Facing the heat at home: How vulnerable households are getting some cool help

When the heat becomes unbearable at home, 76-year-old retiree Abdul Razak struggles to sleep, even with his fan turned on.

“I have to open all of my windows, drink lots of water, take showers; and if nothing works, I leave my flat and head downstairs,” he says.

For Abdul Razak, who has diabetes and uses a wheelchair, coping with the heat adds another challenge to daily life. So he usually leaves home before 10am and comes back at night to avoid spending afternoons indoors.

Facing a similar situation is Ta Gamas, 80, who also copes with the heat by taking frequent showers or switching on her only standing fan.

And for Wong Hoi, 80, and his wife Chang Nguk Lan, 73, the kitchen and toilet are particularly warm because their fan does not reach these areas. 

For these elderly residents who live in rental units at Punggol North, keeping cool is not as simple as pressing a button to turn on the air-conditioning.

An invisible stressor

While hot days and warm nights are part of life in tropical Singapore, some residents are more vulnerable to heat than others.

Lim Weili, general manager of Capital Distributors, KDK’s exclusive distributor here, says: “As Singapore gets hotter, managing heat becomes increasingly important as it can affect health, comfort and general well-being. This is especially so for vulnerable groups such as seniors.”

He adds: “Many seniors may have underlying health conditions that increase their sensitivity to heat, so creating a cooler, more comfortable living environment is critical for them.”

Recognising this, Capital Distributors marks 30 years as KDK’s exclusive distributor in Singapore to look more broadly at how airflow, ventilation and other factors affect comfort at home. 

To better understand the living conditions and comfort needs of residents, it is working alongside consultancy Sustainable Living Lab (SL2), which runs StayCool, a community heat adaptation programme.

Heat stress can also be difficult to recognise, according to Celeste Koh, country manager (Singapore) of SL2. Early signs such as headache, dizziness, or feeling unusually tired can easily be mistaken for everyday discomfort. 

“As we age, the body becomes less efficient at regulating heat, so older adults may not notice or respond to rising temperatures as readily,” says Koh.

She adds that heat varies from place to place, shaped by how densely an area is built up, how much greenery and shade there is, and how much concrete surrounds a block. Concrete holds heat, so walls can still feel warm hours after sunset.

Even within a neighbourhood, and even in the same block, conditions can differ further depending on how much direct sun a unit receives, how air moves through it, and how the space is used. Under HeatAware SG, an earlier SL2 community initiative covering 54 flats, the ‘feels like’ temperature indoors averaged as much as 7 deg C higher than outdoors overnight, a sign that some homes hold heat well after dark, Koh notes.

Tailoring solutions to each home

Capital Distributors and SL2 visited three Punggol North households, identified with support from the Punggol North Citizens’ Consultative Committee Development and Welfare Fund, each bringing its own lens to a shared goal of making homes cooler and more comfortable for the residents.

SL2 looked at how heat builds up in each home and how residents experience it, drawing on residents’ accounts of daily life at home, with sensors installed to track conditions over time. Capital Distributors’ specialists examined layout, airflow and ventilation, then matched a combination of indoor air quality products tailored to what each home needed.

Each household received a DC motor ceiling fan in the living room, while ventilation fans were installed in the toilets to help reduce humidity and improve airflow. Other solutions were also implemented, such as table fans, wall fans and a water heater, one of KDK’s latest products.

“We hope this initiative will bring greater comfort to the participating households and make a meaningful yet impactful difference to their daily lives,” says Lim. The residents say they have already noticed a difference.

“My home is not as warm as last time and I perspire a lot less,” says Ta. Abdul Razak agrees: “My home is more comfortable, better than before.” And Wong and Chang say they now shower twice a day, instead of repeatedly doing so to cool down.