Five coal-fired boiler houses in Bishkek have been converted to heat pumps, resulting in savings of around 8 million KGS

Five coal-fired boiler houses, which provide heating for three schools and two nurseries in Bishkek, have been converted to heat pumps. This has resulted in savings of around 8 million KGS. This was announced by Ulan Aitiev, director of the municipal enterprise ‘Bishkekteploset’, during an open cabinet meeting.

One of these boiler houses is located at School No. 118 in the capital. According to Aitiev, during the 2025–2026 heating season, only eight of the 18 heat pumps installed at the school were operational. Despite this, the new system proved its effectiveness as early as its first heating season.

He said that, thanks to the new system, 385 tonnes of coal were saved in a single heating season.

“As coal combustion has ceased, the volume of harmful emissions into the atmosphere has been reduced. At the same time, heating costs have also fallen,” — noted Aitiev.

He explained that a heat pump works on the same principle as an air conditioner: it extracts heat from the outside air and transfers it to water. This water then circulates through the existing heating system and provides heat to the school building.

The system is fully automated — the temperature can be controlled remotely using a computer or smartphone.