A squeeze on heating that does not affect hospitals and shelters, with a “patchy” approach: more incisive for the municipalities that arise in the warmest areas of Italy, such as Sicily and softer on the colder ones, starting with those of the Alps. The new rules for the operation of heating systems will take effect by September 2022 by modifying the current regulation of the temperature and the winter switch-on time through a decree of the Minister of Ecological Transition.
The government’s plan to save gas
Among the measures envisaged by the Italian plan to limit the effects of the gas price run drawn up by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, there is one that directly involves homes and condominiums and which, either because of the different temperatures that characterize the different areas of the Italy, with more or less severe winters, foresees a tightening on the use of heating which varies according to the geographical location of the single municipality.
In particular, the tightening on the ignition times of thermal plants is substantially nil for those that arise along the Alps (for example Aosta, Sondrio, Bolzano, Belluno but also some municipalities of Bergamo, Brescia and Varese) and some of the ‘Apennines (for example the Rieti area), while it is more consistent (heating systems switched on for a maximum of 5 hours a day) for those characterized by warmer climates (for example, Lampedusa, Linosa and Porto Empedocle in Sicily).
The division of the national territory into 6 climatic zones
Presidential Decree 74/2013 divided the national territory into 6 climatic zones based on the average daily temperatures. Zone A (municipalities with degree-days below 600), B (between 600 and 900); C (between 901 and 1400), D (between 1401 and 2100), E (between 2101 and 3000) and F (common with degree-days above 3000).
The squeeze on the ignition times of thermal heating systems
Now the National Plan for the containment of natural gas consumption provides that the operating limits of the thermal plants are reduced by 15 days as regards the start-up period (postponing the start date by 8 days and bringing forward the start date by 7 days. end of the year) and 1 hour as regards the daily duration of ignition. Thermal systems are systems intended for winter air conditioning services for environments (heating systems, air conditioners, heat pump systems, etc.), with or without the production of domestic hot water, regardless of the system used to transport energy and heat. According to the Plan, in zone A the heaters can be turned on for 5 hours a day from 8 December to 7 March; in zone B for 7 hours a day from 8 December to 23 March; in zone C for 9 hours a day from 22 November to 23 March; in zone D for 11 hours a day from 8 November to 7 April; for zone E for 13 hours a day from 22 October to 7 April. Zone F closes the list, for which the ministry document does not provide for any limitations.