Locations80 households enjoy comfort and savings thanks to biomass heating systems installed with support from UNDP and the Government of Japan
December 26, 2024
80 energy-vulnerable households across the country are now experiencing improved thermal comfort and savings thanks to solid biomass boilers donated and installed with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Government of Japan.
The beneficiaries were selected from the "Energy Vulnerability" information system based on several criteria, such as owning the house they live in, being classified as energy vulnerable (as per the categories assigned for the 2023-2024 heating season), and being large families, including those with special needs. The selected households are proportionally distributed across all regions of the country and in most of them there are more than four dependent children. One condition for eligibility was that beneficiaries prepare the location for the boiler, such as constructing an annex to the house or designating a separate room from living spaces.
In most beneficiary households, complete interior heating systems were installed, including pipes, radiators, fittings, and chimneys. Less than 10% of beneficiaries already had heating systems connected to stoves and only needed the boiler and chimney. This was the case for Natalia and Dumitru Diaconescu from Dănceni village, Ialoveni. The Diaconescu family has four children aged between 4 and 16, and the husband uses a wheelchair after an accident.
About two years ago, when the Diaconescu family bought their home, they built a new stove and a heating system with radiators and floor heating. However, Natalia says the new boiler is incomparable. "Now, I don’t have to keep adding fuel constantly, the heat lasts much longer, and I can adjust it based on the outdoor temperature. It’s independent and easy to use - I load the boiler in the morning and can carry on with my day without worrying about the fire going out or the house getting cold. You can’t imagine what it’s like not having smoke indoors, and it’s safer too. I’m no longer as anxious about potential risks. I love it."
"The new boilers have a high operational efficiency of up to 84%, compared to stoves, which have a maximum efficiency of 40%. This allows the boilers to use almost half the amount of solid biofuel to produce the same amount of heat as a stove. Additionally, by installing interior heating systems, heat is distributed evenly throughout the house, something hard to achieve with a stove that can heat one, maybe two rooms," explains Mihail Lupu, UNDP Moldova consultant.
Energy security for the population improves with access to affordable energy. To ensure this, UNDP, with financial support from the Japanese Government, has supported solid biofuel producers and promoted biomass use to reduce energy costs and increase thermal comfort in both public institutions and households.
As part of the same project - "Multidimensional response to emerging human security challenges" - 150 biomass boiler operators from public institutions were trained at the Center of Excellence in Construction and 12 solid biofuel producers were helped to improve the energy efficiency of their production. Additionally, the piata-biomasa.md platform, which connects producers, their offers, and biofuel consumers, was revitalized. Dozens of workshops were also organized in schools and summer camps to promote energy efficiency measures, especially the use of biomass as a heat source.
Using biomass as biofuel plays an important role in diversifying the energy mix, promoting sustainable development, and mitigating negative environmental impacts by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
