Here's How To Save On Your Utility bill If You Can't Go Without Using Your Air-Conditioner In Singapore

With Singapore's hot and humid weather, some would reason that air conditioning in your own home is a necessity. Nowadays, the price of installing an aircon has decreased, but you can always obtain a better deal and reduce your monthly utility bills. Here is a quick guide on how to reduce aircon prices in Singapore.

# 1 Compare Aircon Prices From Different Brands

Home contractors often get a commission from selling a particular brand. This is because true for many brands of furniture because it is for air-conditioning. This isn't always bad: simply because they get a commission, it doesn't mean the contractor is simply out for the money (their reputation is also at stake).

Nonetheless, it pays to look around. Don't just go ahead and take contractor's recommendation at face value – visit different distributors, and find out if there are cheaper options on aircon prices in Singapore.

Also remember that not every contractors are equally fair – some might want to recommend a brandname for which they receive a higher commission.

# 2 Match The BTU Rating Towards the Room Size

Air conditioners come with a British Thermal Unit (BTU) rating. The greater the size of the area, the larger the BTU from the air-conditioner ought to be.

Small rooms (150 sq ft or below) will need one with around 6,000 BTUs. This is generally appropriate for a single bedroom. For bigger rooms (up to 350 sq ft), you will need a unit with around 9,000 BTUs. This is typical for most living spaces.

Very large rooms (500 square feet or over) will require something between 10,000 to 15,000 BTUs.

If you utilize a strong air-conditioner in a tiny room (e.g. 14,000 BTUs for a 150 sq . ft . bedroom), it will cool the area much faster. But the temperature will fall considerably faster than the humidity levels, causing the walls to feel damp, also it can damage wallpaper or warp wooden floors with time.

If you utilize an underpowered air-conditioner, you will run up higher bills by having to set the air-conditioner on full power, for a longer period. You will also wear out the unit faster.

If you want to install ac in a kitchen, increase the required BTU by 4,000. Note that it's not better to install air conditioning inside a kitchen – this will trap smells, and the unit will need more constant servicing.

Of course, the higher the BTU the greater expensive the unit tends to be. So match the BTU of the unit towards the size of room, in order to save cost on air conditioning prices.

# 3 Think before Using Silenced Units For Large Rooms

Some air-conditioners are more expensive since you don't hear the signature “drone” when it's switched on.

This is just a feature worth spending money on if you're air-conditioning a small bedroom. For master bedrooms (200 sq ft or more) or living rooms, the silent running is irrelevant. In large spaces, you will probably not notice the sound anyway.

# 4 Suit your Usage Right Energy Efficiency

The air-conditioner's Energy Efficiency Rating (EER) measures how efficiently it uses electricity. The base number is 10 – this is a legal requirement.

For every point above 10, the power cost will be about 10 % lower over a month of usage. This translates to lower electricity bills, but normally a higher initial cost. Is it worth the trade-off?

That depends upon how frequently you apply the air-conditioner.

If you simply switch on the air-conditioner 2 or 3 times a week, you are not likely to see much savings from the higher EER. You may be in a position to save on cost by getting a cheaper, less efficient unit.

If you apply the air-conditioner every evening however, you will probably save more by having an efficient unit in the long run.

Alternatively, you might want a greater EER to become more eco-friendly.

# 5 Have an Guarantee For Bedroom Units

If you'll use the environment conditioner every night, it's wise to purchase the guarantee. This normally costs under S$200. A leaking air-conditioner can cost you almost that much to fix anyway, and a damaged compressor can run up costs of around S$600.

You may want to skip extended warranties on family room units if you are using them less often (and can live without them if they spoil).

Note the warranty is almost always in the seller, not the manufacturer. Therefore if the seller closes shop, you might be left within the lurch. Get extended warranties only from proven companies.

# 6 Use The Right Credit Card To purchase Aircon units

Buying an aircon unit costs several thousand dollars at least, so make use of the right cashback or rewards credit card to earn cashback, rewards or air miles.

Just make sure to pay in full, or else you cannot claim rewards or cashback if your account is within bad standing. You will also end up accumulating interest on unpaid balances in your card.

# 7 Make use of the Right Charge card To Pay Aircon Bills

The OCBC 365 card offers 3% rebate on power bills from providers for example Senoko Energy, Sembcorp Power and Keppel Electric. You will need to spend no less than S$800 monthly in your card to qualify, otherwise cashback rate falls to 0.3%.

Note that the rebate is capped at $80 a month but that still means a hefty savings of S$960/year. Besides monthly bills, you can also earn rebates of 6% on dining and online delivery, 3% on telco bills, grocery shopping and online groceries and 5% on fuel.

The POSB Everyday Card earn you 1% rebate on recurring utilities bills in the SP Group and Starhub. The large plus about this card is that there is no minimum monthly spend required so you don't need to worry you can't satisfy the target spend. But take note no cash rebates will awarded past the maximum spend of $100 monthly.

SingSaver is really a personal finance comparison platform which supplies free, quick and readily available resources to assist consumers understand personal finance products in Singapore; including credit cards, personal loans and travel insurance. SingSaver is committed to helping users find the correct financial product with easy-to-use self-serve comparison tools.

End-Of-Year SingSaver Charge card Promotion Till 30 November 2021

If you are looking to subscribe to credit cards for your end-of-year shopping trips or overseas holidays, SingSaver has a wide range of cards that you could select from. From now till 30 November 2021, should you obtain a charge card through SingSaver, you can receive additional reward for each successful application.

You can pick credits cards from American Express, UOB, Citibank and many others. Do note, you must apply for your credit card(s) and finish your redemption form to qualify for the additional rewards.

American Express

For every successful American Express credit card register, you will receive$150 in cash from SingSaver. These are the eligible American Express cards. Click the link below to register through SingSaver.

1. American Express Singapore Airline Krisflyer Card ($150 cash voucher)
2. American Express True Cashback Card ($150 cash voucher)
3. American Express Krisflyer Ascend Card ($150 cash voucher)
4. American Express Capitacard ($100 cash voucher)

UOB

For every successful UOB charge card sign up, you will receive $50 in cash from SingSaver. These would be the eligible UOB cards.Click the link below to sign up through SingSaver.

1. UOB One Card ($50 cash voucher)
2. UOB YOLO ($50 cash voucher)
3. UOB Delight Charge card ($50 cash voucher)
4. UOB PRVI Miles Card ($50 cash voucher)

For every successful Citibank Card sign up (New Citi Customers Only), you'll receive $200 in NTUC, Takashimaya or Grab Voucher from SingSaver. For existing customers, you will get $50 in NTUC Voucher.

Citibank

These are the eligible Citibank cards. You can click on the link below to sign up through SingSaver.

1. Citi Cashback
2. Citi PremierMiles
3. Citi Reward
4. Citi SMRT Card

For the entire listing of charge cards promotion including cards offered by HSBC, OCBC and Standard Chartered, you should check out the SingSaver website.

The above rewards are a SingSaver exclusive deal and also you must make an application for prepaid credit cards through SingSaver AND complete the redemption form in order to qualify for them. Promotion ends 30 November 2021. Terms and conditions apply.

Please refer to the graphics below on the steps required to make an application for your credit and to redeem your promotion.