Assessing the firewood consumption efficiency in Serbian households by applying the methods of econometric modeling: case study-Gornji Milanovac

Abstract

This paper presents the research results of the efficiency of firewood consumption in the households in Gornji Milanovac. Gomji Milanovac was selected for the research due to the fact that it is one of the most forested municipalities in Serbia and almost 95% of its households use firewood for heating purposes. The appropriate methodological concept with scientific research methods and techniques was defined for the purposes of the research. The main research technique was field survey for the purpose of which the appropriate sample of urban and rural households was defined. After the survey had been conducted, a logical check of the collected data was performed. The next step in the selected methodological concept was the econometric modelling of the effects of the heated surface area on firewood consumption using 'STATISTICA' V.7.0 software package. The results of the study showed that the average consumption of firewood per square meter of heated surface area in the heating season of 2017/2018 was 0.120 m(3) in the households that used wet wood, 0.110 m(3) in the households that used air dried wood and 0.097 m(3) in the households that used dry wood. Compared to the reference value taken as relatively satisfactory by the criteria of energy efficiency, the consumption of wood in all three categories of households was on average 2.2 times higher. Such high consumption of wood energy is, among other things, due to the unsatisfactory condition of the buildings regarding their age, high percentage of buildings without thermal insulation and the dominant participation of heating devices older than 10 years.