Duration of the heating season - rules and regulations

Every citizen has a constitutional right to favorable living conditions, and the optimal temperature in the apartment is a component of comfort. Central heating ensures comfort in the house even in severe frosts. Housing and public utilities services, distribution centers or management companies are responsible for the quality of heating systems.

Cold radiators during the heating season are a direct violation of civil rights. To make a claim, you need to know exactly when the heating is turned on and understand some of the nuances of organizing heating of residential premises.

What law regulates the process of heating residential premises?

Relations in the field of heat supply to residential premises are regulated at the federal level by the following legislative acts:

1. Federal Law “On Heat Supply” dated July 27, 2010 No. 190-FZ.
2. Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation “On the provision of public services” No. 354 dated May 6, 2011.
3. GOST 30494-2011 “Indoor microclimate parameters” dated 01/01/2013.

The above documents define the relationship between owners and utilities, the start and end dates of the heating season, as well as the rules for the provision and calculation of utilities.

Principles of district heating

A centralized water heating system is the most popular option for supplying heat to apartment buildings. Heat energy is supplied from thermal power plants via heating networks and intra-house communication systems.

Monitoring the maintenance of an optimal microclimate helps to implement the heating temperature schedule. It is compiled based on the following indicators:

• temperature in the water supply and outlet pipes in the heating system and the difference between them;
• temperature outside and inside the room.

The colder the air outside the window, the higher the temperature of the water in the battery should be. A heating schedule is needed to adjust equipment power when weather conditions change.

With its help, several problems are solved at once:

• energy consumption is optimized;
• the optimal temperature level in the room is maintained;
• citizens' costs for paying utility bills during the heating season are reduced.

The heating schedule must be attached to the service contract with housing and communal services or RSO.

Beginning of the heating season in Russian regions

The heating season is the period of time in which heat is supplied through a centralized heating system. Previously, six months were allotted for heating activities - from October 15 to April 15.

However, due to differences in weather conditions in different regions, it was decided to determine the date for turning on the heating system based on a combination of the following factors:

• average daily temperature;
• weather forecast for the near future.

If within five days the average daily temperature does not exceed +8 °C, the district administration adopts a resolution on the opening date of the heating season. The timing may be adjusted if warming is predicted.

Time range for turning on central heating systems by region:

* In the city of Sochi, only 3 months are allotted for the heating season. In this region, heating is turned on in mid-November, and turned off at the end of February, beginning of March.

Heat is supplied to objects in the following order:

• kindergartens, schools, hospitals and other buildings of social significance;
• administrative and industrial buildings;
• residential premises.

Interesting! In houses with autonomous heat transfer systems, the start and end dates of heating activities are set by the decision of the owners.

Features of the end of the central heating season

The heat supply is stopped if the average daily temperature is more than +8 °C for five days. However, due to the instability of weather conditions, management companies prefer to play it safe and are in no hurry to turn off the central heating, because restarting the system is a very labor-intensive undertaking.

The start and end dates of the heating season are determined by municipal, not utility services. The municipality sends an order to the CHP, which, in turn, notifies the housing and communal services and management services about the timing of turning on and off the heat supply.

The resolution on the heat supply schedule is published on the website of the district administration. If the heating is not turned on on the specified dates, this can serve as a precedent for a complaint.

When will the heating be turned on this year?

At what temperature do you turn on the heating? According to the same above-mentioned resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation, the start of the heating season is scheduled only when the average daily air temperature outside the window is below the minimum +8°C for 5 days. The heating must be turned on on the 6th day of this period. Most often this happens from October 1 to October 15.

Municipal authorities decide to turn on heating systems, observing the mandatory rules:

• The heating start date is agreed upon with weather forecasters. Obviously, it is not advisable to launch the system when significant warming is expected in 2-3 days.
• When making a decision, they take into account not only the low temperature in residential premises, but also the danger of freezing of the heating system.

In order to fix some problems, the help of utility services is not always needed. Sometimes apartment building residents can do this on their own.

If you don’t know when the heating is turned off, let us remind you that most often this happens after the 20th of April.

Step-by-step instructions for filing a complaint about late heating switching on

A complaint about the lack of heating can only be filed after official confirmation of the start date of the heating season. The application is drawn up in the name of the head of the organization with which the contract for heat supply services was concluded.

The form of the document is free, but it is necessary to indicate the following information:

• Full name and contact details of the applicant;
• description of the problem and a list of measures that were taken to solve it;
• list of requirements;
• date of application and signature of the apartment owner.

The complaint is drawn up in two copies. The first is transferred to the authorized person, and the second remains with the owner.

Important! The owner's copy must be marked with the date the claim was received. If any documents appeared during the settlement of the issue, certified copies of them must be attached to the complaint.

Useful tips

But the best way to heat your home is to use air conditioners.
A conventional device pumps 2.5-5 kW of thermal energy into an apartment from the street, while consuming about 1 kW of electricity. The most economical are the latest generation inverter air conditioners with rotary compressors. They generate 5 times more heat than they consume electricity. Read also: “What is the temperature schedule of the heating system and what does it depend on.” However, it cannot be said that the temperature at the beginning of the heating season is a priority factor. Still, the time of year plays a big role - even if it’s still warm in November, the heating will still be turned on.

Heating season schedule on video:

Is it possible to turn off during the heating season?

Accidents on heating mains are not uncommon. Such force majeure, as a rule, entails the shutdown of hot water supply and heating. The legislation provides for standards for one-time shutdown of heating, which must be observed.

Standards for turning off heating during the season:

Important! If the apartment owner proves that the temperature in the room does not meet the approved standards, he may demand financial compensation in the amount of 0.15% of the monthly heating fee for each hour of violation.

How to heat an apartment in the off-season

It may take a long time before the average daily temperature reaches the conditional level at which the management company is obliged to turn on the heating. In autumn, the sun does not warm up the walls much, and with the onset of darkness they quickly cool down, sucking the heat out of the room. You can heat the apartment while waiting for the central heating to start using additional equipment:

• oil radiator;
• fan heater;
• air heating unit.

Double-glazed windows or inexpensive, but quite effective, sealing of windows for the winter will allow you to retain heat.

What to do if there is no heat in the apartment

After the onset of winter cold, the temperature of living quarters should not fall below +18 °C. If the heating system cannot provide the temperature regime specified by GOST, the owner must immediately notify the emergency dispatch service of the presence of violations. Applications can be accepted by telephone or in person. In both cases, the dispatcher is required to provide his details and record the time the complaint was received.

Upon request, an examination is carried out. If the owner of the apartment has not determined his time for carrying it out, then the inspection is carried out within two hours after receipt of the application.

Based on the results of the inspection, a report is drawn up containing the following information:

• measurement methodology;
• tools and devices used;
• identified violations or the absence of such violations;
• date and time of the inspection.

If the results of the inspection by the management company do not satisfy the owner, he has the right to request a re-examination with the participation of members of the State Property Committee and the public association of consumers.

How to determine the average daily temperature

The average daily temperature is defined as the arithmetic mean of all measurements taken over 24 hours. To calculate it, you need to do the following:

• take air temperature measurements at intervals of 4 hours (the interval can be any);
• add all values;
• divide the resulting amount by the number of measurements.

The result will be the average temperature for the day.

Where to complain if batteries stay cold

In the event of a lack of heat, apartment owners can file a complaint with one of the organizations responsible for maintaining the building:

• management company;
• housing and communal services service or RSO;
• housing inspection.

If contacting local authorities does not bring the desired result, it is necessary to file a formal complaint with higher authorities:

• local administration;
• Rospotrebnadzor;
• the prosecutor's office;
• court.

Official requests can be left on the websites of the above organizations.

Actions if you don’t turn on the heating and it’s already cold

Attention
If the heating season has already begun, the first thing you need to do is make sure that all the batteries in the apartment are working properly. If only your home is cold, but your neighbors upstairs and downstairs are warm, the problem may be an air lock. Plumbers will quickly fix it.

The temperature in the apartment is important. According to SanPin standards, in a living room there should be at least +18 degrees, in a corner room +20 degrees. If the temperature in your home is lower, you need to call the emergency dispatch service and leave a request to solve the heating problem. Within one or two days, the cause of the malfunction must be found and eliminated, as well as notifying you about it.

You also need to demand that a representative of the management company come and record the fact that the batteries are not working and the temperature is low. The drawn up act will become the basis for recalculating the cost of heating and will serve as evidence that, if necessary, can be attached to the complaint.