Abstract

The residential sector in Valdivia, Chile, is responsible for 94.1% of fine particle-matter (PM2.5) emissions due to wood-based stoves for space heating. Consequently, in 2017 a local Atmospheric Decontamination Plan (ADP) defined goals that have been difficult to achieve. The purpose of this work is to show the effect on the emissions of PM2.5 when replacing the wood-based heating systems by electric space-heating with a horizon up to 2030. This is done by defining and comparing five scenarios based on the current public policies and 2 of electric-heating replacement. The study also shows the increase of the electricity demand in the zone, in the electric-heating scenarios. We find that the scenario with the largest impact is related to the appropriate use of the stoves, even before replacing them for electric air-conditioning systems. However, this scenario has shown to be difficult to be implemented in practice. The electric-heating replacement scenarios show that with a minimum rate of 742 changes per year, the emissions of PM2.5 start being reduced by 2030, while the energy consumption is increased in 27′556 MWh/year, representing an 8% of the overall electricity consumption in the city by 2030.