The arrival of the first intense cold of autumn raises a classic question: what options are the most efficient and economical to heat a home. According to the latest data available, contained in the National Useful Energy Balance of 2006, heating represented 32% of residential energy consumption in Uruguay, being the main use of household energy, that is, considering all sources: electricity, firewood, supergas, among others. The rest is divided between: 28% for cooking food, 18% for heating water, 8% for preserving food, 6% for lighting and 8% for other uses.
Firewood rules indoors; airs in Montevideo
According to a report released by the consulting firm SEG Engineering, the main source for heating homes has historically been the firewood. The use of this type of energy represents 34% of final energy consumption in the residential sector and is used by 40% of households in the country.
However, this preponderance of firewood is related to the location of the household. In the interior of Uruguay, firewood is chosen as the source of thermal conditioning by 55% of households, while 18% choose supergas and 17% electricity, with preferences that have remained stable in the last decade.
In Montevideoaccording to the Continuous Household Survey carried out by the National Institute of Statistics, preferences have changed. Facing the preponderance inside, firewood is used in only 13% of households in the country’s capital as the main source. Supergas, the source of choice a decade ago, is in second place and is found in 34% of homes. With a 9% increase since 2011, electricity reached 36% of preferences and it is positioned as the most chosen source to heat homes in Montevideo according to available data, according to the SEG report.
“This expansion of electricity as a heating source constitutes an improvement in terms of efficiency for the residential sector, since whatever the electrical system is, it presents a better performance than those based on another energy source, although it does not necessarily improve costs. heating system that meets both dimensions are Split-type air conditioning equipment or heat pump”, explains SEG.
Not a minor factor is the price factor. In the interior of the country, a ton of dry firewood can be obtained in a range of between $3,000 and $4,000, while in Montevideo that range is between $6,000 and $7,000.
Air conditioning equipment is the option with the lowest monthly cost and the highest performance and has quadrupled its presence in homes in Uruguay. Between 2008 only 10% declared using it as a source of heating, while in 2019 43% preferred it. The success of this technology is also reflected in the import data, while between 2002 and 2011 some 668 thousand units were brought into the country, in the last decade imports doubled and reached 1.5 million units, SEG highlights.
Options and their costs
The SEG consultancy updated each year a comparative table with the performance and costs of the heating options used by Uruguayan households. For this, a room of 15 square meters (m2) is taken as an example. Thus, combining the double residential time option offered by UTE (smart rate), the cost of an air conditioner is $561 with taxes included, which places it as the most efficient alternative to combat low temperatures.
How do I know?second cheapest system, with a monthly cost of $707 worth of firewoodare the high performance stoves or closed boilers. This alternative offers, according to SEG, a cost 2.5 times lower than traditional open stoves. “This type of heating performs a more efficient combustion of firewood while releasing less particulate material into the environment,” said the consultant.
In the case of open stoves, the cost of heating an environment of 15 m2 with firewood is about $1,762 per month.
On the other hand, in the middle of the table, are the supergas stoves, the system most used by Uruguayan households (24% of the total). At the current values of this energy source, this option has a monthly cost of $1,495.
Finally, the The most expensive type of heating is made up of systems that convert electricity into heat through simple resistances.like the quartz stoves, electrical panels or heaters. Thus, a client of UTE that has the Simple Residential rate, the The use of these appliances would imply an estimated monthly cost of $2,558, according to SEC. Natural gas and diesel heating systems are other of the most expensive systems with a cost of $2,120 and $1,964, respectively.
