'Non-stop leaking': Some Tengah residents still facing issues with centralised cooling system

Last December, a Tengah resident returned home from abroad to discover puddles of water on the floor, as well as water stains on the walls of her new flat.

The leaks in her home at Plantation Grange were caused by a fault with the insulator in the centralised cooling system, she was told. 

Two months later, it appears that some residents in the estate are still grappling with similar issues.

In a Lianhe Zaobao report on Monday (Feb 19), homeowner Mitchell Ee said that staff from the Building Service Centre notified her of a leak in the centralised cooling system in her home on Feb 13.

The leak cumulated in a large puddle of water on her bedroom floor, recounted the 30-year-old woman.

Ee immediately contacted SP Group, which manages the system in Tengah town, and headed down to the flat the following day. She discovered that water from the leak had seeped into the walls and stained her flooring.

"It was leaking non-stop. It only stopped when we turned off the control valve of the centralised cooling system," she said.

"Workers from SP Group also came for an inspection, but stopped when I informed them that I wanted to terminate the contract."

The homeowner added that she paid nearly $5,000 for the cooling system and a four-year warranty.

Speaking to CNA, Ee added that the system is like "a ticking time bomb".

"We don't even turn on the system and it causes leakage in the piping and flooding in my bedroom.

"So say for example, if you go overseas and travel for maybe two weeks or something, what if we come back and we see our whole unit flooded?" she questioned.

The resident plans to stick to conventional air conditioners for now.

Another Tengah resident, who only wanted to be known as Jay, found that condensation from the centralised cooling system had ruined the plaster and stained the walls of his flat in Plantation Village.

It took about two months for the damage to be rectified to his satisfaction, CNA reported.

The 36-year-old decided not to remove the centralised cooling system because he "wanted to give them a chance to do something about it".

"From the start, they failed to provide a workable air-con system to me. That is the bare minimum they need to provide," he told CNA.

Following this incident, Jay has decided to not to box up the pipes and trunking of the cooling system.

If issues arise again in the next two to three years, the homeowner said he will likely remove the system.

Situation stabilising: SP Group

The initial batch of condensation issues was related to workmanship and was due to a "compressed timeline" to install the fan coil units, piping and trunking, as well as to fully test and stabilise the system, SP Group said in a statement to media outlets on Monday.

The utility company said it has worked with the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and Daikin to "identify and expeditiously resolve the reported issues".

"To minimise inconvenience for [centralised cooling system] customers, we aim to resolve all issues reported by customers, within 10 business days from the day of the initial inspection," said a spokesperson from SP Group.

As of Feb 12, the centralised cooling system has over 9,000 subscribers, which form about 70 per cent of Tengah build-to-order flat homeowners, CNA reported. Nearly 2,600 subscribers have collected their keys.

"Perceptions that the issues with the centralised cooling system at Tengah are large scale and widespread were coloured by the initial wave of feedback from customers who moved in during the compressed timeline," SP Group said.

"These are teething issues that have surfaced for a new town like Tengah. After proactively implementing our additional testing, commissioning works and quality assurance measures, we have observed the situation stabilising."

About 80 remaining cases are being resolved, said the spokesperson.

"With the experience gained from the past few months, improvements made to our installation, testing and quality assurances processes, as well as the improved flat delivery schedule going forward, we will work towards reducing such feedback cases in the months ahead."

Condensation issues were not unique to the centralised cooling system and are a "recognised occurrence in air-conditioning systems", SP Group added.

According to the Ministry of National Development's written parliamentary answer in January, between 2018 and 2022, HDB received an average of 715 cases of feedback per year on condensation in conventional air-conditioning.

ALSO READ: Some Tengah residents frustrated centralised cooling system not yet installed even after collecting keys to flats

lim.kewei@asiaone.com