January, a pleasant frost outside, the snow crunches. And at home it’s a little warmer than on the street: the batteries barely warm. What should be the temperature of the batteries in the apartment, you know? Perhaps the air pipe? Or maybe this heater spares heat? Or an accident on a heating main? Call the control room, and there they answer that the heat is supplied to everyone in the same mode and the problem should be solved somewhere in your place, asked to check the pipes in the apartment. If the pipes are in order, they ask to turn to the neighbors: maybe they have something wrong. You will not find the ends. And there is a reverse situation. And you don’t seem to find fault, because they drown in good conscience. It would seem, what is there to complain about? But it turns out there is something. And first of all, for violation of state standards of service in the housing and communal services and the failure to maintain the appropriate temperature of the heating batteries in the apartment of the house. So, violation of your rights as a customer of a service. After all, you have concluded an agreement with them. This, in turn, obliges the heating company to provide its services efficiently, without departing from norms and standards. And such standards, by the way, regulate the temperature of heating batteries in apartments throughout the entire heating season.
How many times have you endured the cold in the heating season due to the fact that not enough warm? Or unbearable heat, because they heat the same way - in October, in February cold? To prevent this from happening, you must clearly know your rights as a consumer of heating services, including the proper temperature of the batteries in the apartment. And in no case do not allow to violate these rules of the heating company. You need to know exactly what the temperature of the battery in the apartment should be normal. After all, letting go of minor violations, we indulge in negligence, and in the end it can bring much more trouble not only to you personally, but also to other consumers.
What state standards regulate the supply of heat?
GOSTs or state quality standards serve to regulate the relationship between the consumer and the manufacturer / supplier of any product or service. In this case, the manufacturer or supplier of the heating service is the heating company (boiler room). Housing and utilities - a legal entity whose responsibilities under the contract include providing citizens with heating services. The consumer of such a service is accordingly any person who has entered into a service contract with a company.
And in each specific situation, the state standard will determine the permissible norms, the limits of the norms and deviations from them for each industry. It is with these standards that the temperature of heating batteries in an apartment is regulated - the norm. Achievement of what degrees becomes a violation of state standards and what measures should be taken?
So what standard defines what should be the desired temperature of the battery in the apartment? GOST 30494-2011 - this is the quality standard imposed by the state for all suppliers of their services to perform properly. defines everything regarding heat in a comfortable apartment.
But whatever the heating temperature in the apartment, the norm should always refer to a limit of 20 to 22 degrees Celsius so that the room is suitable for housing. The minimum mark for sanitary standards is 18 degrees Celsius.The temperature in the room should not be lower than this mark (provided that you have windows closed and airtightness is observed, heating elements and other additional heating devices are not included)
It is also worth noting that today the GOST-standard for the temperature of heating radiators in an apartment is not a mandatory rule, but only a recommendatory quality standard, which the service company is free to adhere to or not adhere to at its discretion. Forcing a heating company to comply with GOST requirements in practice is almost impossible. There is also a rule about what should be the temperature of the batteries in the apartment regulated by the SANPIN norms. And although GOST standards are higher legally than SANPIN standards, it is the latter that are used as a measure of standards in enterprises. So, it will depend on them what the temperature of the heating batteries in the apartment will be.
What should be the degree of warmth of water at different times of the year?
So what should be the temperature of the batteries in the apartment? Standards for heating apartments depend on the time of year and weather conditions. For each specific organization, there are work regulations that depend on local conditions and include all the necessary parameters, including the thermal conductivity of the pipes, heat loss during water transfer and other professional factors.
SANPIN norms reflect the real situation of the requirements of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Norms on what should be the temperature of the batteries in the apartment. But they also give concessions to heaters. For example, to save resources at night, it is allowed to reduce the heat in the room by 3 degrees. This standard says that the temperature of the battery in the apartment in the winter should normally be such that the air temperature in the living room remains at least 18 degrees Celsius in the winter.
If it is more or less than the specified limits, it is worth taking appropriate measures.
What to do if the water temperature is below normal?
First of all, act on the situation. The elementary laws of self-preservation dictate to us: if something is wrong, you need to save yourself. If the batteries do not heat up at all, and on the street in January, then it is worthwhile to provide for an alternative heat source or to relocate to relatives. Litigation with utilities can last quite a long time, and all this time you have to live somewhere. And freezing in an unheated apartment is not the best option. First of all, because you need to start with a good attitude towards yourself. This advice may seem trivial, but let's face it: thousands of people in this case continue to remain in an unheated room, wrap themselves in fur coats and so on. If the temperature of the heating batteries in the apartment is not respected, take care of your health.
In order to prove your case, you need strength. First of all, physical, and secondly, moral. A person, crushed by the situation, can sometimes make such concessions that he would never have made in any other situation. Therefore, the only option here is to immediately respond to a violation of your rights. As well as ensuring your own comfort. The next step is to find out what is the current battery temperature in the apartment.
How to measure the temperature of the water in the batteries?
To begin with, on modern radiators, special taps with temperature sensors are often already installed. They allow and regulate heat. If your battery has such a sensor, the first thing you should do is contact it. It reflects current information about the temperature of heating radiators in the apartment and a mechanism is installed that allows you to adjust the undesirable increase or decrease in heat in accordance with the temperature standards of the batteries in the apartment.
If you do not have such a sensor, then there are 3 ways to act in a similar situation:
- Take a conventional mercury thermometer and attach it to the surface of the radiator for a few minutes. This result needs to be adjusted plus / minus 2 degrees.
- Take an alcohol thermometer and stick it to the battery, for example, masking tape. Then cover with a thick blanket and wait for the set time. Such a result will also not be very accurate, but quite visual.
- Use an infrared laser thermometer. This type of thermometer is very accurate (the error will be approximately half the division) and does not require special preparation. However, not every ordinary person has such a device in the house. And it costs more than an ordinary thermometer.
- Call a specialist. In order to call specialists to your home, it’s enough to find an organization engaged in such measurements on the Internet and invite a special team to your house. Technicians will not only measure the temperature of the batteries in the house, but also tell you what the cause of heat loss is and how to fix it. And, most importantly, in our case, they will draw up an act on violation by the heating company of the terms of heat supply.
This is a key point. Since it is this act that will allow you to resolve the issue with the improper fulfillment by the company of its obligations and, possibly, not only solve your problem with heating, but also receive additional compensation if the actions of the contractor (housing and communal services, boiler room and so on) were noticed violations that entailed damage or malfunctioning heating systems.
Home measures with batteries that are too hot
If the batteries are overheated, do the following:
- adjust the temperature sensor on the battery (if any);
- ventilate the room as often as possible until completely cooled;
- use air conditioning (if possible);
- cover the batteries with a dense non-burning cloth or fence off the curtains / screen.
It should be remembered that the fabric can deteriorate from overheating, so you need to choose only very dense and heat-resistant materials. For example, thick felt retains heat very well.
Reasons for non-compliance with GOST water temperature in batteries
However, the causes of violation of heating standards are different. Do not immediately “throw stones” in the direction of the heating company.
Such reasons may include weather conditions, emergencies, physical factors (for example, air entering the pipes), wine may also be on third parties who violate the rules for using heating systems, and so on. It may also be the material from which the batteries are made .
But despite this, in 99% of cases of violation of GOST, the work of the companies responsible for this activity is nevertheless. After all, if there was some kind of emergency on the line, it is often the fault of the services that performed the inspection or replacement / maintenance of the equipment, or the inspection of the company, which is well aware of all violations of GOST, but has not yet resolved this issue.
No need to endure, feel free to contact your requirements with higher authorities. And how to do it right, we will tell further.
Who is responsible for compliance with state standards in the housing and communal services?
Compliance with GOST standards is monitored by such structures as Rospotrebnadzor, the sanitary-epidemiological station (SES), and a special commission checks the fact of violations to ensure that the temperature of the heating batteries in the apartment is normal. If you violate your rights, you also have the right to go to court. If the heating company maliciously violates the rights of citizens who have concluded an agreement with it, the prosecutor's office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs will take up the matter. As you can see, your interests are protected by law.
How to prove your case and defend your rights to heat
If the applicant is not satisfied with the temperature of the battery in the apartment, the norm in this case is an appeal to legal representatives. To begin, make all the necessary measurements: record the temperature of the air batteries in the presence of specialists, draw up an inspection report. Now with these documents you can safely go to court. But before you sue the utility company, try to negotiate with them: file a complaint with the organization itself for an administrative resolution of the issue. Most likely, the company will appoint a special check according to state standards and violations will be identified and corrected, and comfort will return to you.
It also happens that the management company and utilities do not respond properly to a violation of the GOST norm. In this case, you must go to court.
Leverage on the utility system.
When public utilities refuse to take responsibility for cold batteries, most Russians turn to either the judiciary or the “fourth power,” that is, journalists. And those, in turn, make the matter public on television or in print. This method is good because it appeals to the actions of real representatives of the authorities - the city administration. So you can solve problems that could not be solved for a long time. Indeed, often communal problems are more than just problems with the organization. This, in essence, turns into a housing problem, when the only option for solving the problem is the temporary relocation of residents from unheated rooms. In this case, the authorities help the affected residents.
How to protect yourself from such situations?
- In an extreme case, it is better to get heaters in advance in case of cold and air conditioning in case of heat.
- Change radiators to new ones. If the old batteries have already rusted, it's time to change them. This way you protect yourself from leaks and unnecessary repair worries. And the new ones will last you a long time. In addition, in new radiators, in most cases, there is a regulator and a built-in thermometer that will not allow your batteries to overheat without your knowledge, and will also let down excess temperature due to a steam tap, which is also quite convenient.
- Perform periodic pipe prophylaxis. Pipes must be cleaned from air accumulation: drain water to prevent air bubbles from entering, check integrity.
- Carry out a technical inspection of the heating system before the heating season so that everything works as expected. Every summer, authorities, the city administration and housing and communal services carry out preventive and repair work. It will not be amiss to also invite specialists to check for yourself if there is any doubt about the readiness of the equipment for winter.
- And of course, if suddenly the temperature of the water in the pipes ceases to meet the requirements of GOST, immediately contact your heating company to find out the reasons. It is possible that the cause of the malfunction is somewhere on the line.