1,000 households opt in for Tengah's cool new feature

Salesman Lim Kwok Mun and his wife Susan Lee checking out the air-conditioning system at the MyTengah Experience Centre at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh yesterday. From today, future residents and members of the public can visit the centre to learn more about
Salesman Lim Kwok Mun and his wife Susan Lee checking out the air-conditioning system at the MyTengah Experience Centre at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh yesterday. From today, future residents and members of the public can visit the centre to learn more about Tengah's eco-friendly solutions. ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG

Nearly 1,000 households have signed up for the centralised cooling system (CCS) in the upcoming "forest town" of Tengah, where some 8,000 Build-To-Order (BTO) flats have been launched so far.

Home owners who opt for the energy-efficient system will save around 15 per cent to 20 per cent in upfront costs compared with current market rates, and up to 30 per cent in life cycle costs, energy utilities provider SP Group, which runs the system in Tengah, said yesterday.

The CCS is one of many smart features that will be implemented in Tengah, which is billed as a "smart energy" town powered by artificial intelligence.

Under the CCS, chilled water will be piped to homes from centralised chillers installed on the rooftops of selected Housing Board blocks. This is more energy-efficient compared with conventional air-conditioning systems, said SP Group.

The system will be powered by solar energy generated by vertical and horizontal solar panels on the rooftops of HDB blocks.

Residents can also monitor and control their home energy usage via the MyTengah app, which will be run by SP Group.

They will be able to locate electric vehicle charging points via the app as well, and accumulate points by participating in sustainable activities that can be exchanged for rewards.

A digital dashboard will be installed at the lift lobby of each housing block, which tracks the block's utilities consumption and impact on the environment.

These eco-boards will also provide residents with tips on how to reduce electrical and water consumption, on top of promoting "sustainable behaviour through utilities-savings competitions between blocks", said SP Group.

From today, future residents and members of the public can visit the new MyTengah Experience Centre at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh Central to learn more about the CCS and other eco-friendly solutions that will be implemented in Tengah.

Visitors will be able to see the set-up of the air-conditioning system in a home setting and learn how the system operates through various interactive displays.

Advance booking is recommended, although walk-ins are allowed, subject to capacity limits.

The 97 sq m experience centre can take around 16 visitors at any one time.

Mr S Harsha, managing director of sustainable energy solutions in Singapore for SP Group, said that Tengah will be the first town in Singapore to have a large-scale centralised cooling system, in line with national sustainability efforts. There are plans to provide predictive air-conditioning maintenance services for home owners using the data collected, he said.

"This is part of the end-to-end service SP Group hopes to provide, on top of the regular maintenance of the centralised chillers," he added.

Around 98 per cent of the households that were introduced to the CCS by staff from SP Group opted in, although Mr S Harsha noted that they were not able to contact all 8,000 households due to rules during the circuit breaker period and in-person restrictions put in place because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Payment will be made only on the day home owners collect the keys to their new homes, with air-conditioning units by Daikin pre-installed in their homes, said SP Group.

The group declined to reveal the exact cost of the CCS.

When completed, Tengah could comprise around 30,000 public housing units and 12,000 private ones.

Salesman Lim Kwok Mun, 71, and his wife Susan Lee, 68, a housewife, were drawn to the greenery in Tengah and decided to apply for a three-room BTO flat in Plantation district last year.

Said Mr Lim: "The idea of a centralised cooling system is very cool; it's like a hotel where you go in and everything is managed for you.

"We are quite adventurous and want to keep up with technology, so we want to make our retirement home a smart home."

Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.

A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 20, 2020, with the headline 1,000 households opt in for Tengah's cool new feature. Subscribe