Singapore, often described as an “air-conditioned nation,” is experimenting with alternatives to conventional cooling as demand for air conditioning continues to grow. Around 99% of private residences are equipped with air-conditioning units, giving the city-state Southeast Asia’s highest per-capita ownership rate, according to the available data.
Buildings account for one-fifth of Singapore’s emissions, while cooling represents between 40% and 60% of a building’s energy consumption. The impact is visible along Orchard Road, where cool air escapes into the street whenever shop doors open despite daytime temperatures that remain between 31 and 33 degrees Celsius throughout the year.
Conventional air conditioning can also intensify heat in the surrounding environment because compressor units release hot air outdoors. The electricity used to run them may contribute to climate change when it is generated from fossil fuels.
One alternative being used in Singapore is active chilled beams. These ceiling-mounted panels contain cooling coils supplied with water chilled to 9 degrees Celsius. Air is pushed through nozzles in the beams, creating a low-pressure area that draws warmer room air over the coils before it is recirculated.
At the eight-storey Paya Lebar Green building, the system maintains offices at about 24 degrees Celsius. The building’s designers, DP Architects, say it has reduced energy use by more than 30% compared with conventional air conditioning. The system is also quieter, and office workers interviewed by AFP said its operation was difficult to distinguish from standard cooling.
A maintenance building operated by Singapore’s ports authority at Tuas harbor uses passive displacement cooling. Ceiling coils cool the air, which sinks and then rises naturally as it warms, creating a continuous circulation that reduces the need for mechanical fans, energy and noise.
Other approaches include radiant cooling, in which water chilled to between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius runs through pipes or panels to absorb heat from people and objects. Hybrid cooling is currently the most common alternative: air conditioning is set to between 25.5 and 27 degrees Celsius and combined with fans.
The Singapore government identified alternative cooling technologies as a key strategy in a 2024 study, which found that they could reduce energy use by up to 48%. By mid-2026, at least 33 public buildings and 14 private buildings had adopted such systems. Singapore aims to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Alternative systems generally cost more to install than conventional air conditioning, although their supporters say lower operating costs and energy savings can offset the initial investment. Wider adoption may also require users to accept warmer indoor temperatures than those associated with traditional air-conditioned offices.
Cooling specialist Wan Man Pun of Nanyang Technological University said these technologies could eventually incorporate predictive controls that adjust temperatures before rooms become too hot or cold. However, he noted that no alternative currently has a higher efficiency, measured by the coefficient of performance, than vapor-compression air conditioning.
Sources: Phys.org.