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For one resident in Sengkang, just a single air-conditioner unit per room is not enough.

"There are five air-conditioners in the living room, two in the master bedroom, and one each in the remaining two rooms", the resident, who is only known by his surname Huang (hanyu pinyin), shared with Shin Min Daily News.

Huang, a 63-year-old retiree, resides in a rented four-room flat in Block 258A along Compassvale Road.

Whenever he is at home, he switches on all nine air-conditioners at the same time and blasts them at 18^oC. He explained that he does so as the weather is hot.

When the Shin Min reporter visited the unit, Huang attended to them while dressed in six to seven layers of clothing. The cold could apparently be felt from the corridor outside the unit.

Keeping cool to improve immunity

While this may sound ridiculous, Huang's penchant for low temperatures amid the sweltering heat in Singapore appears to be for health reasons.

In 2021, he was diagnosed with end-stage liver cancer, Huang told Shin Min.

He told reporters that being comfortable helps with improving immunity.

"I am actually afraid of the cold too, but for the sake of being comfortable, I have no choice but to turn on the air-conditioners and layer up", Huang opined.

Huang had sold his home to fund his cancer treatment, and rented the Sengkang unit only a few months ago.

He spent S$10,300 to have the air-conditioners installed, Shin Min wrote.

His utilities bill in July cost around S$350, which he said is significantly lower than his past bills of "over S$1,000", Huang revealed.

Condensation in unit above

His neighbour in the unit above him, Liu, 57, and his family are not warm to Huang's approach to his health.

Each day after Huang's air-conditioners are turned on, the floor in Liu's home gets so cold that water condenses on the floor tiles.

"We have to mop the floor three times a day", Liu complained to Shin Min reporters.

In one instance, Liu almost fell on the wet floor.

Since the issue arose two months ago, the Liu family also had to deal with mould growth on walls and the possibility of their floor tiles cracking.

"It's a headache", Liu lamented.

Agreement reached by both parties

To try to mediate the problem, Liu had met with Huang and also approached the authorities for help, though to no avail.

On Aug. 21, the parties had reportedly arrived at an agreement, according to Shin Min.

Under the agreement, Huang will reduce the length of time when all air-conditioners are switched on.

He also agreed to only use the two air-conditioners in the master bedroom when he goes to bed at night.

"I've accepted the proposal, but it remains to be seen if this solves the problem or not", Liu told Shin Min.

"For the air-conditioners in the living room, I can switch them off when I'm not there. However, for the master bedroom, I have no choice", Huang shared.

If the agreement falls through, Huang expressed that he will move out.

HDB guidelines on air-conditioners

According to the HDB website, permits for air-conditioner installation may be required for some types of flat, depending on whether the flat has been equipped with a 30 or 40 amps main switch.

A check on the HDB e-service revealed Huang's block belongs to the latter type.

For flats equipped with the 40 amps main switch, permits are not required for installation and only these guidelines apply:

• The running current of air-conditioner should be restricted by a 20 amps double pole (DP) isolator or 15 amps power point
• A maximum of 2 split-type air-conditioner condensing units can be installed
• The maximum weight allowed is 110kg per wall panel regardless of whether the installation is on the external wall or air-conditioner ledge
• For wall mounted air-conditioner condensing units, each wall panel is allowed to have only 1 air-conditioner condensing unit

HDB also stipulates that owners are responsible for the proper installation, safety, and stability of the air-conditioner units.

There does not seem to be any restrictions on the number of air-conditioner units allowed in a HDB flat.

Top image via Shin Min Daily News