Winters in B&H tend to be mild, but also very cruel. Numerous families are receiving bills that are a reminder of how high energy prices are compared to the standard of living in B&H. The goal of each household is to use the best, but also most financially favorable energy source. So, we made a brief overview of the cheapest and most efficient energy sources for heating households.
One of the most inexpensive energy sources is wood; the price of a spatial wood meter without transport is 60 to 90 BAM. Heating in this way is a pretty demanding job though because the wood must always be carried into the house, inserted into the stove, and the fire maintained so it does no go out. According to B&H environmental associations, when using wood to heat, energy efficiency mainly depends on the water content. The fuel value of wood falls if it has a percentage of moisture higher than 25%. It thereby matters which wood you choose, and how you store it before and during the winter months. The great advantage of wood is that it belongs to renewable energy sources, and its combustion of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere is considered neutral.
Lately, an increasingly popular way of heating in our country is with pellets, which are considered a renewable energy source. Pellets do not contain sulfur, chlorine, heavy metals and other compounds harmful to one’s health. Pellets are made from pressed wood and sawdust under high pressure. Pellet handling is clean. One simply places the pellet in the oven and occasionally throws out the waste. The price of pellets is around 300 BAM per ton. The pellet stoves are the largest investment with prices of 1,000 BAM and up, depending on the capacity.
In addition to wood and pellet heating, one of the cheaper ways to heat is with gas. Households that are heated by natural gas are mainly residential buildings that have the ability to connect to gas and install floor heating, the price of which depends on the size of the space. The possibility of regulating the temperature automatically and boiler operation is another advantage of heating gas. On the other hand, monthly bills for heating depend on the size of the rooms you live in, but also how energy efficient the building is, that is the quality of the built joinery and thermal insulation. The price of gas on average is 0.60 BAM per Sm3. Natural gas is environmentally friendly and energy efficient because it hardly contains sulfur compounds and in its combustion releases a small amount of CO2.
When we ask about cost-effective and efficient heating, electricity is imposed as one of the possible answers. According to the Agency for Promotion of Foreign Investments in B&H, the average price of electricity is 0.20 BAM per kilowatt hour (kWh), in a higher tariff, while the average price of electricity at a lower tariff is 0.10 BAM/kWh. The most popular heating by electricity systems are convector radiators, because they are lightweight, nicely designed and easy to set up. These radiators cost 200 BAM and up, though used ones can be purchased for less. Built-in thermostats do not allow for the heater to cool down, so if the apartment is small in size and with heat insulation, heating on convector radiators can be a good but not a long-term option.
We can also add the use of coal kiln to these forms of heating of facilities. The price of coal is extremely favorable, with one ton costing 120 to 160 BAM depending on the quality; while the price of a stove is 500 BAM and upwards. On the other hand, the combustion of coal emits a large amounts of sulfur dioxide and heavy metals, which leave long-lasting consequences to human health, but also to polluting the environment through greenhouse gas emissions.
If you consider all of the noted prices and characteristics of heating, you must not forget that there may be cracks or holes in your home, which cause great energy losses. Thus, the biggest obstacle to energy-efficient heating is the absence of heat insulation. Installation of facades with heat insulation on the house, as well as the installation of quality windows requires a certain financial cost, but it is worth it in the long run. In fact, in a few years you will get a return on your investment, because it will reduce energy consumption between 40 and 60 percent.
In the selection and use of energy for heating, you should also bear in mind that the energy source you use affects the environment, because many people are not aware of the air pollution caused by burning coal or other traditional methods of heating interiors.