Foreign buyers often encounter unfamiliar responses from Italians regarding engineering communications: electricity, gas, water supply, and sewage.
Let's clarify how it's organized in Italy and what terms are used.
Electricity Supply
In all residential buildings, even those located in remote areas, rural or mountainous regions, networked, district electricity supply (luce di rete) is widely available. Therefore, Italians don't understand questions about what type of electricity supply they have in their homes. Generators are only installed in case of potential network outages.
Gas Supply
It is customary to say:
In most houses located in towns and villages, there is a district gas network (central gas supply). In private houses, liquefied gas in tanks is more commonly used.
Water Supply
The water supply is almost ubiquitous, and its absence is exceptional (at least in the Abruzzo and Molise regions).
Due to occasional water shortages during dry periods, Italian homes (not only individual ones but also multi-story buildings) often have an autoclave per l’acqua — water reserve tanks with a motor that pumps water. Homeowners will mention the presence of such a system of autonomous water supply in response to questions about centralized or autonomous water supply.
Sewage
In villages and towns, sewage is centralized and connected to municipal drains.
In houses located in rural areas, sewage is usually autonomous: septic tank (septico) is more common, and less frequently pozzo nero (cesspit).
Let's clarify how it's organized in Italy and what terms are used.
Electricity Supply
In all residential buildings, even those located in remote areas, rural or mountainous regions, networked, district electricity supply (luce di rete) is widely available. Therefore, Italians don't understand questions about what type of electricity supply they have in their homes. Generators are only installed in case of potential network outages.
Gas Supply
It is customary to say:
- Metano (methane) o natural gas, when referring to the gas pipeline or connection to the regional gas network.
- GPL or serbatoio — if it's a tank for liquefied gas.
- Bombola — if the house uses gas cylinders (similar to those used in country houses) and in houses where people do not live permanently.
In most houses located in towns and villages, there is a district gas network (central gas supply). In private houses, liquefied gas in tanks is more commonly used.
Water Supply
The water supply is almost ubiquitous, and its absence is exceptional (at least in the Abruzzo and Molise regions).
Due to occasional water shortages during dry periods, Italian homes (not only individual ones but also multi-story buildings) often have an autoclave per l’acqua — water reserve tanks with a motor that pumps water. Homeowners will mention the presence of such a system of autonomous water supply in response to questions about centralized or autonomous water supply.
Sewage
In villages and towns, sewage is centralized and connected to municipal drains.
In houses located in rural areas, sewage is usually autonomous: septic tank (septico) is more common, and less frequently pozzo nero (cesspit).