Repsol YPF
Ruta
Heating
Heating requirements are defined based on maintaining an indoor temperature of 20°C, which is considered to be a comfortable temperature. The consumption depends upon various factors:
- Surface area of the home that needs to be heated
- Whether the home is detached, semidetached or in a block of flats
- Climate zone (degrees/day)
- Direction in which the building is facing
- Degree of insulation, generally better in colder areas
- Level of income
In the case of a detached house with a surface area of 200 m2, the consumption for heating in therms/year would be approximately as shown below, according to geographical area:
In the case of a block of flats, the study is based on one of the intermediate floors of a seven-floor block, with two flats of 90 m2 per floor. The consumption for heating in therms/year is approximately as shown in the following table:
The difference in consumption between the individual and centralised solutions is due to differences in the coefficients of consumption reduction, through utilisation and intermittence and also through system efficiency (heat generation, distribution, regulation and balance).
In centralised solutions, the distribution coefficient takes into account the losses in energy distribution from the point of production (the boiler), until it reaches the dwelling. This coefficient is the unit in individual solutions, as all losses in heat distribution are transferred to the dwelling itself.
The regulation and balance coefficient takes into account the capacity of each system to adapt its heat production to the real heat demands in each environment (regulation), as well as the imbalances in hydraulic distribution (balance).
In heating, a use and intermittence coefficient is also applied in order to correct global consumption, according to the periods in which the heating is not turned on due to absence, holidays, weekends etc.
Finally, in centralised solutions in which the total consumption of the community is divided using a weighting system to give the energy cost per dwelling, it should be considered that this cost and the associated energy consumption are on average 20-30 % higher than when each dwelling meters and pays for what it actually consumes.
