G/TBT/N/SGP/31  
 
20 December 2016  
(16-6956) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade    
 
  NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6.  
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  SINGAPORE   
If applicable, name of local government involved  (Article 3.2 and 7.2) : N.A.    
2. Agency responsible:  National En vironment Agency   
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification  shall be indicated if different from above : N.A    
3. Notif ied under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [  ], 5.6.2 [  ], 5.7.1 [  ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  HS 8418 
1010, 8418 2100  with respect to: 
Single-phase refrigerator s (not being second -hand good s) with an adjusted volume of up 
to 900 litres . “Single -phase refrigerator ” means an assembly consisting of a thermally 
insulated cabinet for the storage and preservation of foodstuffs above 0°C (32 °F) and a 
refrigerating unit operating on the vapour compression principle and arranged to extract 
heat from within the cabinet, whether or not with one or more freezer compartments.  
The adjusted volume of the refrigerator is defined as the sum of the adju sted volumes of 
the compartments  or sections of the refrigerator, where t he adjusted volume of a 
compartment or section is the product of the rated volume of that compartment or section 
with the corresponding volume correction factor (K) found in the follo wing table:  
Type  K 
Fresh food  1.00 
Four-star freezer  1.79 
Three -star freezer  1.79 
Two-star freezer  1.57 
One-star freezer  1.36 
Chill 1.13 
Cellar  0.75 
The compartment/section types are defined in accordance with Section 3.3 of 
ISO 15502:2005.  
5. Title, number of pages  and language(s)  of the notified document:   
i. Energy Conservation Act (in En glish)  
ii. Energy Conservation (Regist rable Goods) Order 2013 (in English)  
iii. Energy Conservation (Energy Labelling and Minimum Performance Standards  for 
Registrable Go ods) Regulations  2013 (in English)   
iv. Energy Conservation (Composition of Offences) Regulations 2013 (in English)  
The above  documents are available online at http://statutes.agc.gov.sg/ . G/TBT/N/SGP/31  
 
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  6. Description of c ontent:  Minimum Energy P erformance Standards (MEPS) for  
refrigerators were introduced  in 2011 . Only refrigerators that meet the prescribed MEPS 
are permitted to be sold in Singapore. MEPS helps to prevent consumers from becoming 
locked into high energy consumptio n and costs over the lifespan of the appliance.  
The Energy Conservation (Energy Labelling and Minimum Performance Standards) 
Regulations 2013 will be amended to raise the MEPS  for refrigerators. The revised 
standards are tabulated below . 
Type of 
Refrigerat ors Adjusted 
Volume,  
Vadj tot (L)  Current MEPS  Revised MEPS 
from  
1 November 2017  
Refrigerators 
with freezer  ≤ 300  AEC1 ≤ (465 + 1.378 × 
Vadj tot) × 0.585  AEC ≤ (465 + 1.378 
× V adj tot) × 0.553  
> 300 and ≤ 
900 AEC ≤ (465 + 1.378 × 
Vadj tot) × 0.585  AEC ≤ (465 + 1.378 
× V adj tot) × 0.506  
Refrigerators 
with freezer and 
through -the-
door ice 
dispenser  ≤ 900  AEC ≤ (585 + 1.378 × 
Vadj tot) × 0.560  AEC ≤ (585 + 1.378 
× V adj tot) × 0.485  
Refrigerators 
without freezer  ≤ 900  AEC ≤ (368 + 0.892 × 
Vadj tot) × 0.640  AEC ≤ (368 + 0.892 
× V adj tot) × 0.551  
1 Annual Energy Consumption in kWh  
The energy performance of refrige rators must be tested and reported in accordance with 
the test standards prescribed in the Energy Conservation (Energy Labelling and Minimum 
Performance Standards  for Registrable Goods ) Regulations  2013. The applicable test 
standards as of November 2016 ar e IEC 62552:2007 or ISO  15502:2005 . 
7. Objective and rationale , including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable:  For the purposes of environmental protection and energy conservation.  
Rationale:  The refrigerator is one of the most energy -intensiv e appliances in homes, 
accounting for about 18% of the total household electricity  consumption . The revised 
MEPS will reduce energy consumption and result in lower emissions of greenhouse gases.  
Consumers  also reap life cycle cost savings due to the reduct ion in energy use over the 
lifespan of the appliance.   
8. Relevant documents:  Notice will be published in the Republic of Singapore’s Government 
Gazette when adopted.   
9. Proposed date of adoption: Notice will be published prior to the date of entry in to force.  
Proposed date of entry into force: 1 December 2017  
10. Final date for comments: 60 days from the date of notification  G/TBT/N/SGP/31  
 
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  11. Text available from : National enquiry point  [X], or address, telephone and fax 
number s, e-mail and web -site address es, if available of the other body:    
Ms Corine Wong  
Senior Manager, Energy Efficiency & Conservation Department  
National Environment Agency  
40 Scotts Road, #19 -00 Environment Building  
Singapore 228231  
DID: (65) 6731-9386 
Fax : (65) 6731 -9922 
Email:  Corine_WONG@nea.gov.sg  
Ms Tham Shee Leng  
Assistant Manager, Energy Efficiency & Conservation Department  
National Environment Agency  
40 Scotts Road, #19 -00 Environment Building  
Singapore 228231  
DID: (65) 6731-9265 
Fax : (65) 6731 -9922 
Email:  THAM_Shee_Leng@nea.gov.sg