NOT COLD ENOUGH

A common complaint from residents CNA spoke to was that the cooling system’s airflow was not as cold as conventional air-conditioning. 

Plantation Grange flat owner Manny said the cooling system was not the “usual cold”. 

“It’s cool. It’s definitely better than if you don’t turn it on, but it is not as cold as normal temperatures in air-conditioning.” 

He said he turned the temperature down to 16 degrees Celsius, but felt that this was comparable to temperatures of between 23 and 24 degrees Celsius with conventional air-conditioning.

The 34-year-old Ms Lim said that even at 16 degrees Celsius, with turbo mode and full fan speed, the cooling system felt more like a fan. 

Since collecting her keys on Aug 29, Ms Lim has switched on the cooling system at least five times for at least half an hour each time.

The system has a cooling capacity of 9,000 British Thermal Units (BTU) – the standard measure for cooling capacity for air-conditioning. 

“To be honest, I’m not sure (if) it’s a defect or it’s really meant to be like that, because it’s not conventional air-conditioning … but I do know that my current air-con at my parents’ place is 10,000 BTU and it’s so cold.

“It’s so far away from what I’m experiencing.”

Others said they were satisfied with the coldness, or that their system cooled down eventually. 

Ms Nurul Atiqah, who is helping her fiance with his Plantation Grange flat renovations, said she encountered the same airflow problem when she first used the cooling system weeks ago. 

SP Group staff advised the 33-year-old finance executive to close all the doors and windows in the flat when using the cooling system. The airflow became colder over the next few weeks. 

Nurse manager Mary Ann, 47, who tried the system just once in her Plantation Acres flat, likened it to a fan but said she was fine with it. She was told that it would take about two weeks for the system to get colder. 

A home maker who wanted to be known as Ms Tan said that the airflow from the cooling unit in her bedroom was colder than the living room’s, possibly because the latter area was larger.

“So far the few times I was there before renovation, I felt the (cooling system) was doing well for mine and I could even nap in the house. I could spend hours there because it was cold in the house and outside was very hot and dusty,” the 37-year-old said.