Domestic heating is likely to be a drain on Italian families (in Italy the price of heating oil is higher than the European average), but involves considerable risks for the environment too because of CO2 emissions coming mainly from some types of heating systems. However, all of us have the possibility, but also the duty to reduce consumption related to domestic heating, carrying out some little expedients that will undoubtedly have some positive effects on our finances, too. Waiting for the Copenhagen summit, which will be held in December, and which will group together the major world powers in the common effort to reduce the use of coal, oil and methane, it is up to individuals to take small but important precautions to reduce harmful emissions and energy consumption.
For example, a first device may be maintaining the internal temperature under 20 degrees (it is not necessary to maintain a summer temperature not to feel the chill of winter…) and preventing heat loss, using thermal insulation of buildings. Very important is also the choice of air conditioners installations: it is advisable to replace old and inefficient boilers and air conditioners with other of new generation that will make you save money and energy. You also need to pay attention to how these installations are used, trying to limit the excesses of heat or cold. In this sense an inverter air conditioner can be very useful, as it permits to modulate the power supplied by the machine and to achieve considerable savings in electricity: while a traditional air-conditioner has constant power, hence a constant consumption, the inverter air conditioner works at full capacity in the beginning, reaching the desired temperature more quickly, then stabilizes, and in this way consumptions are reduced. The demand for this type of air-conditioners is increasing, as well as the one for other kinds of ecological products.
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One of the most outstanding examples is given by pellet stoves, the sales of which have soared in the last few years: only in 2008 200,000 tonnes pellet have been produced in Italy, but in order to meet the national demand 250,000 tonnes of this material had to be imported from abroad. Pellet is a cheap and clean fuel, which permits to remarkably reduce both costs and harmful emissions. This is an ecological material because it is made out of dried sawdust and other pressed waste materials, thus it does not imply cutting down other trees. Moreover, thanks to pressing, which reduces sawdust into small cylinders that are less bulky and easier to transport than wood, pellet has a calorific power that is about twice that of wood, at the same weight. Also, no chemical substance is used to realise the cylinders, and this permits to produce natural fuel. Thanks to its cost, much cheaper than other raw materials, and its high yield, pellet can make you save up to 40%.
In conclusion, few precautions are enough to spend a mild winter without spending too much money and limiting the damage to the environment.
