Besides an apartment’s size, heating costs are affected by the quality of its windows, the floor it is on and whether it is a corner apartment. Costs also depend on the temperature residents usually maintain indoors.
Apartments in Yerevan use gas boilers, air conditioners or electric heaters, according to reloarm.com. Gas remains the main fuel for Armenian households.
The website wse.am describes gas boilers as the most common and economical option. A wall-mounted boiler is installed inside the apartment and connected to radiators that distribute heat throughout the rooms. Gas is relatively cheap in Armenia.
A boiler serving the entire apartment is used alongside an air conditioner in the bedroom. The website describes electric heaters as the most expensive option, used mainly as a backup source of heat.
Before the collapse of the USSR, Armenia was among the leaders in district heating, according to reloarm.com. The report “Armenian Urban Heating Policy Assessment”, prepared for the Alliance to Save Energy, states that district heating covered 55% of all housing and 90% of apartment buildings.
According to reloarm.com, people stopped paying for heating, and district heating systems fell into disrepair. Most boiler plants in Yerevan operated for the last time during the 2003/2004 heating season. By then, coverage had fallen to 6% of its 1990 level.