By the end of September, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and its surrounding areas have replaced coal-fired heating with electric heating system in 1.75 million homes, according to the State Grid Corporation of China. The Beijing Electric Power Company of the State Grid has completed its annual task of replacing the heating system in 405,000 homes a month ahead of schedule.
Data shows that the State Grid had launched 18,000 projects in upgrading to electric heating as of the end of September, covering an area of about 500 million square meters.
For buildings with intermittent heating, such as primary and secondary schools and various business establishments, the State Grid has adopted decentralized electric heating technology such as carbon crystal and electric heating film.
Amid the government’s effort to ban small coal-fired boilers, the State Grid has also promoted centralized electric heating technology like electric boilers and heat pumps at hospitals, shopping malls, enterprises and public institutions in northern China. A total of 15,000 projects have been carried out, replacing 18,000 small boilers with electric heating in an area totaling 430 million square meters.
Wang Yanfang, an official at the State Grid, said the company has launched over 90,000 projects to replace traditional energy with electric power in sectors of heating, industrial and agricultural production, transportation, electricity supply and electricity-based energy consumption in household in recent years. This has resulted in cutting standard coal burning by 130 million tons and reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 320 million tons.
For consumers, cost has been a top concern as Beijing began transforming its heating systems. The government responded by providing national and local subsidies, bringing the cost from 30 yuan (US$4.54) per square meter with centralized heating down to 19 yuan per square meter with the electric heating replacement.