Keppel to operate centralised cooling system for another 9 Tengah BTO projects
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The company's 20-year contract will cover about 10,000 households in Tengah’s upcoming Brickland (pictured), Park and Forest Hill districts.
PHOTO: HDB
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SINGAPORE – Nine more Build-To-Order (BTO) projects in Tengah will have their centralised cooling systems built and operated by global asset manager Keppel.
The company’s 20-year contract will cover about 10,000 households in Tengah’s upcoming Brickland, Park and Forest Hill districts, said the Housing Board and Keppel in a joint statement on April 16.
This comes after Keppel was awarded a contract to manage cooling systems in three BTO projects in September 2024. These projects are still under construction.
In all, 14,000 households will have access to the centralised cooling system managed by Keppel, the statement said.
Buyers of HDB flats in Tengah have the option of subscribing to centralised cooling. Such systems use chilled water piped to homes from centralised chillers, without the need for individual condensers.
This method, which uses up to 30 per cent less energy, has been touted as a more energy-efficient cooling solution compared with conventional air-conditioning.
Utilities company SP Group, which was awarded the first centralised cooling system contract in Tengah, handles the system in 18 BTO projects. But its roll-out in August 2023 – implemented in collaboration with manufacturer Daikin – was marked by reports of condensation and leaks.
The company attributed these issues to compressed timelines because of Covid-19 pandemic construction delays. In February 2024, SP said it had more than 9,000 subscribers to the cooling system, down from 10,600 in November 2023.
In the April 16 statement, Mr Poh Tiong Keng, executive director of energy-as-a-service at Keppel, said home owners who subscribe to its service will benefit from a “proven, modern system designed for long-term reliability and efficiency”.
The company added that it will incorporate engineering and design features to improve performance and better integrate the system within homes.
“Within the flats, the design and placement of chilled water pipes will be optimised, taking into account interior aesthetics where feasible and giving residents flexibility in planning their home layout,” HDB and Keppel said.
It added that the cooling systems will be connected to Keppel’s operations nerve centre in Changi, where workers can control the systems remotely and monitor performance in real time.
Keppel has previously been awarded contracts for cooling projects in western Singapore, such as district cooling for the Jurong Innovation District and Jurong Lake District.
Home owners can visit Keppel’s studio at HDB Hub in Toa Payoh to learn more about the cooling systems. They can also see Keppel’s cooling system design in a mock-up of a home unit.
