The previous article mainly talked about the heating methods in Russia, Japan, South Korea, the United States, Austria and other places, so today we continue to look at the heating methods in Germany, Sweden, Hungary, Canada, and China.
- Germany: The lowest indoor temperature shall not be lower than 20 degrees Celsius
In 1946, the Arctic and Siberian cold waves swept across Europe, and the Germans ushered in the “coldest winter.” However, at that time, German households had no heating or electricity, and the outdoor temperature reached minus 20 degrees Celsius. Hundreds of thousands of Germans died in this “no heating crisis” due to hunger and cold. Later, the German government set the goal of “providing heating to every household” and built thermal power plants in every city for centralized heating. Berlin has the largest central heating network in the country. There are 1,875 kilometers of heating pipelines in the city, serving 1.2 million people. The heating season starts in October and ends in April of the following year.
The government also strictly stipulates the room temperature of rental houses. From the perspective of comfort and energy saving, the bedroom should be 16°C, the living room should be 20°C, the study should be 22°C, and the bathroom should be 24°C. Munus, an energy policy expert living in Berlin, said: “When the room temperature is below 18°C, the landlord must provide heating. If the indoor temperature is below 20°C between 6 a.m. and 12 p.m., the tenant can go to court to sue the landlord. “According to government regulations, if the room temperature still cannot reach 20°C after the heating is turned on to the maximum, then the house is regarded as a “defective house” and the tenant has the right to ask for a reduction in rent; if heating is completely impossible, the tenant can ask for a full rent exemption and the right to terminate the rental contract.
- Sweden: New green energy heating
Sweden is one of the countries surrounding the Arctic and has long and cold winters, so heating is an important issue related to the quality of life of Swedish people. In Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, there is an additional way of heating – new green energy heating, which uses the heat generated by data centers to provide heating for the city’s residents. This data center is called “Stockholm Data Park” and is jointly operated by the city government and the local heating company. All major data centers are joining one after another, such as popular social platforms and video websites. As long as people send photos, wish birthdays, and watch for video programs, webcasts, etc., the servers will run very fast, and the heat generated can be used as heating energy.
After the cold water flows into the data center, the “Stockholm Data Park” specially creates pipes for the water that has been heated up after the cooling process, allowing it to flow to the factory, and then dispersed to each household to provide heat for the residence. Mattsson, head of business development at “Stockholm Data Park” said: “More and more companies hope to improve their corporate reputation and shape their brand image by strengthening environmental and climate awareness.” At present, the data center operated by the clothing retail chain H&M has joined the H&M can not only sell the waste heat, but also enjoy free cold water, killing two birds with one stone and saving a lot of money. Mattson said it is expected that the “Stockholm Data Park” will be able to heat 2,500 residential apartments by 2018; it is expected that by 2035, it will be able to meet more than 10% of Stockholm’s total heating needs.
Sweden is not the only country trying to use data centers to heat new green energy. Finland, the United States, Canada, etc. have all tested similar projects. These countries are all heating residents in small towns, but Sweden decided to use this heating method from the capital. Stockholm began to popularize it, and then expanded to the whole country, becoming a pioneer in leading the concept of green energy.
- Hungary: The central bank sends “money bricks” for welfare groups to burn money for heating
Hungary is the only country in the world that recycles worn banknotes every year for use as fuel. At this time, the old banknotes have another destination: they are pressed into “money bricks” for welfare groups to burn “money bricks” for warmth. “This is a very effective act of charity. For us, it is like providing help in times of need, helping us save part of our heating costs,” said Helayi, the director of a center for autistic children in Miskovo, a city in northeastern Hungary. Money bricks are flammable and easy to generate heat. Just add a little wood and the room will be very warm.” Helayi estimated that the “money bricks” provided by the Central Bank of Hungary saved their autistic children’s center about six months. Heating costs of ten thousand forints.
The “money burning” project started in 2008. To make one kilogram of “money bricks”, five million forint old banknotes are needed. These old banknotes are first cut into pieces of one to five millimeters, and then compressed by machines. No chemicals are added to the process. Franz, director of the Central Bank’s Cash Logistics Center, said: “Our experiments have proven that after pressing old banknotes into ‘money bricks’, the flammability is almost the same as lignite, and can also be added to mixed fuel furnaces for use. They are great for heating. It is beneficial and can help alleviate the current situation of fuel shortage. Every year, we destroy forty or fifty tons of old banknotes and turn them into ‘money bricks’ to give to the people who are short of fuel to keep warm. Responsibility is a very important thing.”
- Canada: Use electricity for heating and enter heating mode at any time
In Canada, most urban residents use electricity for heating. Their electric heaters are in the shape of slender strips and are installed near the windows of each room. There is also a thermostat in the corridor or living room to control the heating and cooling devices in each room. The thermostat has a simple structure. The temperature index is engraved on the surface of the disc. The homeowner can choose to turn on the electric heater or air conditioner, or turn it off. Such convenient use of electricity for heating has led many locals who are afraid of the cold to turn on the thermostat when the temperature is 15°C. Their homes enter heating mode in advance, and they are not bothered by the long cold winter at all.
- China: About to enter a large-scale clean heating model
China’s heating model was previously based on burning coal. In recent years, in order to improve environmental quality and improve residents’ living standards, “coal-to-gas” and “coal-to-electricity” projects have been implemented on a large scale in northern heating areas. Since the heating season, various parts of the north have Judging from the air quality, the results in 2017 were obvious. There were no haze days in many places, and respiratory diseases were reduced accordingly.
In the process of large-scale clean heating, the “coal-to-gas” switch has affected residents’ heating, industrial gas use and taxi gas use due to “gas shortage”, causing a lot of inconvenience to production and life. Among the central heating models that have been implemented, air source heat pump heating has the best effect, is the cleanest and most energy-saving, and can be used for household heating and central heating. It has been well received by users and the government, and is expected to gain a wider scope of implementation in 2018.
Friends, after looking at the heating measures in each of the above countries, which country’s heating method do you prefer? Everyone can speak freely!
