HEATING COSTS OF AVERAGE APARTMENT – 2014/2015 HEATING SEASON

The highest heating costs during 2014/2015 heating season (based on gas prices from October 2014 and prices of other energy sources from September 2014) will be borne by households using heating oil, propane butane gas and electricity directly in heating devices and boilers for central heating. They should earmark RSD 209,000 for heating oil, RSD 125,000 for propane butane gas, i.e. RSD 107,000 for electricity for the purchase of energy sources or energy which is necessary for heating an average apartment in winter season. For those using natural gas for heating purposes, costs are two or three times lower and they amount to RSD 56,000.Almost the same costs as for those using gas will be borne by those households using pellet if it is burned in stoves constructed strictly for this source, as well as for those households using firewood with costs of RSD 58,000 per m³ and with low-efficiency stoves.

The cheapest heating is in households which use firewood in those areas where it is the cheapest in Serbia (for example RSD 4,000 per m³) especially if they have more modern stoves with efficiency amounting to around 70%. In that case, RSD 31,000 is necessary for the procurement of firewood for a season. Such stoves provide affordable heating in comparison to alternative sources even if the price of firewood is higher as in the case of Belgrade and Vojvodina.

Households which use electric thermal storage heaters will bear higher costs which amount to RSD 39,000 but only if they use cheaper electricity at night exclusively. Each time they recharge the heater during daytime, i.e. use more expensive electricity, they will increase those costs considerably. For example, recharge of two heaters of 3kW each during only two hours in daytime will increase heating costs by around 45%, to the amount of RSD 57,000.

The costs of households using coal (either those given in the list (see the link) or similar types) will depend on the type of coal and will range from RSD 43,000 to 46,000 with calculated transport costs. If the efficiency of their furnaces exceeds 55%, costs will be lower respectively.

Heating (in line with the heating standard in district heating) of a moderately insulated apartment of average size requires around 9,000 kWh of energy for one season. The table indicates annual costs for the provision of these quantities of energy provided from different sources depending on the efficiency of furnaces and prices. These costs do not include investment and maintenance costs. Electricity costs are given per tariff rates for public supply. Electricity losses with ETS heaters are also taken into account.

 (LINK to the report with comparison tables)