When it gets colder outside, most residents are interested in when they turn on the heating. This question is becoming very relevant. Quite often in our country, apartments are heated late. That is, the street is already low, the apartment is also cool, and the batteries are still cold. It is necessary to heat with electric heaters, and this is expensive. But you should understand that they include heating according to the norms. When does this happen and what are these norms? Let's try to figure this out.
At what temperature do you turn on the heating?
There is no specific date when batteries in apartment buildings should become hot. Public utilities are guided by the air temperature outside the window. Therefore, often people believe that utilities are not working well and because of their lack of professionalism are late with the start of the heating season.
But the public utilities themselves, when they turn on the heating, are primarily guided by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation No. 354, which sets out 2 conditions for starting the heating season:
- The average daily temperature in the street drops below +8 degrees.
- A similar temperature lasts for five days.
This means that if for five days on the street the average daily temperature is +7 degrees, then on the sixth day in the apartments of residents, the batteries should be hot. Now you understand at what temperature the heating is turned on, and the frames are pretty clear. But if for four days the temperature keeps at around +7 degrees, and on the fifth day there will be warming up to +9, then the heating is unlikely to be turned on on the sixth day. Therefore, the average daily temperature plays a large role - heating in the apartment of residents depends on this parameter.
Heating by agreement
There are rare cases when tenants of one house agree on specific dates for the heating season with the company responsible for supplying heat to their house. In this case, a contract is concluded between the tenants and the company, which sets the start and end dates for the heat supply to the house. In this case, the average daily air temperature does not play a role. If the contract provides for the supply of heat, for example, on October 5, then on this day the boiler room will be melted to deliver hot water to the pipes of residents. And nobody cares if the street is +15 degrees Celsius.
However, when drawing up such agreements, they always proceed from common sense and establish real dates when the cooling is supposed to begin.
Temperature norms in apartments of residents
There are special norms of temperature, which should prevail in living quarters in the cold and warm periods of the year. These norms are indicated in SANPiN 2.1.2.1002-00. They must be observed by all companies that service residential premises, since maintaining the optimal and acceptable temperature is the key to the health and well-being of residents.
According to SANPiN, the range of permissible temperatures for the warm season is 20-28 degrees above zero. In cold weather, the range goes a little to the side:
- For the toilet, kitchen and bathroom - 18-26 degrees above zero.
- For living rooms - 18-24 degrees above zero.
It is precisely these indicators that must be followed when determining compliance with temperature standards in residential premises. If the heating in the apartment is poor and in the living room when measuring, the temperature is 16-17 degrees in the cold season, then the tenant has the right to complain to the management company or HOA (depending on who provides the heating), and in the absence of reaction, you can file a lawsuit to court.
Where to complain?
We found out at what temperature the heating is turned on, and now you can be guided by the range indicated above. If the heating season did not start after 5 days at a low average daily temperature, then you can contact the HOA or a company that delivers hot water to the batteries of houses. For this, it is necessary to measure the temperature in the room in the presence of a company representative. Given that there is no heating in the house, it should be low in the apartment. If the mark on the thermometer is lower than the standard temperature, then the tenant has the right to draw up an act on unacceptable indicators. It is advisable to draft this act together with neighbors and sign it together. In this case, it is necessary to draw up two copies, each of which must also be signed by the responsible organization. You need to keep one copy for yourself.
Correct temperature measurement
Important: you need to measure the room temperature correctly. For this, the thermometer should be at a distance of 1.5 meters from the floor and 1 meter from the wall. It is also advisable not to hold it in your hands, but to hang it on a rope. Note that the HOA employee can measure with his thermometer, the accuracy of which cannot be assured. Therefore, be sure to take a measurement with your thermometer in parallel.
Lawsuit
According to the result of a written complaint, for each hour of temperature inconsistency with the required standards, the cost of paying for heating is reduced by 0.15% of the monthly payment. If the management company or the HOA for a long time does not fulfill its obligations, then you can go to court with a view to moral, material compensation, as well as compensation for the costs of drugs that were purchased to treat a disease that arose as a result of low temperature in the living room. There are a lot of options here, however, only a good specialist can competently build a case in court. Evidence base, evidence of neighbors and other residents of the house will be required. In the practice of many lawyers, there are cases when tenants sued a company that provides heat to the house. The outcomes are different, but quite often the court takes the side of the plaintiff.
When the law is on the side of the HOA
Note that the law allows "simple" in the heating period, but it is very limited. This is provided in case of an emergency at the boiler room or a pipe break in the house, etc. It is indicated that for a month at a temperature not lower than +12 degrees, 24 hours of downtime are allowed. If the air temperature in the room is in the range from +10 to +12 degrees, then maybe only 8 hours of "downtime" per month. And if the temperature drops below +8 degrees, then the absence of heating is allowed only 4 hours a month. This rule is valid in 2017, but it was the same in 2016, 2015, 2014. When you turn on the heating and then turn it off again for any reason, this can be called a malfunction, but it can also be associated with a sharp warming on the street. But if you observe a malfunction in the boiler room and your batteries get colder from time to time at a low temperature in the street, then you must contact the responsible organization. It is imperative to respond to such situations, since management companies often abuse and postpone the start of the heating season.
Conclusion
Now you know when the heating will be turned on in 2014, and 2017 is no exception. There is no specific date when the water in the batteries becomes warm, since the average daily temperature, which remains at a low level for a long period (5 days), primarily affects the heating season. Unfortunately, the residents do not have leverage to speed up the onset of the heating season, and the above possibility of drawing up an act is relevant only in case of inefficiency of heating. That is, if the temperature in the street does not drop below +8 degrees, then it makes little sense to measure the temperature in the room and prove anything to the management company, because its representatives can refer to the Government Decree SANPiN 2.1.2.1002-00. Perhaps now we have finally figured out at what temperature the heating is turned on.