HeatAware SG
HeatAware SG is Singapore's first community initiative designed to raise heat awareness among seniors aged 50 and above, protecting the elderly from rising heat risks. Through household interviews, the team assesses residents' heat-awareness knowledge and deploys sensors to monitor indoor temperatures. Based on this data, they provide individualised cooling strategies to help vulnerable residents protect themselves.
Two study phases were conducted:
Conduct 1: Heat Awareness Surveys
201 residents aged 50+ surveyed at Repair Kopitiam meetups across 11 locations, assessing heat perception and cooling behaviours.
Conduct 2: Heat IoT Sensors Deployment
Across 54 HDB households for 30 days, capturing 646,300 temperature and humidity readings across 3 rooms per household.
Objectives
- Enhance heat risk awareness among vulnerable communities through participatory data collection
- Empower vulnerable residents with real-time, personalised heat alerts and actionable self-cooling guidance
- Generate granular household-level heat data to inform broader climate resilience strategies and urban cooling models
Report
Key Findings
Conduct 1: Heat Awareness Surveys
- 56%
Awareness Gap
113 of 201 feel the heat but unsure how to recognise dangerous heat events.
- 56%
Ventilation Insufficient
59 of 70 "uncomfortable" surveyors keep windows open all day yet still suffer from heat.
- ~49%
AC Usage
86 of 174 reporting any level of heat discomfort surveyors rarely/never use AC.
- 35%
Shading Overlooked
Only 70 of 201 use curtains or shades to block heat at the source.
Conduct 2: In-home IoT Sensor Deployment
- 66.5%
Homes Retain Heat
Readings met/exceeded the outdoor Heat Index reference of 31.1°C.
- ~7°C
No Overnight Relief
Indoors runs ~7°C warmer than outside "feels like" conditions at night, double of ambient air temp.
- 46%
Unequal Exposure
25 of 54 homes averaged in NOAA's Extreme Caution band (HI ≥ 32°C).
- 73.8%
Humidity Underestimated
avg humidity "felt" 3.69°C hotter than the actual air temperature.
