It starts at home - reducing carbon emissions through energy-efficient products

PUTRAJAYA: Households remain one of the biggest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, contributing more than 70 per cent of the global total.

This is through the use of home appliances that consume high amounts of energy, including air conditioners, washing machines and refrigerators.

Hence, Datuk Hamzah Hussin, CEO of the Sustainable Energy Development Authority (SEDA) Malaysia said energy-efficient appliances were essential to reduce one’s carbon footprint.

“Energy-efficient appliances consume less energy throughout their service lives without sacrificing quality and are a great way to save on your energy expenditures,” he told Astro AWANI.

He noted that the government first introduced the Sustainability Achieved Via Energy Efficiency (SAVE) program in 2011 to promote the purchase of energy-efficient appliances.

The program, he said, has since received an overwhelming response from the public.

The most recent program, SAVE 3.0, granted a maximum of RM400 e-rebates to domestic households that purchase energy-efficiency appliances. It concluded in December 2022.

“More than RM35 million worth of e-rebates have been successfully redeemed (through SAVE 3.0), benefitting more than 180,000 households.

“This has contributed to reducing 76,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions,” said Hamzah.

He added that SEDA Malaysia would continue to promote the purchase and use of energy-efficient appliances with four- or five-star energy efficient labels issued by the Energy Commission that are readily available in the market.