The Influence of Heating Degree Days on Fuelwood Consumption in Households in Selected Countries of Central and Southeastern Europe

Serbia is one of the few European countries that does not keep official statistics and does not have data on heating degree days. A heating degree day (HDD) represents a measure to quantify the energy needs for heating a building. In order to create a database, six meteorological stations in Serbia had been selected, for which the heating degree days were calculated for every year in the period 2010-2018. The months with the highest values of heating degree days were also determined for each year of the analyzed period. In addition to the annual level, heating degree days in the heating seasons over the analyzed period were calculated for the six selected stations, as well as the length and the average air temperature of each heating season. In Serbia, heating season officially lasts from October 15 to April 15. To determine the influence of the calculated annual heating degree days on fuelwood consumption in households in Serbia, over the period 2010-2018, multiple econometric models were formulated. The influence of the annual values of heating degree days on fuelwood consumption for household space heating in Slovenia and Croatia was analyzed, as well. The analysis of energy consumption in the households of the selected countries showed that wood fuels are mostly used for heating, primarily fuelwood. This is the reason why this type of fuel was selected for the research.