Regulations Strengthened To Encourage More Energy Efficient Purchases

Source: Government of Singapore

24 June 2026 – From 1 July 2026, the National Environment Agency (NEA) will strengthen regulations to enable consumers and businesses to make more informed choices and advance Singapore’s decarbonisation efforts. The Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (MELS) and Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS) will introduce registration requirements for regulated goods [1] imported for own use and tighten advertising rules for regulated goods.

Extension of MELS and MEPS 

2.       Currently, regulated goods imported for sale in Singapore must meet the requirements of the MELS and MEPS (more information of MELS and MEPS in Annex A). Similar goods that are imported by end users, including businesses and households, for their own use are not covered. The volume of such own use imports is small, but this could grow over time as online marketplaces have made it increasingly easy for consumers to directly import goods, which are often inefficient. Some businesses have also been directly importing commercial storage refrigerators for their own use.

3.      Businesses and households who import regulated goods that are energy inefficient and do not comply with the MELS and MEPS could lock themselves into higher lifecycle energy costs and carbon footprints. To ensure that Regulated Goods imported by end users for own use are MELS and MEPS compliant, the Energy Conservation Act was amended on 8 April 2026 to extend these requirements to such regulated goods.  

Registration requirements

5.      Prior to registration, individuals and businesses should ensure that the regulated goods to be imported into Singapore meet the Minimum Energy Performance Standard requirements (refer to Annex B for detailed requirements and registration requirements). 

Tighten Advertising Rules for Regulated Goods

6.      From 1 July 2026, advertisements of non-compliant regulated goods, including those on online platforms, are not allowed. This regulation will ensure that non-compliant products are not offered to end users in Singapore. Visual advertisements must feature an Energy Label next to the product image or description. Where space is limited, the product’s energy efficiency rating (tick rating) and Certificate of Registration (COR) number must be prominently displayed. 

Support for Business and Households  

7.       Businesses and households can take advantage of government schemes to support the upfront cost of energy efficient regulated goods while benefiting from long-term energy savings. Eligible Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Food Services and Manufacturing sectors can also apply for the EnterpriseSG’s Energy Efficiency Grant to support the adoption of pre-approved energy-efficient regulated goods.

8.       Singaporean and Permanent Resident HDB households, as well as Singapore Citizen households living in private residential properties, can use the Climate Vouchers under the enhanced Climate Friendly Households Programme to purchase eligible energy-efficient regulated goods.

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Annex A

ABOUT ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS: MELS AND MEPS 

Energy Efficiency standards

MELS and MEPS drive the supply and adoption of more energy efficient products in support of the Singapore Green Plan 2030’s decarbonisation targets. 

Mandatory Energy Labelling Scheme (MELS)

The MELS was introduced in 2008 to help consumers make informed, energy efficient purchasing decisions for major energy consuming household appliances through clear visual indicators such as the tick rating. This requires suppliers of household appliances covered under the MELS to prominently affix their products with energy labels. These labels carry information on the energy consumption and energy cost of operating the appliance. 

End users that buy energy efficient appliances enjoy cost savings over the lifespan of the appliances. For example, the energy cost of operating a typical 5-tick air-conditioner is about 30 per cent less than that of a 2-tick model. The lifecycle cost of energy efficient appliances is generally lower than that of energy inefficient products, notwithstanding higher upfront costs, due to energy savings over the product lifecycle.

Minimum Energy Performance Standards (MEPS)

The MEPS was introduced in 2011 to raise the energy efficiency of household appliances by removing the least energy efficient appliances from the market. This protects end users from being locked into the high energy costs of operating energy inefficient appliances. MEPS increases the number of energy efficient models in the market, where the distribution of regulated goods gradually shifts towards higher energy efficiency models over time. 

Since the introduction of the MEPS and MELS, the average energy efficiency of air-conditioners and refrigerators has improved by 61% and 45% respectively, and this translates to annual energy savings of more than $560 million [2] across all households which is equivalent to the annual energy consumption of about 447,000 4-room housing units. 

[2] Based on the energy efficiency improvement of air-conditioners and refrigerators sold between 2015 and 2024.

Annex B

MELS AND MEPS REQUIREMENTS FOR REGULATED GOODS IMPORTED FOR OWN USE

Scope of MELS and MEPS

The following regulated goods are subject to the MEPS and MELS requirements:

(a) Air-conditioners: Household air-conditioner, Portable air-conditioner and Three-phase Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) air-conditioner

(b) Refrigerators: Household refrigerators and commercial storage refrigerators

(c) Clothes dryers

(d) Televisions

(e) Household water heaters

(f) Three-phase induction motors

MELS and MEPS requirements

3.      Regulated goods imported by end users for own use will be required to comply with the same MEPS and MELS requirements as with current requirement for supply of regulated goods. Once regulated goods have met the MEPS, they will be assigned tick ratings and Energy Labels, where required, upon approval of the registration.

5.       For details on tick ratings and Energy Labels for respective regulated goods, please refer to the following websites:  

Registration of regulated goods with NEA

7.      The following documents are required for registration at ELS Portal:

• CorpPass (For companies importing regulated goods for own use)

• SingPass (For individuals importing regulated goods for own use)

• Test report (Please refer to Paragraph 9) for model to be registered

• Any other documents (e.g. In-principal approval from SCDF for usage of flammable refrigerant in equipment)

8.      A Certificate of Registration (COR) will be issued upon the approval of the registration and is valid for 3 years. End users who wish to extend the validity of the registered model (e.g. intention to import the same registered model after its 3 years validity) will be required to renew the COR at least 2 weeks, but not earlier than 90 days, before it expires.

Test reports and prescribed test standards

9.       A test report of a test carried out in accordance with the prescribed test standards is mandatory. End users may rely on test reports from suppliers and manufacturers when registering their model of regulated goods with NEA.