Residential energy transition and thermal efficiency in an arid environment of northeast Patagonia, Argentina

M. BETINA CARDOSO; ALEJANDRO GONZÁLEZ

ENERGY FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Elsevier

Año: 2019 vol. 50 p. 82 - 90

Wehave studied changes in energy use and practices due to a program which partially replaced firewood by fossilfuels. The programhas been running for nearly five years in rural dwellings in Patagonia Argentina,where limitedprovision of fuelwood and social vulnerability are found. As a case study we focused on the community ofLaguna Blanca, Province of Río Negro, located in the Patagonian steppe. Dwellings are one-family houseswhich were built with no energy efficiency measures, exposing reinforced concrete structures, fired-clay bricks,metal roofs and single-glasswindows to severe weather. Since 2014, a government program fully subsidized therefilling of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) to vulnerable rural communities, which were providedwith a 200-kg gastank and a gas heater in each household. An expected decrease in the use of fuelwoodwas observed, along with avery high consumption of LPG (around 650 kWh/m2 year), which can be for the first time assessed due to theknown amount of LPG provided. The lack of energy efficiency policies led to very high operational costs and environmentalimpacts. Based on the dwellings´ characteristics, we have also found that the LPG subsidies saved in2.2 years would return the investment for a thermal insulation that would reduce 50% the gas consumption andsubstantially improve comfort.