SEDA Malaysia: Efficient Electrical Appliances

Source: http://www.seda.gov.my/

Assalamualaikum and a very good day everyone! Alhamdulillah I am happy to have been given the chance to share to you about SEDA Malaysia and its role in promoting energy efficiency effort in Malaysia. Let me talk to you about buying efficient electrical appliances because this will definitely help to lower down the amount of electricity you use at your house. Before we begin, let me kindly remind you that this message is brought to you by SEDA Malaysia, the implementer of the Feed-in Tariff program for the development of renewable energy effort in Malaysia.

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Buying new appliances for the house is definitely challenging but exciting, especially for the newly-weds when they are moving out to their own space. It is seriously important that you choose the right size of refrigerator, air conditioning equipment, water heaters, television and vacuum cleaners despite the amount of money you have. They are not just about the brand, the colour, the function or anything else but you must also consider the right size. Large size equipments consume more energy and that is why your electricity bill can go really high without you noticing.

Source: teamhomemissions.com

When buying new appliances, be sure to make several comparisons based on their size, energy usage and definitely pricing. It is not worth it to buy a washing machine with 11 kg of load if there are only two of you in the house, so make the right choices! It is important that equipment is selected on the basis of “total cost” of purchasing and operation cost for the equipment so that you can get the best “value-for-money”.

Source: http://fanstory.org/tag/refrigerator

The cost of electricity used by an appliance over its working life often exceeds the purchase price of the appliance. Hence, when purchasing an equipment you must consider the “total cost” of owning the equipment. The energy cost savings for efficient equipment (which may be more expensive) over their life cycle can be more than the extra cost of purchase. 

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When buying new electrical equipment, you must look for energy labels as well. Energy label shows energy efficiency rating of equipment and helps you make a wise choice when buying the equipment. In Malaysia, the energy labeling system for household electrical equipments has been established under the supervision of the Energy Commission with cooperation from SIRIM since 2005.

Source: www.standardsusers.org

The least energy efficient products are labeled with “One Star” while the most efficient products are graded “Five Stars”. The “Star” rating for each model is indicated in the comparative label. An Endorsement label will be issued by the Energy Commission for products with the approved “Five Star” rating. These labels would be affixed on energy efficient products by the manufacturers.

Source: thestar.com.my

As I am typing this out to you, I am also learning new things because I have never realized about the “Star” rating. Next time I am going to buy my own electrical equipment, I will make sure that I check out the ratings first so that I can use the energy efficiently. The energy labelling will also help to give us the information needed in making purchasing decisions so that we can save money. In fact, energy performance of some electrical equipment can be checked at the nameplate. Air conditioners have Energy Efficiency Ratio (EER) that indicates the conversion efficiency of the equipment. EER for an air conditioner denotes the ratio of the cooling capacity to the power input (watt). You should choose the right capacity as larger capacity consumes more energy. 

Source: http://www.seda.gov.my/

Using the energy efficiently is a very important step in ensuring a greener and more sustainable future for our world. SEDA Malaysia has a very firm belief in making this happen and that is why they also implement the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) mechanism. Malaysia’s Feed-in Tariff system requires the Distribution Licensees (DLs) such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad and NUR Distribution Sdn. Bhd. (NUR) with this year's addition of Sabah Electricity Sdn. Bhd (SESB) to buy from renewable energy producers the electricity produced by them. FiT rates are set by SEDA Malaysia with approval from KeTTHA to pay for the renewable energy supplied to the electricity grid for a specific duration. By having access to the grid and setting a favorable price per unit of renewable energy, the FiT mechanism also ensures that renewable energy becomes a viable and sound long-term investment for companies, industries and individuals. This can happen very easily if consumers are registered under SEDA Malaysia as one of the producers of renewable energy through solar panels, small hydro power, biomass and biogas at their homes or private lands.

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The Cabinet has also agreed for the surcharge on consumers’ electricity bills that has been gazetted and collected from consumers. The 1% surcharge is needed to achieve the target capacity of renewable energy in the long run. As of 2013, 1% surcharge was imposed on all electricity customers and domestic electricity consumers are obliged to contribute to the surcharge only if their monthly electricity consumption exceeds 300 kWh or RM 77 a month. This money is channelled into the Renewable Energy Fund and administered by SEDA Malaysia to pay the premium Feed-in Tariff rate to those producers who generate electricity from renewable resources at homes, plant or farm. However, as of January 2014, this surcharge increases by 0.6% to be 1.6 % for current electricity users. This increase will also affect the consumers in Sabah and Wilayah Persekutuan Labuan as they are charged with 1.6% of their electricity bills for the first time. Please refer to www.seda.gov.my for more news and information about this tariff.Okay everyone, that is all for now. Thank you and God bless.