600 kWh.
• The household cools the bedroom for about 10 hours a night, every night. The adjustment is 10 ÷ 8 = 1.25, giving 1,000 kWh for A and 750 kWh for B.
• At an illustrative 30 cents per kWh, the 250 kWh difference is worth about S$75 a year.
• If B costs S$450 more, the saving takes about six years to cover the gap.

Now change one assumption. If the room is cooled for four hours a night, the adjustment is 0.5, the difference falls to 100 kWh and the illustrative saving to S$30 a year: roughly 15 years to recover S$450. Heavy use strengthens the case for the efficient model; light use weakens it.

Vouchers can change the answer again. Climate Vouchers apply only to 5-tick air-conditioners, so a household spending S$400 of vouchers on B would narrow the illustrative gap to S$50. Those vouchers could otherwise go towards another appliance, so count them only once. Our Climate Vouchers guide covers eligibility.

What changed on 1 July 2026?

NEA’s circular on imports for own use and advertising sets out two changes that matter to online shoppers:

• Advertisements for regulated goods in visual formats, including websites and online marketplaces, must display a legible image of the energy label next to the product’s image or description.
• New regulated goods imported by end users for their own use must be registered with NEA, meet the minimum performance standards and carry energy labels where required. Non-compliance can lead to a fine of up to S$10,000.

During the second-reading debate on the Energy Conservation (Amendment) Bill, the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment said the import rules cover new goods, not second-hand ones. In practice, if an 11.11 listing for an air-conditioner or refrigerator shows no label, ask the seller for it before paying. If you are ordering a new unit from overseas for your own use, check NEA’s registration requirement first. For the price itself, use our year-end sales price check.

After installation, check the estimate

Compare the next few electricity bills with the same months a year earlier, allowing for weather and changes in who is at home. The comparison will not be precise, but a large gap between your estimate and your bill is worth understanding. It may simply mean the unit runs longer than you assumed.

Common questions