Heating in Chisinau: what to choose and where to buy

It is the twenty-fifth of October, the flat is at fifteen degrees, the radiators are cold. You call the building manager: not switched on yet. You call further up: heat is being supplied, but your block has not filed a request. By evening you are reading forums and seriously working out what a boiler of your own in the kitchen would cost.

Heating in Chisinau is arranged so that inside a flat you decide almost nothing: not when it starts, not what temperature you get, not what to do when the neighbour upstairs cuts out his radiators. The one real decision is whether to go autonomous. And that is the decision people make fastest and worst: they walk into a shop, ask which boiler suits a hundred square metres, get the best-selling model and half the problems that come with it.

What follows is what is worth understanding before the shop: when the law says heat must be supplied, how to size a boiler, how a condensing unit differs from a conventional one, what actually blocks an autonomous system in a flat, and what all of it costs in Chisinau at the end of August 2026. The list of companies is at the end, where it belongs.

When the heating starts and who decides

There is a rule, and it is precise. The regulation on thermal energy supply approved by ANRE (decision no. 23/2017), point 15: the season begins after three consecutive days on which the average outdoor air temperature between 18:00 and 06:00 stays at +10 °C or below. It ends symmetrically, when the same three consecutive days push the average above +10 °C. Not when city hall feels like it, and not automatically on 15 October.

The same point contains something almost nobody knows: heat can be supplied earlier, or the season extended, on the written request of the consumer, where it is technically possible. The request is not filed by a resident personally but by the party to the contract, meaning the building manager or the owners association. A block with someone willing to write that letter gets heat before a block without one.

The second thing worth knowing is that the city does not switch on all at once. Connection follows the requests filed by building managers under their contracts. If your block is cold while the one next door is warm, the question is almost never for the supplier. District heating and hot water in the city are handled by Termoelectrica: the main networks, the substations, connecting buildings, emergency repairs.

Calculate first, buy second

The popular rule of one kilowatt per ten square metres is a rough figure for an uninsulated house with three-metre ceilings. It relates to your actual flat about as well as the average temperature in a hospital relates to yours.

The real number moves with other things: whether the walls are insulated from outside, what windows you have and how many, which floor you are on (top and ground lose more), whether the flat is a corner one, how much of the wall is glass. And separately, hot water. If the boiler also heats water, the sizing follows the number of draw-off points rather than the radiators: a shower and a kitchen tap running together demand more than the radiators do in a hard frost.

The practical conclusion is simple. Do not ask the salesperson which boiler suits 100 m². Ask for the calculation, and if the answer is only about floor area, go to another shop. An oversized boiler does not heat better: it cycles on and off, wears out sooner and burns more gas.

Condensing or conventional

A condensing boiler recovers extra heat from the water vapour in the flue gases. The saving is real but conditional. It appears only when the return water comes back cold, which means underfloor heating or radiators sized with a margin. On an old system running 70 on the flow and 50 on the return there is barely any condensation, and an expensive boiler behaves like an ordinary one.

What else changes with it: you need a condensate drain into the sewer, a coaxial flue, and the electronics are more sensitive to the quality of the power supply. If the lights flicker regularly in your building, a stabiliser belongs in the quote, not on a wish list.

One appliance or two

A combi boiler heats water on demand: cheaper, more compact, nothing extra taking up space. The pressure drops when two points are open at once, the shower and the kitchen.

A boiler plus a cylinder costs more and needs room, but hot water arrives steadily and at several points. The cylinder has its own consumable, the magnesium anode, which has to be replaced; ask about it when you buy, not three years later.

Flue, gas and warranty

A fan-assisted boiler needs a coaxial outlet through the wall, an atmospheric one needs a working ventilation duct with draught. This is checked before the purchase, not after delivery.

Commissioning a gas boiler is done by an authorised service, and that is not a formality. Reviews of Chisinau shops contain a telling story: the buyer called a private fitter, who connected and fired up the boiler to check the pressure, then the gas inspector arrived and the warranty became a problem. Ask in advance who exactly comes for commissioning and what gets written in the warranty card afterwards.

Going autonomous in a flat is a permit, not a purchase

Any shop will sell you a boiler without asking questions. That is not where the difficulty sits.

The ANRE regulation everyone cites describes the relationship with the heat supplier: the contract, the billing, the termination. The procedure for physically disconnecting a single flat in an apartment block is not written into it, because that already belongs to building codes, shared risers and a decision by the owners. On top of that sits a separate branch: technical conditions and a gas design.

Hence the rule: the first call goes to Termoelectrica and the gas service, not to the shop, and only then do you price the job. People do it the other way round and discover halfway through that the riser is shared and the owners meeting is scheduled for spring.

Heat pumps: who they actually suit

Moldovans now search for heat pumps noticeably more often than for boilers. Demand has outrun understanding, and sellers make use of that.

The honest picture looks like this. A heat pump loses efficiency as the outdoor temperature falls: in November it saves money, at minus fifteen it is already running with an electric heater or a backup source. It performs best on a low-temperature circuit, meaning underfloor heating rather than cast-iron radiators at 70 degrees. And it is expensive equipment whose payback is counted in decades, not seasons.

In a flat connected to district heating a heat pump does not replace the pipe; it covers the shoulder seasons. An ordinary inverter air conditioner plays that role well enough: in October and April it closes the question for less money.

What it costs

Prices from the websites of Chisinau retailers, snapshot of 31.08.2026.

• Gas boilers start at roughly 8,500 lei, the bottom of the range, basic models.
• At Simplex, 24 kW boilers run from 13,775 to 35,568 lei depending on the series; the top models in the category reach 59,900 lei.
• Installation is sold separately and by the item. Teplomall lists underfloor heating at 180–202 lei per square metre, commissioning a circulation pump at 200–224 lei, connecting a Wi-Fi thermostat at 515–576 lei.
• If the question is an air conditioner as a shoulder-season heat source: Hisense at Tehnoformat from 5,999 lei, Haier at Teplomall from 5,560 lei.

The key point about price: the cost of the boiler is not the cost of heating. Add the flue, the safety group, the expansion vessel, the thermostat, the pipes, the fittings, the crew and the commissioning. Ask for the full quote, otherwise the gap between a 13,000-lei boiler and the final figure will be twofold.

What the reviews show

We collected 85 public Google reviews across ten Chisinau companies in this category (snapshot of 31.08.2026, up to ten reviews per company, so not the whole picture, but the recurring themes are visible).

The praise almost always points the same way, and not at the equipment. At a particular consultant, usually by name. At clean installation work and the fact that the crew tidied up. At speed: request today, installation the same day or two days later.

Complaints about the boiler itself are rare. Other storylines repeat: a dispute over the warranty and a refusal to take the equipment on for servicing; a service centre that is slow and talks down to people; a door scratched during installation that nobody responded to; an ordered part sold to someone else just before the customer arrived; no price tags on the shelf, so you learn the figure at the till.

Which gives one practical conclusion: you ask about service before you pay, not after the breakdown. Who takes on the warranty. Whose crew comes for commissioning. What happens if it leaks a year later and you call in December.

Where to go

Ratings and review counts are from Google, snapshot of 31.08.2026.

Boiler and installation in one deal. Cazan.md (4.7 from 296 reviews) specialises narrowly in boilers, with delivery across the country; reviewers most often note that the fitters genuinely know the job. WATT (4.6 from 57) sells boilers, air conditioners and filters, and people praise the equipment selection and the clean-up after installation; isolated reviews mention how a delivery-time scratch was handled. Tehnoformat (5.0 from 73) has two addresses, 3A Padurii St. and 77 Muncesti Rd., free delivery and seven-day returns; the most common note is detailed advice and installation on the agreed date.

Brand choice and an in-house service department. Euroterm (4.5 from 257) carries Vaillant, Protherm and Tesy, with its own fitters, service centre and instalment sales; service and warranty are also where most of the negative reviews land, including the tone at the counter. Climatec (4.4 from 275) brings in Bosch, Buderus, Immergas and Termet alongside climate and bathroom equipment, with shops in Chisinau and Orhei; consultants are regularly thanked by name.

Range, instalments, fast delivery. Simplex (4.4 from 27) stocks Baxi, Viessmann and RBM across six shops, delivers within Chisinau in 90–180 minutes and offers payment in instalments; the recurring complaint is that you often learn the price at the till. Romstal (4.7 from 16) is a chain with its own brands, including the EcoHeat line, a partner programme for fitters and a separate service line.

Climate and heat pumps. GREE Moldova (4.6 from 32) sells air conditioners and heat pumps; reviews most often praise the price and the speed of installation, and less often mention a refusal of technical servicing after the fit. Teplomall (5.0 from 17) has radiators, air conditioners, pumps and installation work at published rates. 4Elements (4.6 from 144) deals in pumping and engineering equipment with Italian brands; some buyers wrote that retail customers get less attention here than fitters do.

Check before you pay

• There is a power calculation, not a reference to floor area.
• The flue route has been checked and matches the type of boiler chosen.
• The quote covers the pipework, the thermostat, the labour and the commissioning, not just the boiler.
• You know who performs the commissioning and what goes into the warranty card afterwards.
• It is clear where the service centre is and how it operates during the heating season.
• For an autonomous system in a flat: Termoelectrica and the gas service first, the shop second.
• Prices are visible before the till. If not, ask for a written quote.

Frequently asked questions

When does the heating come on in Chisinau?

Under ANRE regulation no. 23/2017, after three consecutive days on which the average outdoor air temperature between 18:00 and 06:00 stays at +10 °C or below. The exact date differs every year because it depends on the weather, not the calendar.

Can our block get heat earlier on its own?

Yes, the regulation allows it: early supply or an extended season are possible on the written request of the consumer where it is technically feasible. The request is filed by the party to the contract, meaning the building manager or the owners association, not by an individual resident.

How many kilowatts does a 60 m² flat need?

There is no answer without a calculation. Wall insulation, windows, floor level and whether the flat is a corner one all matter, and if the boiler also heats water, so does the number of draw-off points. The one-kilowatt-per-ten-square-metres rule oversizes the boiler for insulated housing, and an oversized boiler performs worse, not better.

Does a condensing boiler pay off?

Only with a low return temperature, meaning underfloor heating or radiators sized with a margin. On an old high-temperature system the difference in gas consumption is small, while the boiler price and the requirements for the flue and condensate drain are noticeably higher.

Can I simply install my own boiler in a flat?

Buying one is easy, installing it is not always possible. Disconnecting a flat from the building system runs into shared risers, a decision by the owners and technical conditions for gas. Start with Termoelectrica and the gas service, not with the choice of model.

Do heat pumps work in our winters?

They work, with falling efficiency: the colder it gets, the more they top up with electricity. In a hard frost you need an electric heater or a second heat source. A heat pump makes most sense in an insulated house with underfloor heating.

Every company in this article and the rest of them sit in the Heating and climate section of the catalogue. If heating is part of a renovation, our pieces on bathroom tile and custom kitchens sit alongside it.