Demand for air-con servicing hots up amid worsening haze in S’pore

The increase in demand comes as a combination of hazy conditions and hot weather prompts more families and businesses to check that their air-conditioners are working properly.

PHOTOS: WIRA AIRCON SERVICES, AIRCON UNCLE, IAIRCON SINGAPORE

Published Oct 14, 2026, 02:00 PM

Updated Oct 14, 2026, 05:30 PM

Requests for air-conditioner servicing surged in September as the PSI first entered the unhealthy range in Singapore, with demand continuing to climb in October.

Service firms said customer queries and bookings increased by 15 to 30 per cent, as homes and businesses checked units for poor cooling, dirtier filters and better sleep comfort.

Job ads for air-con technicians more than doubled, but hiring remains difficult because suitable candidates are scarce; some firms are holding prices and staffing steady for now.

SINGAPORE – More job postings for air-conditioner technicians surfaced in the l ast quarter, as demand for air-conditioner servicing rose sharply across residential and commercial venues.

Requests for air-conditioner servicing surged in September, as the PSI first entered the unhealthy range in Singapore , with demand continuing to climb in October.

Sushil Acharya, co-founder of home services platform StringsSG, said September recorded the sharpest increase in requests for air-con servicing, coinciding with the onset of the haze.

There were 792 requests in September, up from 297 in the same month in 2025.

In October, the volume of requests increased further, in line with the worsening air quality across the island .

He noted that requests received from Oct 1 to 10 were 23% higher than those received during the same period in September and October 2025.

“In September, the number of requests generated per dollar of customer acquisition spending increased by 64% compared with August,” he said.

Air-con servicing companies told The Straits Times that customer demand and queries on air-conditioner servicing have risen sharply, by up to 30%, in recent months.

For Rafiuddin Ismail, sales operations manager at Wira Aircon Services, the prolonged haze and hotter weather means handling a surge in customer queries about air-con performance.

There has been about a 30% increase in new customers, he said, adding that he has observed more residential and commercial customers including hotels, shops and offices “experiencing insufficient cooling rather than reporting actual equipment faults”.

He said: “We have also received more inquiries from customers who have not been using their air-conditioning units regularly and now want to have them checked before using them more frequently, especially at night.

“Many are looking to ensure their units can provide a comfortable sleeping environment.”

Similarly, Aircon Uncle operations manager Jeremy Chng has seen a clear uptick in bookings from households and businesses.

“(They are) asking questions and looking for dependable support to keep their units running well,” he said.

He added that customer demand and engagement have grown by about 20%, reflecting a heavier reliance on air-conditioning in Singapore’s climate as well as a growing awareness that regular servicing can prevent costly breakdowns later.

A spokesperson for iAircon Singapore, who wanted to be known only as “Uncle Eric” said demand for servicing has easily increased by 15% to 20% lately, with most customers having blower fans and filters that are “much dirtier than usual”.

The company is able to monitor the cleanliness of the units closely as many of their customers have signed up for annual maintenance packages with quarterly servicing, he said.

Challenges in training and hiring

FastJobs founder and chief executive Julian Tan said job postings for air-con technicians have more than doubled in the last quarter, but the figure remained below that for the corresponding period in 2025.

“Hiring for air-con technicians on FastJobs typically picks up in the hotter July-to-September period, and this year was no exception,” he added.

There are typically more job postings for air-con technicians on recruitment platform FastJobs during the hotter July-to-September period. PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM FASTJOBS

There are typically more job postings for air-con technicians on recruitment platform FastJobs during the hotter July-to-September period.

PHOTO: SCREENGRAB FROM FASTJOBS

But employers have had their fair share of challenges finding suitable candidates.

Tan said he has heard from recruitment partners that suitable technician candidates are difficult to find, with some agencies scaling back on these roles as a result.

To this end, more air-con and maintenance companies are hiring directly rather than through recruitment agencies, he noted, adding that “roles posted directly by employers nearly doubled compared with the same period last year”.

Despite the surge in demand, several air-con firms said they have not increased their prices and are not looking to hire more technicians for now.

Wira Aircon Services’ Rafiuddin said: “Our current two teams of four air-con technicians each are sufficient to accommodate our customers’ requests, although we continue to monitor demand.

“Hiring additional technicians comes with significant costs, so we have to be careful with our recruitment decisions.”

He said the firm needs to ensure that any new technician joining the company has the right experience and technical skills.

A spokesperson for the Singapore Institute of Technology said demand for air-conditioning courses has remained generally steady in recent years.

There are about 40 sign-ups a year for two air-conditioning-related Continuing Education and Training courses: Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) and HVAC Audit and Analysis. Both courses are offered annually.

“Learners come from a range of age groups, including younger participants below 30 years old who are seeking to deepen their technical capabilities in HVAC systems and energy performance analysis,” said the spokesperson.

Sharon Salim is a business correspondent at The Straits Times, with a focus on jobs, workplace culture and trends.

由于雾霾天气和炎热天气的共同作用，越来越多的家庭和企业开始检查空调是否正常工作，导致空调需求增加。

图片来源：WIRA AIRCON SERVICES、AIRCON UNCLE、IAIRCON SINGAPORE

发布于2026年10月14日下午2:00

更新于2026年10月14日下午5:30

9 月份，新加坡空气污染指数 (PSI) 首次进入不健康范围，空调维修需求激增，10 月份需求继续攀升。

服务公司表示，由于家庭和企业检查空调制冷效果差、过滤器脏污以及睡眠舒适度提高等问题，客户的咨询和预订量增加了 15% 至 30%。

空调技工的招聘广告数量增加了一倍多，但由于合适的候选人稀少，招聘仍然很困难；一些公司目前保持价格和人员配置稳定。

新加坡——上个季度出现了更多空调技师的招聘信息，因为住宅和商业场所对空调维修服务的需求急剧上升。

9 月份，新加坡空气污染指数 (PSI) 首次进入不健康范围，空调维修需求激增，10 月份需求继续攀升。

家政服务平台 StringsSG 的联合创始人 Sushil Acharya 表示，9 月份空调维修需求量增幅最大，这与雾霾的出现时间相吻合。

9 月份共有 792 项请求，而 2025 年同期只有 297 项。

10 月份，随着全岛空气质量恶化，相关请求量进一步增加。

他指出，10 月 1 日至 10 日收到的请求比 2025 年 9 月和 10 月同期收到的请求高出 23%。

“9 月份，每投入一美元客户获取费用所产生的请求数量比 8 月份增长了 64%。”他说道。

空调维修公司告诉《海峡时报》，近几个月来，客户对空调维修的需求和咨询量大幅上升，增幅高达 30%。

对于 Wira Aircon Services 的销售运营经理 Rafiuddin Ismail 来说，持续的雾霾和炎热的天气意味着要处理大量关于空调性能的客户咨询。

他表示，新客户增加了约 30%，并补充说，他观察到更多住宅和商业客户（包括酒店、商店和办公室）“遇到制冷不足的问题，而不是报告实际的设备故障”。

他说：“我们也收到了更多客户的咨询，他们以前不经常使用空调，现在希望在更频繁地使用空调之前进行检查，尤其是在晚上使用。

“许多人都希望确保他们的住房能够提供舒适的睡眠环境。”

同样，空调大叔的运营经理 Jeremy Chng 也发现来自家庭和企业的预订量明显增加。

他说：“（他们）正在提出问题，并寻求可靠的支持，以确保他们的设备能够良好运行。”

他还补充说，客户需求和参与度增长了约 20%，这反映出新加坡的气候条件下人们对空调的依赖程度更高，以及人们越来越意识到定期保养可以防止日后出现代价高昂的故障。

新加坡 iAircon 公司的一位发言人（化名“埃里克叔叔”）表示，最近维修需求轻松增长了 15% 到 20%，大多数客户的鼓风机和过滤器“比平时脏得多”。

他说，由于许多客户都签订了包含季度服务的年度维护套餐，公司能够密切监控设备的清洁状况。

培训和招聘方面的挑战

FastJobs 创始人兼首席执行官 Julian Tan 表示，空调技师的招聘信息在上个季度增加了一倍多，但这一数字仍低于 2025 年同期水平。

“在FastJobs网站上招聘空调技师的需求通常会在7月到9月这个炎热的时期增加，今年也不例外，”他补充道。

通常情况下，在炎热的7月至9月期间，招聘平台FastJobs上空调技工的招聘信息会更多。图片：FastJobs网站截图

在炎热的7月至9月期间，招聘平台FastJobs上通常会发布更多空调技师的职位空缺。

图片：FASTJOBS 网站截图

但雇主在寻找合适的候选人方面也面临着相当大的挑战。

Tan表示，他从招聘合作伙伴那里了解到，合适的技工候选人很难找到，因此一些机构正在缩减这类职位。

为此，越来越多的空调和维修公司选择直接招聘，而不是通过招聘机构，他指出，并补充说，“雇主直接发布的职位数量与去年同期相比几乎翻了一番”。

尽管需求激增，但多家空调公司表示，他们尚未提高价格，目前也没有招聘更多技术人员的计划。

Wira Aircon Services 的 Rafiuddin 表示：“我们目前有两支各由四名空调技术人员组成的团队，足以满足客户的需求，尽管我们仍在继续关注需求。

“增聘技术人员会产生大量成本，因此我们在招聘决策上必须谨慎。”

他表示，公司需要确保任何新加入的技术人员都具备相应的经验和技术技能。

新加坡理工学院的一位发言人表示，近年来对空调课程的需求总体上保持稳定。

每年约有40人报名参加两门与空调相关的继续教育和培训课程：供暖、通风和空调（HVAC）以及HVAC审核与分析。这两门课程每年都开设。

发言人表示：“学员来自各个年龄段，包括30岁以下的年轻学员，他们希望加深在暖通空调系统和能源性能分析方面的技术能力。”

Sharon Salim 是《海峡时报》的商业记者，主要关注就业、职场文化和趋势。