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Heating options in Spain: Do you really need heating in a Spanish home?

Are you prepared for the cold weather? Find out the 7 most popular ways of heating your home in Spain, and the advantages and disadvantages of each one...

Many people move to Southern Spain and are under the illusion that Spain is hot for the entire year, which is an absolute fallacy. Inland areas, especially in mountainous regions, can suffer from minus zero temperatures from the end of November right up until the end of the skiing season, which could be towards the end of April. If you add to this a wind chill factor which can be up to minus 15 degrees, you will be left in no doubt that you will need some sort of heating in your Spanish home.

Traditionally, log fires and wood burners have been favoured above most of other forms of heating but nothing, other than a full central heating system, will give you unlimited heating and hot water on demand. So what are the different ways to heat a home in Spain?

7 common heating options for Spanish properties

There are many options to heating your home. Not everyone has the budget for a full-blown central heating system, and some properties are simply not suitable, so what are the options? These are the 7 most popular ones...

1. Oil-fired Central Heating

This effectively will give you what you are used to from your own country – unlimited heating and hot water; and temperatures and times set by a digital time clock allowing multiple settings to maximise efficiency. As you need to fill an oil tank prior to use, it is also “pay as you go”, which in the midst of the current energy crisis is very comforting.

2. Gas-fired Central Heating

There are some areas where there is mains gas or piped butane gas available. Gas boilers are much cheaper than their oil fired equivalent, but bottled gas is not the easiest of options, as it is necessary to change bottles quite frequently. It is, however a great option for a small apartment or villa with no space for an oil tank. As butane is mainly available via a canister, it is also a good “pay as you go” option.

3. Log Burners

It is hard to argue that nothing looks quite as cosy as a real fire, but just how efficient is a log burner? It will heat the room that it is situated in, perfectly. It will not, however, heat any other rooms in the property, and does nothing to assist with a hot water supply. A log burner is also messy to clean, and if you are out all day you could be coming home to a very cold house. That said, for heating a smaller property, a log burner is an ideal solution.

4. Pellet Burners or Pellet Stove

A Pellet stove is a stove that burns compressed wood or biomass pellets to create a source of heat for residential spaces. Whilst these units can be more efficient than a standard log burner, the fan makes a low mechanical noise, and are not thought to be as visually appealing as a fire in a “real” fire place.

They are also more expensive to maintain than firewood for a log burner but some models are aesthetically pleasing and come in some interesting shapes and sizes. One advantage of a pellet stove is that you do not need a chimney only a sealed pipe for the exhaust.

5. Hot and Cold Air Conditioning

It is rare for an air conditioning unit to be supplied here in Spain without both heating and cooling options. The new units are very eco-friendly and run on the new R32 gas. Whilst the cost of electricity is particularly high in Spain, the modern units are still fairly efficient and a good option for a smaller property. Most units come with a humidifier option, as well as a “sleep mode” option which ensures the units are very quiet. For a property that has no space for an oil tank or a gas flue, hot and cold air conditioning can be an excellent option. Again, though, this is not a solution for hot water which needs to be taken into account.

6. Solar power

Installing solar panels for hot water is a great solution and works all year round. You will, however need to heat the water further with a boiler or an immersion heater, especially in the colder months and when there is no sun. In the summer it should provide 90% of your hot water requirements, dropping down to around 25% in the winter. The initial investment is also a high cost and not all homes are suitable for solar panels. Solar technology is improving every year but it is still not sufficient to run central heating during the winter.

7. Electric radiators/panels

There are many makes and models of electric heaters available on the market which are often used as an additional heat source. Electric panel radiators will take off the “chill” but are not considered a replacement for a real radiator that will heat an entire room. It is also possible to buy an oil-filled, free-standing electric radiator with adjustable settings. These are very useful in a small property where the area is not “open plan”.

These are the most common options that property owners buying a home in Spain use to heat their houses.

You may also like: What are the questions you need to ask before installing central heating in your Spanish home?

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Camposol Heating & Maintenance CHM: central heating, air conditioning and more in Murcia

Camposol Heating & Maintenance S.L. (CHM) are specialists in installations of Central Heating (oil and gas), Air Conditioning, Gas, and Electric Water Heaters, back up water tanks, and general plumbing.

Based on Camposol Sector C, CHM have been trading in Murcia for over 18 years, serving satisfied customers with the new central heating and air conditioning systems.

CHM is a legally registered company, meaning they can formally and legitimately install gas, oil and refrigerant installations in your home in Spain, helping you to avoid any problems with cowboy plumbers and unregistered workers.

Although they are based in Camposol, they cover a 35km radius of the Region of Murcia, meaning they can service heaters and boilers across the whole south of Murcia, from Lorca and Mazarrón to Cartagena and the Mar Menor, and they have hundreds of satisfied, regular customers in this area.

They have mobile employees on call, ready to help who can offer a robust out-of-hours backup and maintenance service.

What’s more, CHM only work with legal, quality suppliers and major established manufacturers such as Baxi and Junkers, because of their commitment to guaranteeing a high level of aftersales support for customers.

What services to do they offer?

Gas Central Heating
CHM installs gas central heating with UK-style, thermostat-controlled convection radiators for maximum efficiency. These panel radiators, which have copper pipework, are not sectional, making them less likely to leak in the future.
Gas Water Heating
Save hundreds of euros a year on your electricity bills with CHM by switching to gas water heating! With the alarming increase in the cost of electricity in Spain, it make sense to get instant savings with an easy-to-install, gas-based water heating system.
Oil Central Heating
They can also provide you with the same kind of UK-style convection radiators but using oil-fired central heating so you can “pay as you go”, and only pay for the hot water and heating you use. All their oil tanks – Baxi Roca, combination boilers – are double skinned, so even if there is a leak in the internal tank, it is held by the second skin. We install.
Backup Water Tanks
Ensure you never run out of water by installing a fully pumped water deposit system in your home – just choose the size and type that suits your needs!
Air Conditioning
Get domestic and commercial air conditioning with inverter technology to cool, heat and even dehumidify your property. All the air conditioning units provided by CHM come with a two-year warranty and a backup service from manufacturer Baxi.
Leak Detection and Repair
Contact CHM to pinpoint the source of water leaks quickly and securely, whether inside or out, and get it repaired in the shortest time possible.

…and much more!

For more information on how Camposol Heating & Maintenance can help you with all your central heating, gas, water, air conditioning and plumbing leakage problems, contact them today on +34 968 199 184 / +34 646 965 082 or email [email protected]