Is the recent sweltering weather inspiring you to get a new air conditioner? Upgrade your fan? Invest in a bigger fridge?
Good news. Thanks to an enhanced government programme, you can now get new household appliances to combat the heat at a $300 discount plus do your part to be energy-efficient at the same time.
The programme is called the Climate Friendly Households Programme (CFHP), and your $300 is coming to you in the form of Climate Vouchers that you can use at 14 participating retailers like Courts, Best Denki, and even Sheng Siong.
Here’s a guide to all you need to know about how the Climate Vouchers work, how you can claim yours, and how to spend them.
Climate Vouchers—What’s new in 2024?
The Climate Vouchers are part of the aforementioned CFHP. You may not know it by name, but you may have made use of it in the past 4 years if you lived in selected HDB flats.
First launched in November 2020, the CFHP helped 1-, 2- and 3-room HDB households save on utility bills through vouchers that they can use to buy energy- or water-efficient household products. Eligible HDB flat residents could claim $225 worth of Climate Vouchers to purchase an energy-efficient refrigerator, shower fittings, and LED lights.
This year, the government has upsized the CFHP. From 15 Apr 2024 to 31 Dec 2027, all HDB households can claim $300 worth of Climate Vouchers for use on a wider range of household products.
Although you may still need to top up the remainder, you should be able to lower your electricity bills and water bills in the long run by replacing your older appliances with more energy-efficient ones. That’s a blessing when the cost of living in Singapore is so high.
How to claim your Climate Vouchers
If you are a registered owner of any HDB flat, your household is eligible for $300 worth of Climate Vouchers.
Claim your Climate Vouchers by logging in with your Singpass. Only one person from your household needs to do this on behalf of the entire household.
You will then receive a link to your Climate Vouchers in an SMS from the sender “gov.sg“. I highly suggest you double check the sender before you click on the link to make sure you didn’t receive a phishing or scam SMS.
Once verified, forward the SMS to your household members so they can use the vouchers too. The vouchers come in denominations of $2, $5, $10, and $50, so they’re very shareable.
How to spend your Climate Vouchers
Click on the link in the SMS to redeem your vouchers. You’ll see something like this:
Simply tap on the denomination(s) you wish to use to start using your vouchers. The website will generate a QR code for you that the retailer can scan to redeem your voucher(s).
To spend your Climate Voucher, you’ll need to show proof of your address. This proof can come in the form of bank statements, utility bills, the Singpass mobile application or your good old NRIC.
Where to spend Climate Vouchers
You can use Climate Vouchers whenever you buy energy-efficient appliances at any of these participating retailers:
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- Audiohouse
- Bathroom Warehouse
- Best Denki
- Chuan Heng Hardware Trading
- Courts
- Dairy Farm Retail Group (Giant)
- Dairy Farm Retail Group (Cold Storage)
- FairPrice
- Gain City
- Harvey Norman
- Mega Discount Store
- Sheng Siong
- T.S. Yong Trading
- Woodlands Domestic Electrical
ALSO READ: Singaporean Households to Receive $500 CDC Vouchers in 2024: How to Claim, Where to Spend Them, Etc.
What to buy with Climate Vouchers
While the old CFHP limited you to refrigerators, shower fittings and LED lights, the enhanced CFHP announced this year greatly broadens the household products you can use the Climate Vouchers on. Here are the 10 categories applicable:
Do take note of the ticks. The appliance must have the requisite number of ticks as seen above. For example, you cannot use your Climate Voucher on a 4-tick air-conditioner, but you can on 2-tick LED lights.
These ticks will appear on Energy Labels of all appliances sold by registered suppliers in Singapore. Did you know that the Energy Label or Tick Rating must also be shown on advertisements for registered products? So you can sus out which appliances to use your vouchers on without taking a trip down to Courts.
When do the Climate Vouchers expire?
Are all your appliances already energy-efficient and working well?
Good news: you don’t need to be in a hurry to replace your perfectly fine appliances.
The Climate Vouchers released in 2024 expire on 31 Dec 2027. You need to claim and redeem them by this date. Any unused amounts will be forfeited.
Best credit cards for appliance shopping
The CFHP Climate Vouchers are unlikely to cover the total costs of your new purchases, so you may need to top up the remainder.
Do your shopping with the right credit card to earn extra rebates on top of your voucher discounts. If you’re going to shop at Giant or Cold Storage, I suggest the UOB One Card to make use of the 10% cashback—if you can meet the UOB One Card spend requirements.
Using your Climate Vouchers at Sheng Siong instead? The DCS Sheng Siong Card will give you up to 5% rebate there with no minimum spend.
For big-ticket items like a new fridge, consider charging it to one of these unlimited cashback cards. There’s no minimum and no cap on your cash rebate, so they’re perfect for one-off big expenses.
Plus, if you apply for a credit card via MoneySmart ahead of time, you might be eligible to get bonus freebies too.
Know someone who qualifies for these vouchers? Share this article with them.
About the author
Vanessa Nah is a personal finance content writer who pens articles on the ins and outs of personal loans, the T&Cs of credit cards, and the ups and downs of alternative investments. She’s a researcher at heart and leaves no stone unturned when it comes to breaking down complex finance concepts and making them easy to understand for the everyday Singaporean. When Vanessa’s not debunking finance myths, you’ll find her attending dance classes, fingerpicking a guitar, or (most impawtently) fulfilling her life mission to make her one-eyed cat the most spoiled and loved kitty in the world.