Lin Yanqin, Today Online 5 Jun 08;
ADVERTISEMENTS for the free energy audits for households have been running, volunteers have been out and about doing the checks and prizes are even being dangled for being energy-efficient.
But so far, consumers have been slow to respond to the call.
Last year, just 600 of the 3,000 households visited by volunteers in the North West district agreed to undergo an energy audit — a simple process of calculating how much energy each household appliance consumed. The programme, initiated by the North West Community Development Council (CDC), aims to reduce electricity consumption by households, which in turn will lower the amount of greenhouse gases emitted.
This year, only 105 of the 520 homes in the Radin Mas ward of the Central CDC agreed to an audit since the programme, supported by the National Environment Agency (NEA), began in April. The rest were either not at home when the student volunteers knocked on their doors or they declined to be audited.
The reasons for declining? According to a CDC spokesperson, about half the residents visited found energy saving to be “troublesome and do not wish to change their lifestyle habits”. Other residents said they would do the audits themselves, according to Radin Mas grassroots leader Agnes Ong.
The best way to get residents’ attention was to emphasise how much money they could be save by being energy efficient, Ms Ong said.
“If you go with how much money they can save, they are more receptive. If you just talk about climate change, they can’t really relate, even if they know it’s important,” she said.
With this in mind, the North West CDC will be installing an energy consumption tracking device in 200 homes during its next round of energy audits in Bukit Panjang. The device, made by Bridex Singapore, will show not only a household’s electricity consumption but also the dollar value of the energy used.
The CDC hopes the device will convert the skeptics.
“They can see for themselves the instantaneous effects of applying our energy-saving tips,” said a CDC spokesperson.
For example, significant savings of about 20 per cent can be achieved by switching off the power at the socket instead of leaving household appliances in stand-by mode.
Bridex director Lawrence Lee says households will increasingly feel the pinch as energy prices continue to soar. Bridex, which is sponsoring the CDC’s drive, will be launching the device next month in stores, retailing between $150 and $200.
The NEA will be pushing out the energy audit programme to more wards this year, beginning in Bishan-Toa Payoh North and Kolam Ayer in the Central District. Sharing energy-saving tips through house visits, while labour intensive, is key to its efforts to raise public awareness.
Residents from different income groups will be given different advice.
“With the middle income, it is more about aircon usage, while with the lower income group, it is more about their lighting,” said Ms Ong. “They tend to use incandescent light bulbs, which are cheaper, but actually add more to their bill.”
