Winter in Portugal, Heater Guide

Despite the fact that MINIMUM average temperatures in Portugal during winter do not drop below +8 °C (46.4 °F), expats from much colder countries claim that Portuguese winter is the worst.

Source: Facebook group "Porto expats"

The main reason of winter suffering is not the weather outside but the temperature inside. We can name several reasons:

• most of the Portuguese households do not have a central heating,
• most of the Portuguese households are not properly insulated,
• relatively high humidity during the winter,
• one of the highest electricity prices for households in the EU (30 cents/kWh in Germany, 23 cents/kWh in Portugal, 10 cents/kWh in Bulgaria).

The luckiest live in a new building with central heating (usually the most expensive rents), those who are still lucky have at least double glassed windows. And the others? They need to come up with a solution by themselves. 

Why we decided to buy a "Galp hotspot" heater

• Galp hotspot works with GAS (which makes it a considerably cheaper solution than anything working on electricity),
• it is probably the most favourite and widespread solution, which was recommended to us many times by the locals,
• it is easy to buy, easy to refill and easy to sell (in case of leaving the country),
• very easy to use and heats up a room quickly,
• it is a safe, modern and pretty good-looking solution.

Source: blog.galp.com

Where to buy a new one (apx. 126 €)

• Galp resellers
• Continente stores (direct cooperation with Galp)
• AKI
• Leroy Merlin 

Where to buy a second hand one (apx. 70 - 100 €)

• OLX   (we found a second-hand hotspot near our apartment for 80 € very easily)
• Facebook Marketplace
• Custo Justo

How does it work

The only thing missing in the video is the need for a battery to inflame the gas. See the video below.

How to get gas bottles

The whole process chain contains 4 steps:

1. buying "an empty bottle" - paying caution for the bottle - secure the bill! 
2. buying "a full bottle" - paying for the gas - going home to install it
3. when the bottle is empty, you have two options:
• grab your empty bottle, go to a store/gas station and exchange your empty bottle for the new one while paying only for the gas,
• call a service to have the new, full bottle delivered to your doorstep,
4. if moving to the apartment with central heating, leaving a country or buying a different type of heater, you can return "the empty bottle" with a bill and get back your money

Which gas bottle should I get

Hotspot works with BUTANE. Almost every kind of butane bottle can be connected to the heater, nevertheless, it was intended to work with PLUMA bottles. Pluma means "feather" in Portuguese, which is a hint that these are lightweight bottles, hence the most practical if you intend to move the heater between rooms. Also, its dimensions correspond to the inner dimensions of the heater. Other option is a regular butane bottle. The dimensions are only slightly different, but its weight makes it much less practical, although not impossible to move. Finally, the third kind of a butane bottle is much greater in dimensions and does not fit in the heater. Cheaper in prize per kg of gas, this one needs to stand separately from the heater making it impossible to move the heat source between rooms and taking up more space.

Where to get gas bottles

• Galp resellers
• Continente stores (ask on the information desk for the bottle caution and buy the gas on the cash desk - most of the time it is stored outside of the store - somebody from the stuff will come with you outside to give you the bottle)

In case you are buying the bottle for the first time, you pay the caution (30 €) as well as the price of the gas. Afterwards, you exchange your empty bottle for a new one while paying only for the gas.

How long does it last and how much does it cost

As you can see from the video, the heater works on three different intensities with the following consumption:

• 105 g/h
• 133 g/h
• 289 g/h

Bottles:

• Pluma (original for hotspot) 12kg, apx. 27,5 €
• Butano (traditional gas bottle) 13 kg, apx. 27 €
• Extreme 45+ kg

Pluma

12 kg = 12 000 g
12 000 / 105 g/h = apx. 114 hours
12 000/ 133g/h = apx. 90 hours
12 000/ 289 g/h = apx. 41,5 hours

Butano

13 kg = 13 000g

13 000/ 105 g/h = apx. 124 hours

13 000/ 133g/h = apx. 98 hours

13 000/ 289 g/h = apx. 48 hours

Summary
Of course, the Galp hotspot isn't the only option available to heat your home. The heater working on oil seems to be interesting as it supposedly stays warm longer after turning off and is safe to use when not present. However, we do not have any personal experience, so in case of interest, we recommend you to ask Google.