Home heating

Italy regulates when and to what temperature buildings can be heated. Heating systems can't be operated until the local region's 'classificazione climatica' date is reached. It seems Orvieto's dates are November 8 to April 7 when the system can be used for 11 hours a day to 68 degrees F.

How interesting! Didn't know that Italy has regulations on a building's heat. Is this regulation that applies beyond hotels and includes AirBnB or a personal home? I'm just curious.

This topic comes up on the forum only very rarely. What I'd love to have--but what may not exist--is a source for the heating and cooling dates applying all over the country. I imagine they vary not only by region (Liguria, Tuscany, etc.), but down to the city level. Surely altitude must be a factor as well as latitude?

Yes, the dates vary by geography. This site gives some info: https://www.tuttitalia.it/umbria/74-orvieto/classificazione-climatica/

The regulation applies to buildings both public and private. The system has been in place for decades and is intended to reduce Italy's energy reliance as the country has limited energy resources. I doubt private single tenant homes worry much about enforcement. Once we did a short-term rental of an apartment where the landlord occupied the rest of the building. After explaining that the heat should be limited to 20C, he gave us an exaggerated wink of the eye.

Thank you, Mike.

It is a regulation first introduced during the oil crisis in the early 1970s, and later modified by successive provisions by the Italian Ministry of Complication of Simple Affairs.

Here is a map with the various zones and times (in Italian bu easy to understand)
https://luceegasitalia.it/2020/01/22/le-zone-climatiche-italiane-e-i-periodi-di-accensione-degli-impianti-di-riscaldamento/
If you click in the link in the article (at the word “qui”) you can see a PDF with the detail list municipality by municipality.

The effective dates in the article above pertain to 2020 but are updated for this year below:
https://luceegasitalia.it/2022/10/07/riscaldamento-ecco-i-nuovi-limiti-date-e-orari-del-2022-23-per-zone-climatiche/

It applies to all buildings (private and public) but obviously if an apartment has an individual furnace it would be difficult to enforce. But many apartments have central heating controlled by the home owners’ association, therefore they tend to comply.

Thank you. It's a relief to have than information on hand in case I need it for a shoulder-season trip.

Italian Ministry of Complication of Simple Affairs.

overstaffed with relatives of other workers?