Singapore (AFP) – Long nicknamed the "air conditioning nation", Singapore is experimenting with alternative solutions to curb its dependence on air conditioning, which consumes a lot of energy.

Published on: 01/11/2026 - 10:54

The city-state has the highest rate of air conditioners per capita in Southeast Asia (99% of private housing).

The local building sector accounts for a fifth of the country's emissions, and cooling alone absorbs 40 to 60 percent of a building's energy, according to several studies.

At Orchard Road, jets of fresh air flow into the street as residents pass by. But compressors release hot air and the electricity used fuels climate change if it comes from fossil fuels.

Quiet office

To reduce this energy bill, some buildings in Singapore are considering other solutions, including "induction chilled beams", perforated panels equipped with coils and attached to the ceiling.

Water cooled to 9°C circulates there, while air jets suck hot air from the room to cool it before redistributing it.

It is this system that maintains the Paya Lebar Green offices at 24°C. An AFP team was able to notice significantly cooler air and a total absence of the hum of traditional air conditioners.

When human resources specialist Renuga Shekar moved in last November, the 30-year-old and her colleagues initially thought the pipes and exposed ceiling panels gave it a "warehouse look."

"We didn't really pay attention to it. Nobody really commented on it," she told AFP.

It was only a few months later, after noticing how quiet the office was and hearing technicians mention "induction chilled beams" during a maintenance call, that they realized the room was equipped with them.

“We didn't even realize how different this air conditioning system was, because it worked very discreetly, and in terms of temperature it was ideal for everyone in the office,” she added.

This system made it possible to reduce consumption by more than 30% compared to conventional air conditioning, according to DP Architects, the designers of Paya Lebar Green.

The Port Authority of Singapore, located at Tuas Harbor in the city's west, uses a similar system.

“Change of mentality”

Another alternative is passive radiant refrigeration, in which water cooled to between 14 and 18°C ​​circulates through panels to absorb ambient heat.

A 2024 government study identified alternative cooling technologies as a key strategy, estimating that “they could save the city up to 48% on energy.

By mid-2026, at least 33 public buildings and 14 private buildings had adopted these technologies, Singapore's building authorities said, as the city-state set an ambitious target of reaching carbon neutrality by 2050.

These figures remain relatively modest compared to the extent of the widespread use of air conditioning in Singapore.

Proponents of these systems acknowledge that they cost more to install than traditional air conditioning, but say that this difference is largely offset in the long term by much lower operating costs thanks to significant energy savings.

The most popular alternative remains hybrid cooling: this simply involves setting the air conditioning to a higher temperature, between 25.5 and 27°C, and combining it with fans.

“Everyone is more accustomed to air-conditioned offices, for them to suddenly accept a temperature of 26 degrees, I think the change in mentality has not yet reached the threshold where this would be generally accepted,” said Chua Zi Jun, principal at DP Architects.

Traditional air conditioning systems rely on the principle of vapor compression, using refrigerants to transfer heat from one location to another.

Alternative refrigeration technologies use the same basic principle, but either use less energy to distribute cool air or reduce operating time by taking advantage of people's ability to adapt to slightly higher temperatures.

“These technologies are a step in the right direction and should eventually incorporate more sophisticated control systems, including predictive systems that adjust the temperature before rooms become too hot or too cold,” said Wan Man Pun, a cooling technology expert at Nanyang Technological University.

But "we still have not found alternative cooling methods with a coefficient of performance or efficiency greater than that of vapor compression," he stressed.

© 2026 AFP

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