Your $400 Climate Vouchers: What They Cover, and What They Don't

What the Climate Vouchers actually are

The Climate Friendly Households Programme, run by NEA and PUB, gives households money off energy- and water-efficient appliances. It started at $300 per HDB household, and from 15 April 2025 an extra $100 was added, bringing the total to $400. That same expansion extended eligibility to Singapore Citizen households in private residential properties for the first time.

You can use both sets in a single transaction, so the full $400 can go toward one qualifying purchase.

Who qualifies

One set per household, and one household member claims on behalf of everyone.

The address rule that catches resale buyers

This is the part most people miss. The voucher belongs to the address, not to you. If you've just bought a resale HDB flat and the previous owner claimed the vouchers for that unit, you can't claim again for the same address during this programme period.

If you've recently moved, claim under your new address once you've updated your registered residence. And before planning any purchase around the $400, log in and check the actual balance, if it reads $0 and you're in a resale flat, that's almost certainly why.

What you can buy

Eligible categories include air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, ceiling fans, DC fans, and water-efficient shower fittings. The catch: the specific model must appear on NEA's Eligible Products list, generally the higher tick-rating models. A 3-tick unit that looks similar to a 5-tick one on the shop floor may not qualify.

Over 150 participating retailers across 500+ outlets accept them.

What the voucher does not cover

Worth being clear about, because it's where budgets go wrong:

• Installation. The voucher offsets the unit price at the retailer. Fitting is a separate professional service you pay for yourself.

• Delivery and old-appliance disposal, though some retailers include free disposal at point of purchase, worth confirming before you buy.

• Cash conversion. No cashback, no store credit, no transfers. Selling or exchanging vouchers can get them voided.

The gap this leaves, and what to do about it

A full aircon system replacement for a typical 4-room flat runs roughly $2,300 to $4,500 installed. The voucher takes $400 off the unit cost. That's genuinely useful, but it means somewhere between $1,900 and $4,100 is still yours to cover, and the installation portion isn't voucher-eligible at all.

For a planned upgrade, that's a budgeting question. For a unit that's failed unexpectedly in a resale flat where the previous owner already used the voucher, it's a cash-flow problem arriving at short notice. If that's where you are, comparing personal loan options before committing is worth the ten minutes, particularly against putting it on a credit card.

The difference is larger than most people expect. Interest of about 27.8% p.a. runs on a carried card balance, so on S$5,000 repaid over 12 months the card costs about S$784 in interest, against about S$52 to S$244 on a fixed-term personal loan at rates from about 1.9% EIR up to Lendela's 8.88% maximum APR, subject to approval and your personalised rate. The workings are in What Does a S$5,000 Trip Really Cost on a Credit Card? (And When a Loan Costs Less).

Lendela is a loan matching platform: one application is matched with 70+ licensed loan providers, half of applicants see their first offer in about four minutes, and checking does not affect your credit score. See what you could be matched with →

Read next: The aircon overhaul nobody warns you about when buying a resale flat

If you think you should be eligible but aren't showing as such

Submit an appeal at go.gov.sg/cv-appeals for NEA to review your case.

FAQ

Can I use the $300 and $100 vouchers in the same purchase?
Yes. Both sets can be combined to offset up to $400 in a single transaction.

When do Climate Vouchers expire?
Both sets expire 31 December 2027.

I bought a resale flat. Why is my balance $0?
The voucher is tied to the address, not the person. If the previous owner claimed it for that unit, it can't be claimed again for the same address this programme period.

Does the voucher cover aircon installation?
No. It offsets the price of the unit at a participating retailer. Installation is a separate service you pay for separately.

Can I convert Climate Vouchers to cash?
No. They can't be converted to cash, store credit, or cashback, and they can't be sold or transferred.

Sources: NEA / Climate Friendly Households Programme (climate-friendly-households.gov.sg), go.gov.sg/climatevouchers