Last winter was the first to be entirely conditioned by the Covid emergency, forcing millions of families across Europe (and in many parts of the world) to spend much more time at home than usual: adults in smart working (or rather say in teleworking), children and young people in distance learning. Not to mention the workers on layoffs or those who have lost their jobs. This consequently means more domestic consumption, especially heating in the winter months. However, not all countries have let themselves go turn on the radiators in the house at full throttle even during the day. Indeed, according to a study conducted by tado°, a German company specializing in domestic air conditioning, the phenomenon was above all Italian and Spanish. In fact, in the last cold season it seems that Italian homes started heating during the day by 22,4% more than in the previous winter, with all the consequences on bills and on the environment.
The figure is comparable only with the Spanish one (+22,2%), while all the other countries examined have "regulated" themselves (the study is based on a sample of around 300.000 European homes, of which 32.000 are Italian): the the third highest figure is that of Slovenia with +19%, then even countries with a much colder climate than ours contained themselves, for example Switzerland +12%, United Kingdom +14%, Denmark +5,3%, Sweden + 5,7%, France, Germany and Poland all three around +10%, as well as approximately Belgium. The most virtuous was Luxembourg with +4,6%. The Italian percentage is even more surprising if we consider that this winter, despite some cold peaks, was on average 0,6 °C warmer in Europe than the previous one. Also note that in Europe there is no heating and hot water they make up about three-quarters of a home's energy consumption and that two-thirds of the energy used for heating, cooling and hot water in residential buildings still comes from fossil fuels.
One of Italy's problems could be that of the poor energy efficiency of most homes, which therefore does not allow heat to be retained in the domestic environment, often forcing the radiator to go on. A problem that in the intentions of the last two governments can be solved by resorting to the Superbonus to modernize the energy class of the buildings. By now winter is over and the heating is almost no longer used, but for the future, tado° also offers a piece of advice: a simple solution is to lower the heating, even just 1°C less, which saves bills by around 6%. Using the smart thermostat can instead reduce your heating bill by up to 31%.
Does anyone doubt that in a cold country the radiators are NORMALLY turned on 20% more than in Italy? Given their climate, little has changed for them.