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Singapore is one of the most air-conditioned countries on earth, and the data proving it sits scattered across a dozen government portals, a climate research centre, a utility company and a handful of market research firms. No one has put it in one place. This page does that. Below are 133 verified statistics covering household ownership, electricity costs, the NEA rules that govern what you are allowed to buy and install, Singapore’s warming climate, the Go25 movement, district cooling, indoor air quality and consumer behaviour. Roughly four in five figures come from Singapore government sources. Where a number is global or regional, we label it. Where sources disagree, we show both. Where credible Singapore data does not exist, we say so instead of guessing. Fast facts: the 12 numbers worth quoting 1. Ownership and market size Air-conditioning went from a luxury to a default in one generation. The Household Expenditure Survey, run by the Singapore Department of Statistics, has tracked it since 1973. Note on statistics 22 and 23: the two firms disagree on the base year value and on the growth rate. Both are private estimates with undisclosed methodologies. Treat the direction of travel, steady mid-single-digit growth, as the useful signal rather than the absolute dollar figure. Chart 2 data table Dwelling type 2012/13 2023 HDB 1- and 2-room 13.5% 32.6% HDB 3-room 57.8% 70.4% HDB 4-room 75.9% 82.3% HDB 5-room and Executive 87.9% 89.4% Condominiums and other apartments 98.8% 97.8% Landed properties 97.5% 98.5% 2. Electricity and the cost of running an aircon This is the section most Singaporeans care about, because the tariff moves every quarter and the aircon is the biggest single load in the house. Chart 3 data table (cents per kWh, before GST) Quarter Tariff Quarter Tariff 1Q 2021 20.76 1Q 2024 29.89 2Q 2021 22.55 2Q 2024 29.79 3Q 2021 23.38 3Q 2024 29.88 4Q 2021 24.11 4Q 2024 29.10 1Q 2022 25.44 1Q 2025 28.12 2Q 2022 27.94 2Q 2025 28.12 3Q 2022 30.17 3Q 2025 27.47 4Q 2022 29.74 4Q 2025 27.55 1Q 2023 28.95 1Q 2026 26.71 2Q 2023 27.43 2Q 2026 27.27 3Q 2023 27.74 3Q 2026 31.91 4Q 2023 28.70 Quarters to 2Q 2026 from SingStat [15]. 3Q 2026 from SP Group [4]. 3. Energy efficiency, MEPS and the 5-tick label NEA regulates both the efficiency and the refrigerant of every household air-conditioner sold in Singapore. These are the current numbers. 4. The refrigerant transition: R22, R410A and R32 The switch you see advertised as “R32 aircon” is not marketing. It is a legal requirement driven by global warming potential limits. Chart 5 data table Regulated goods GWP limit In force from Household split air-conditioners (≤17.6 kW) 750 1 October 2022 Household refrigerators (≤900 L) 15 1 October 2022 Water-cooled chillers (≥1,055 kW) 15 1 October 2022 Centralised commercial refrigeration 150 1 July 2027 Car and LGV cabin air-conditioning 150 1 July 2028 5. Climate and heat: why demand keeps rising Singapore is warming faster than the planet as a whole. This is the strongest evidence that cooling demand is structural, not cyclical. Chart 6 data table Year Annual mean (°C) Year Annual mean (°C) 2024 28.4 2015 28.2 2019 28.4 1997 28.2 2016 28.4 2025 28.1 1998 28.3 2010 28.1 2023 28.2 2002 28.1 Chart 7 data table Scenario Very hot days per year Last 40 years (observed) 21.4 SSP1-2.6 low emissions, by 2100 41 to 125 SSP2-4.5 medium emissions, by 2100 103 to 261 SSP5-8.5 high emissions, by 2100 252 to 351 6. Go25 and national cooling policy Go25 is the clearest policy signal Singapore has sent on how households and offices should use air-conditioning. Chart 8 data table Setpoint Reduction in cooling energy use 23°C Baseline 24°C Up to 12% 25°C Up to 24% The 24% figure is the study’s “up to 12% per degree” applied across the full 23°C to 25°C range described in the source. The source states the per-degree figure directly; the cumulative figure is our arithmetic. 7. Green buildings and the cooling standards behind them 8. District cooling and the shift away from individual condensers 9. Regional cooling demand These figures are regional or global. They are included for context and labelled accordingly. 10. Health, indoor air and maintenance Singapore-specific health data on air-conditioning is thin. What exists is below, with gaps flagged honestly. 11. Consumer behaviour FAQ How much of a Singapore electricity bill is the aircon?  Air-conditioning is nearly a quarter of the average household’s energy consumption, and air-conditioner, fridge, lighting, water heater and washing machine together make up about 80% of it. [3][14] What temperature should I set my aircon to in Singapore?  The national Go25 movement asks for 25°C or above. The supporting study found up to 12% less cooling energy used for each degree raised from 23°C to 25°C, with no reported increase in discomfort. [3] Why do all new aircons use R32 instead of R410A?  Because since 1 October 2022 NEA has capped the global warming potential of refrigerants in household split air-conditioners at 750, and R410A sits above that limit. [12] What does a 5-tick aircon mean?  NEA’s label runs from 1 tick (Low) to 5 ticks (Excellent). The annual energy cost shown on the label assumes 27 cents per kWh and 8 hours of use a day. [11] Is Singapore actually getting hotter?  Yes. Mean surface air temperature has risen 0.25°C per decade since 1948, about double the global rate, and 2024 tied 2019 and 2016 as the warmest year on record at 28.4°C. [5] Methodology and about this data We gathered these figures between 22 and 29 July 2026, working outward from Singapore government primary sources: the Department of Statistics, NEA, EMA, MSS, HDB, SCDF, MSE, NCCS and SP Group. Where a blog or news article pointed to a statistic, we found and opened the original publication before including it, and we cite the original rather than the intermediary. Every statistic is dated to the year the data refers to, not