Heating your home

Late last century, the weather in Santiago was boring. In the summer it was hot and sunny every day, and in the winter it was cloudy or raining and cold every day. Thanks to climate change, things aren’t so predictable, but you can still count on experiencing cold weather a good number of days in any given year.

What is cold, exactly?

If you’re from northern North America and accustomed to having several feet of snow dumped on the ground a few times during the winter, you might say,”It doesn’t snow in Santiago? Then it doesn’t get cold.” The temperature in Santiago does reach 0°C (32°F) on a fairly regular basis, but snow is rare. It is for precisely this reason that winters can be so tough here. The relatively high minimum temperatures (coupled with the summer’s forgiving dry heat) mean that houses and apartment buildings are generally not built with energy efficiency in mind. Windows are single-pane, window and door frames are leaky,and insulation isn’t standard. Few homes have central heating.

Winter in Santiago to me means four or five layers of clothing every day, using a scarf indoors and out, and a complex routine of turning different heaters in my home on and off as the day progresses. It can also mean, frustratingly, that you emerge from your frigid house or apartment at noon to find that the air is noticeably warmer outside. I describe this to family members a generation above me, and they usually respond with a comment such as, “Ah, sounds like London in the 1950′s.” Well, London in the 1950′s, I’m sorry to hear that. I know how rough it can get.

No matter what type of heating system is installed in your home (if there is one at all) you will probably end up using a combination of heating methods. Central heating can be very expensive to run, so you might decide to use only space heaters on balmier winter days. Fuel-burning heaters are high consumers of oxygen and therefore not safe for use in bedrooms; people will keep one or two in living areas and use electric heaters for the bedroom.

Space heating

Space heaters are the bread and butter of home heating in most of the metropolitan area. They are generally categorized by the fuel they use: the main types are gas, kerosene, and electric.

	Infrared infrarrojo	These R2D2-sized, black or grey, wheeled metal boxes are the most common type of space heater. The box houses a removable 5- or 15-kilo gas tank. The rectangular ceramic heating elements glow red when lit. There are wall-mount versions of this heater that can be installed and connected directly to the gas line.
		Pros: Inexpensive to purchase. Relatively inexpensive to run. Long-lasting. Compatible with other household appliances such as stoves, water heaters and clothes dryers, so gas tanks can be switched among them if one runs out unexpectedly.	Cons: Decreases air quality. Can be a fire hazard.
	Catalytic catalítico	Also common is a flameless catalytic version, which is slightly more expensive to run (when you order a gas tank refill, the provider will ask whether you want normal or catalítico). This heating element has an appearance similar to steel wool, covers a much larger surface area, and its color differs only slightly, if at all, when lit.
		Pros: Safer than infrared counterpart.	Cons: More expensive to run than infrared counterpart.
	Laser láser	A programmable, computer-controlled heater. Its built-in fan distributes heat over a wider area than other liquid-fuel heaters.
		Pros: Inexpensive to run. Small. Heats a large area. Unlike convection counterpart, does not need to be taken outdoors before turning it on or off.	Cons: Expensive to purchase. Automatic shut-off mechanism easily tripped.
	Convection convección	This type of kerosene heater uses a wick which must be lit by hand or via a lighting mechanism on the heater.
		Pros: Inexpensive to run.	Cons: Must be taken outdoors to be lit or extinguished. If accidentally extinguished indoors, can emit a strong smell of kerosene.
	Oil-filled oleo- eléctrico	This electric radiator, often similar in appearance to wall-mounted radiators, works by circulating heated oil through its coils. Though all electric heaters are expensive to run, this one is popular for use in bedrooms, since it’s relatively cool to the touch and doesn’t pose a significant fire hazard.
		Pros: Extremely safe.	Cons: Expensive to run. Heats up slowly.
	Quartz a cuarzo	These small heaters have transparent, cylindrical heating elements that may remind you of your toaster oven. Effective for heating small spaces.
		Pros: Inexpensive to purchase. Heats quickly. Small and light.	Cons: Expensive to run. Can be a fire hazard.
	Fan termo- ventilador	Fan heaters circulate air over a coil heating element. This has a drying effect which makes the heater popular for use in bathrooms.
		Pros: Inexpensive to purchase. Heats quickly. Small and light.	Cons: Expensive to run. Noisy.

Central heating

While central heating is common in newer office- and apartment-buildings, most dwellings do not have it installed. Temperatures usually don’t go below freezing, which makes it a luxury rather than a necessary expense. The fact that houses usually don’t have basements, which makes boiler space scarce, plus the lack of energy-efficient construction features mentioned above, make central heating a very serious investment.

Metrogas offers a central heating installation service.

Wood stoves

The metropolitan area has such a severe smog problem that the use of fireplaces in Santiago is prohibited.  Wood stoves may be used, but are not very common.  If you live in a house in the south of Chile, however, you probably already have one.  I won’t go into too much detail about them here, since your location and type of home will almost certainly dictate whether or not you should install one, and which kind it should be.

You’ll hear people refer to salamandras and Boscas.  I’m not aware of a formal definition for either; in my experience, a salamandra is a windowless, often top-loading stove, while a Bosca has a glass door, and may or may not have a catalytic combuster. [Feel free to correct and expand this section in the comments!]

Cost-of-use comparison of different types of heaters and fuels, May 2009

Source: territorioverde.cl

Alternative methods

Alternative heating methods, such as solar-preheated water, are available in Chile but are not in wide use. Here are a few links to information about some of the other types of heaters/fuel tested in the cost comparison shown above:

• Ethanol
• Heat pump
• Biomass pellets

Vocab

• balón (de gas) (gas) tank
• Bosca brand name used to refer generically to wood stoves
• caldera boiler
• catalítico catalytic (combustion)
• cilindro gas tank
• leña firewood
• normal normal [referring to gas tank for a non-catalytic gas heater]
• parafina kerosene
• gas de ciudad manufactured gas, town gas
• gas licuado liquified natural gas
• gas natural natural gas
• salamandra salamander-style cast-iron wood stove
• Toyotomi a brand of kerosene heaters; can also refer specifically to laser type heaters