Evaluating Home Heating Options In Krakow

The city of Krakow, Poland, has poor air quality due, in part, to widespread use of coal for heating. Engineering analyses have been conducted to determine the technical feasibility and capital costs for a number of options for reducing pollution from home heating sources. Capital costs range from $90 per kilowatt (kW) to connect local boiler-houses to the district heating system to $227/kW to upgrade the electrical system and convert coal stoves to electric heat. Air quality analyses have estimated the reduction in pollutant emissions as well as in pollutant concentrations that would result from implementing the options under consideration. Significant reductions can be obtained at a lower cost by using briquettes instead of coal in home stoves than by converting the stoves to electricity or gas. Finally, incentives analyses are examining the cost-effectiveness of the various alternatives and identifying possible incentives that the city could provide to encourage adoption of less-polluting technologies and practices.