Papabo said 41.6 per cent of the requests were regarding cooling issues caused by clogged filters, insufficient coolant or defective parts, among other problems.
Nearly 27 per cent of customers on the platform said their machines were leaking water, and another 23 per cent reported they needed professional cleaning.
“Without doubt, the heatwave has brought us tremendous growth in job requests related to air conditioners,” the spokesman said.
Hong Kong reported record-breaking temperatures for the month of May, with mercury reaching 35.2 degrees Celsius (95.3 Fahrenheit) at the Observatory last Friday, the highest so far this year, largely caused by outer subsiding air of Mawar, a tropical storm now east of Japan that has weakened from a typhoon.
The Observatory forecast the hot weather would linger this week, at above 31 degrees, and said expected rain would do little to ease the conditions.
The city’s poor have suffered as the hot weather sets in, according to Sze Lai-shan, deputy director of human rights advocacy group Society for Community Organisation (SoCo).
“Summer is a very difficult time for people who live in subdivided housing, because not only is there heat, it also brings out a lot of rodents and pests,” Sze said.
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“The temperature in many of these homes are usually several degrees higher than it is outside, because they are so small and cramped and the air has nowhere to go.”
She said SoCo had been advocating for higher government subsidies for these residents during the summer so they could afford to turn on their fans or air conditioners.
Wong Yim, a 40-year-old stay-at-home mother who lives in a subdivided flat on the top floor of a nine-storey walk-up building in Sham Shui Po, said she had been feeling as though she was “being cooked at home” for the past few days.
“The sun shines directly onto our unit so it gets really hot in here,” she said. “When we turn on the tap, the water comes out almost boiling.”
Wong, who lives in a 120 sq ft room with her 15-year-old son, is currently in Hong Kong under a “two-way permit” for mainland Chinese residents to enter the city. Her son is a Hong Kong permanent resident, but since he is under 18, he is not eligible for public housing.
She revealed she spent half of her HK$6,000 (US$766) per month in government subsidies on rent, leaving little for food, transport and utility bills.
“We are very nervous about turning on the air conditioner because we don’t know how much money it racks up,” Wong said. “In the summer, I turn it on at around 10pm before bed, and turn it off at 4am, but the home heats up very quickly.”
During the day, while her son is at school, Wong stays out of the flat as much as possible. She said she had “nowhere to go” and would occasionally sit in the local McDonald's for relief from sweltering conditions outside.
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Leung Wing-mo, former assistant director of the Observatory, said Hong Kong had now officially entered summer.
Asked how people at home could save on energy bills or make their air conditioners more efficient, Leung said flats facing west were more likely to encounter heat problems, especially if there were large windows, as they would have full sunlight most of the day.
“That’s why in Hong Kong, you always want to live in a flat facing south,” he said.
For those who did not have that choice, windows with heat and light reflective technology had proven effective in lowering indoor temperatures, Leung said.
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