Centralised Cooling System Opt-out Waiver for HDB Home Owners

Mr Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim asked the Minister for National Development (a) whether HDB home owners who decide to cancel the installation of the centralised cooling system pioneered in Tengah can be granted a full waiver of the cancellation and dismantling fees; (b) whether HDB has plans to continue rolling out such a centralised cooling system in future HDB BTO projects or those that are currently being built; and (c) whether such centralised cooling systems have been installed and tested in commercial buildings managed or owned by HDB.

Tengah Town is Singapore's first smart and sustainable town, planned with green and sustainable features and smart technologies. One key initiative is the development of a centralised cooling system (CCS) in Housing and Development Board (HDB) flats, in collaboration with the Singapore Power Group (SP Group). The CCS pilot at Tengah provides HDB home buyers the option to subscribe to a more energy-efficient cooling solution, compared to conventional air-conditioning systems.

The contract between SP Group and residents who have subscribed to the CCS pilot provides for a 30-day cooling-off period, within which residents can terminate the contract without incurring any charges. If residents terminate the contract after the cooling-off period, but before installation of CCS equipment in the unit, they will be charged 35% of the installation charge to reflect the costs incurred in preparation for installation. Once installation is complete, customers will have to pay the full installation charge. In response to feedback received and the initial issues encountered, SP Group has offered to reduce the installation charge by 50% for residents who choose to terminate the contract. For residents facing financial difficulties, SP group will work with them to develop instalment plans for repayment, on a case-by-case basis.

While chilled water-cooling systems have been adopted commercially, the CCS pilot in Tengah is the first time these technologies are deployed at scale within a public housing setting. There are no commercial buildings managed or owned by HDB that are installed with CCS. Given that it is still in the early days of the pilot, HDB will continue to monitor the performance and feedback on CCS, before making a decision on wider-scale implementation of CCS.