Piedmont, one boiler in five is not up to standard
One boiler in five is not up to standard. This is the data that emerges from the checks carried out during 2023 by Arpa Piemonte on the heating systems in Piedmont, in particular Turin and its province.
The checks have inevitably led to a hail of fines for those caught using plants that pollute too much or have other irregularities.
“The selection of the plants to be checked – they explain from Arpa Piemonte – was carried out favoring the older and more powerful ones, characteristics that can determine a greater environmental impact of emissions”.
In detail, out of a total of 1,806 plants checked, regulatory violations subject to sanctions were found on 296 plants, corresponding to 16% of the checks carried out.
The majority of violations, equal to approximately 49% of cases, are due to failure to comply with the system’s minimum performance values. While in approximately 32% of cases the nitrogen oxide limit was exceeded. The remaining 19% of cases involved violations relating to energy efficiency regulations, such as failure to maintain the system or failure to install thermoregulation and metering systems. For 343 systems, corresponding to approximately 19% of the total inspected, deficiencies relating to safety regulations were also highlighted. These deficiencies have been reported to the competent bodies for appropriate measures.
Bringing the systems up to standard following these control activities, which often involves the replacement of the heat generator, has significant consequences on improving the energy performance of the systems and on the reduction of polluting gas emissions.
In particular, considering the number of violations found, a reduction in emissions of approximately 6 tons of nitrogen oxides can be estimated following the bringing of the plants into compliance.
Be careful, because the checks carried out on boilers by Arpa Piemonte are constantly increasing from year to year, and will continue in 2024.
