Have you received your October’s GST Voucher – U-Save already? Due to the pandemic, the government doubled the amount of GSTV – U-Save for 2020. That additional GSTV was last disbursed in July, and truth be told, Mr Salty has not finished it in Oct. In fact, factoring the regular GSTV, he estimates that he would only need to fork out cash to pay for his utilities bills in Sep next year!
Since the onset of the pandemic and the start of Circuit Breaker, Mr Salty has been trying to control his utilities usage, so that he GST Voucher – U-Save can last longer. In fact, according to SP, he had been faring better than average when it comes to using electricity and water. He is wondering, now that WFH is easing, whether he can save on his bills even further, and perhaps only pay for his bills in Dec 2021!
What is GST Voucher (STV) – U-Save?
Before we dive into the details, let’s get the obvious out of the way for those of you who are confused.
GST Voucher (GSTV) is a scheme to help lower income Singaporeans to manage the cost of living in Singapore. It comes in 2 components, Cash, Medisave and U-Save. The first is for low income Singaporeans to meet immediate needs, while the second one is for Singaporeans aged 65 years and above.
U-Save is the only component that benefits many Singaporeans, as it targets both low and middle income Singaporeans. If you have been paying attention to your utilities bills, you will notice that GSTV U-Save is disbursed every Jan, Apr, Jul and Oct. In fact, it has been reimbursing our monthly bills since 2012!
GSTV – U-Save Special Payment For 2020
In view of the economic impact of the pandemic, the government announced in Budget 2020 that there will be additional GSTV U-Save disbursed for 2020. The special payment will be disbursed in 2 tranches in Apr and Jul. All in all, Singaporean households will receive double the usual amount they received in the previous years, for 2020.
The summary of the disbursement and the eligible household can be found in the table below.
| HDB Flat Type | Apr 2020 | Jul 2020 | Oct 2020 | Jan 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1- and 2-room | $100 + $200 | $100 + $200 | $100 | $100 |
| 3-room | $90 + $180 | $90 + $180 | $90 | $90 |
| 4-room | $80 + $160 | $80 + $160 | $80 | $80 |
| 5-room | $70 + $140 | $70 + $140 | $70 | $70 |
| Executive /Multi-Generation | $60 + $120 | $60 + $120 | $60 | $60 |
Previously, the quarterly disbursement of GSTV U-Save could only last Mr Salty at most 1.5 months. However, with the additional payments in Apr and Jul, he had not been paying his bills since Apr!
That being said, the purpose of this post is to share some of the tips that Mr Salty practised in the past half a year to cut his electricity and water usage. Since Mr Salty could not find a job due to the pandemic, he has to dig his brain to make sure the GSTV U-Save lasts as long as possible.
How to Save On Electricity
Managing Air Conditioner Usage
The single greatest use of electricity in most homes has got to be the air conditioner. Usually, Mr Salty sets his thermostat to 25C. However, in his drive to save electricity usage, he had upped the temperature to 26C. According to Energy Efficient Singapore, every degree raised, we will save about $15 a year on electricity. And since they based it on a single tick air conditioner, Mr Salty’s 5-ticks air conditioner should help him save even more a year!
Although stuck at home, Mr Salty also regulated the use of his air conditioner. In the mornings when it is cooler, he only used the fan. Even when the air conditioner is turned on, he limits his usage time. For example,if he estimates that he would be in the kitchen cooking meals, he would turn off the air conditioner and only turn it on after he finishes his meal. During that time, he also kept the door closed, so that he wouldn’t be cooling the room from scratch, That was about 1 hour shaved off his air conditioner usage!
Insulating The Rooms
Mr Salty loves online shopping, and he receives plenty of bubble wrap with his purchase. Mr Salty uses these bubble wraps to line his windows, so as to insulate his room further. Reusing the bubble wraps will also do well for the environment.
This was also on top of the black out curtains that Mr Salty installed when renovating his house. If you can understand that sunlight = heat, blocking out sunlight means less heat will enter the room, which will increase the efficiency of the air conditioning!
Using LED Lights
Thankfully, Mr Salty installed LED lights in his house during renovation. LED bulbs use 85% less energy than the incandescent light bulbs, helping us save about $15 a year. Also luckily, Mr Salty is someone who hates light (err… No, Mr Salty is not a vampire, but he behaves like one. He likes to suck… everything dry to get his money’s worth.) So he is fine with the lights off when he watches TV or uses the computer.
Turn Off Unused Electrical Devices
This is something that Mr Salty had to try very hard to get into habit. He tends to leave his computer on or his mobile phones charging overnight. However, there’s no need to leave electrical devices on or charging all the time. So he needs to make a conscious effort to unplug his devices or turn off the switch to prevent charging during non-usage.
Side Note: To Unplug Or Not To Unplug?
A mobile phone plugged to the socket will continue to charge every time the battery drops from 100%, hence it is best to unplug it from the power socket. It would also help prolong the battery life.
However, we may hear people say that we should unplug computers (desktop) and electrical appliances from the power socket when not in use. They say that even though we turn off the power at the socket, electricity is still “leaking” from the power grid.
They say that from the perspective of saving energy usage. Even though the leakage is insignificant per device, when we consider the leakage as a nation (or even the world), that could be significant. That means fuel unnecessarily burnt to power that leakage. From an environmental viewpoint, electricity leakage is bad.
However, electricity leakage is the same as a dripping faucet. Both cost wastage, but both don’t cause the meter to “jump”. In other words, Mr Salty won’t be paying more for his electricity bill just because his electrical appliances are “leaking” electricity. Therefore, in the context of this post, Mr Salty won’t be suggesting unplugging non-battery operated devices from the socket.
Switching To Retail Providers Under The Open Electricity Market
Mr Salty had written a post about the Open Electricity Market. By finding a retail power provider that offers a plan that suits your usage (for example, you like to do laundry or play computer games at night, there’s a plan that charges less for electricity used at night), it is possible to save on your monthly electricity bill.
However, the most immediate savings come when you switch from your existing electricity provider. Many providers are offering promotions to attract people to use their services, and the sign on benefits can range from cash backs to NTUC/credit card point. Just last week, Mr Salty received a promotion mailer in his inbox that offered similar sign on bonus! Too bad, Mr Salty’s electricity plan is still in force.
When Mr Salty’s plan expires in 2021, he is going to go shopping and look for a deal to maximize his utilities savings.
Water Heater
Mr Salty uses a storage tank for his water heater. He found out that after his shower at night, the water remained warm when he took the shower in the morning. In fact, that heated water could last as long as 12 hours!
Therefore, Mr Salty usually only turns on the water heater once a day for 15 minutes, which would be enough for his twice daily showers. For this, he could save about $110 a year on electricity!
Of course, if we’re working from home, we also have the flexibility to take our morning showers nearer to noon. The water would be naturally heated up by the sun, so there’s also no need to turn on the water heater.
Save Water
Speaking about a water heater, it will be right that we talk about saving water. Some people may not be aware, but there is a significant number of people who left their shower tap on when they’re soaping their bodies!
Gosh!
Turn Off The Tap When Soaping Your Body
If you’re one of these people, be informed that turning the water off while soaping yourself will save you both water and electricity. Mr Salty takes a long time to soap himself (he counts to 10 for every area he rubs), so he was already saving buckets before his save water campaign.
Minimize Things To Wash
Water usage didn’t increase until the tap brings water to every household. It is so convenient for us to have water that we just keep using them just because. For example, Mr Salty noticed that when his friends cooked instant noodles, they would cook the noodles in the pot, and then transfer the noodles to a bowl before eating. At the end of the day, they would wask 2 utensils.
However, Mr Salty eats straight from the pot, so he saved both time and water in washing a second utensil. Similarly, when Mr Salty dines at his mother’s home, if he’s the last person to eat, he would not use a fresh bowl. Instead, he would use one of the plates that contains the liao (shared dishes). After all, he would be clearing those dishes, so the food on the plate would still end up in his tummy.
This may sound trivial, but if we consciously cuts down on the stuff we uses, they can add up to a lot!
No Frying or Deep Frying
Basically, Mr Salty only boils, microwaves or steams his food. If he craves for fried food, he would go and dabao or call FoodPanda. The logic is simple. Frying or deep frying causes everywhere in the house to be oily and sticky. Since no such activities took place in Mr Salty’s home, he only needed to mop the floor once every few weeks. There’s also no need to keep wiping the cabinet tops or shelvings too.
Use Blue Tablets In Toilet Cistern
By adding one of those handy tablets into the cistern of your toilet, we would save water and effort to keep cleaning the toilet bowl. Those tablets can be easily found in supermarkets or bought off Lazada or Shoppee.
Consulting PUB Website
PUB lists down many ways for one to save water. They include installing water saving thimbles at your taps to regulate the water, and advice to wash laundry at full load to maximize the washing cycle.
These are simple and effective methods that Mr Salty also practises.
Since water is a precious resource for Singapore, we have been taught these habits since young. However, you can always visit PUB’s website to refresh your knowledge on these water saving tips!
Parting Words
It was great that the government gave special payments for GST Voucher U-Save to help us in this difficult time. That does not mean we can just whack our air conditioners to the max. Through his electricity and water saving efforts, Mr Salty has been more efficient than his neighbours. This was translated to savings in his bills, which prolong the “lifespan” of his GSTV U-Save.
Some of his friends laughed at him for lining his windows with bubble wraps or consciously only turning on his water heater once a day. However, that had translated into real savings. If he manages to keep this up, together with the regular GSTV U-Save, it is possible he will only need to pay his utilities bills from his own pocket in Dec 2021. That’s more than 1 year from now!
In this crisis of our generation, we need to do everything in our control to manage our resources.
Remember, salty is life!