General Director of the managing and operating company Ksenia Shankina answers:
The “Rules for the provision of communal services to citizens” envisage a ban on the suspension or restriction of the provision of communal services in the event that consumers fully comply with the obligations established by law.
Nevertheless, the legislation implies possible interruptions in the heating supply, and the following permissible standards are enshrined in the "Requirements for the quality of utilities". The reasons can be emergency or preventive work. In particular, the following breaks are provided:
- no more than 24 hours in total within a month;
- no more than 16 hours at a time (at an air temperature in residential premises from + 12 ° C);
- no more than 8 hours at a time (at an air temperature in residential premises from +10 to + 12 ° C);
- no more than 4 hours at a time (at an air temperature in residential premises from +8 to + 10 ° C).
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Do I need to turn on the heating in the summer in case of a cold snap
The State Duma proposed to turn on heating in houses in the summer if the temperature outside falls below the climatic norm. Deputy Vasily Vlasov sent such an appeal to the Ministry of Construction. According to him, in July and early August 2020, a large number of citizens' appeals regarding a cold snap in their apartments were received in his name. We find out whether it is possible to turn on the heating in the summer season and under what conditions we must provide heat.
Out of season
Photo: TASS / Mikhail Japaridze
State Duma deputy Vasily Vlasov proposed to turn on central heating in apartments in the summer, if the air temperature drops below the climatic norm. According to him, due to rainy weather and low temperatures for July and August, residents of Central Russia often complained about a sharp cold snap in their apartments.
It is also necessary to remember that heating bills are received by our citizens throughout the year. Vasily Vlasov
State Duma deputy
The deputy sent his appeal to the Minister of Housing and Utilities Vladimir Yakushev, so that the department would assess the initiative and analyze the possibility of its implementation.
According to meteorologists, July this year in Moscow was the coldest in 100 years. The monthly air temperature lagged behind the norm by 1.5-1.8 degrees, averaging 16.7 degrees. Due to the cold snap, residents of the capital even began to buy insulated clothing.
In the rest of the world, July was recognized as the hottest in the entire history of observations - in some countries of Western Europe, the air warmed up to 40 degrees. Meanwhile, in Moscow in August, the weather did not change much. On the night of August 5, thermometers showed only 6.7 degrees - this day was the coldest since the beginning of summer.
However, users on social networks were ambiguous about the initiative of the deputy. According to Alexandra from Moscow, at low temperatures, she turns on gas stoves and electric batteries in the apartment and does not think that heating is necessary. Mikhail advises to keep warm with the help of the "warm floor" system.
“After a series of cold summer periods, I did just that, now it's warm at home, it's relatively inexpensive,” the user explained.
Alexander from Kostroma advises buying a conventional heater. “In the summer it will come out much cheaper than paying for heating,” he said.
A resident of the capital, Lyubov, on the contrary, is sure that heating in the summer will not hurt. “Why should I buy a heater if I pay for heating for a whole year.Correctly the question is raised, otherwise spring has come - three days of heat, and then cold, but, alas, the heating is turned off, ”she complains.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Construction explained that the issue of turning on the heating is decided not by the federal minister, but by the local authorities.
Any mayor can order the central heating to be turned on even in summer. We have municipalities where they heat all year round. press service of the Ministry of Construction
In turn, the press service of MOEK said that short-term switching on of heating during a sharp cold snap in summer is technically extremely difficult. In the summer period, preventive and repair work is underway on heating networks, which “cannot be completed at once”.
“For example, as of today, about one and a half hundred identified damages and places of potential leaks are being simultaneously eliminated - this means that heating mains have been excavated, pipes and valves are in a state of replacement,” the company stressed.
Do I need to add heat?
Photo: TASS / Zuma
Svetlana Razorotneva, executive director of Housing and Public Utilities Control, said that the regions were indeed given the right to independently decide at what time to turn on the heating.
“There are sanitary standards, according to which, if during a certain number of days the average daily temperature is below eight degrees, then the heating must be turned on. The regions are successfully using this, because we all remember when in May 2020 the heating was turned on again in Moscow, because it got colder and it started snowing, ”the expert noted.
At the same time, according to her, in order for the apartments to be given warmth, many conditions must be met.
“If there is no repair on the heating mains, if there is enough fuel in the boiler houses, then this can be done, but this requires certain procedures. The heating is turned on after preparation, including the house itself, for winter, there must be hydraulic tests, inspection of engineering equipment, a passport of readiness for winter must be signed. Therefore, there may be problems with the house, too, ”added Razorotneva.
In Salekhard, for example, the heating season ends around July and begins in August, and they need to prepare everything in a month. Svetlana Razorotneva
Executive Director of Housing and Utilities Control
In turn, the chairman of the Union of Housing Organizations of Moscow, Konstantin Krokhin, explained that in the summer, diagnostics, tests and repairs are carried out on heating mains in case of pipe defects.
“For example, in Moscow MOEK has a very tough test schedule. If an unscheduled turn on of heating is carried out during this period, it means that the plans need to be adjusted, there may not even be enough time to prepare for the winter heating season, and the level of operational safety in the cold season may also decrease, ”the source said.
In his opinion, in the summer, during an uncomfortable period of cold snap, you can use household electrical appliances, in particular, heaters, not including heating.
For the sake of a few days in the summer, when there is discomfort, turn on the heating? It turns out that the end does not justify the means. Konstantin Krokhin
Chairman of the Union of Housing Organizations of Moscow
He added that in order to implement the initiative, it will be necessary to change the legislation in terms of regulating the conditions for the inclusion of heating in the summer.
When the heating is turned on
Photo: TASS / Mikhail Japaridze
As a rule, the heating season in Moscow begins in September-October and ends in April-May. But there are also abnormal cases: in 2020, it was necessary to turn on the heating again after switching off in early May, because the temperature dropped below the minimum.
According to the standards, they are obliged to turn on the heat if the average daily temperature does not rise above 8 degrees within five days. First, they start heating in houses, schools, clinics and hospitals, and then heat is supplied to industrial enterprises and offices.
Private lawyer Victoria Suvorova (Pyatigorsk) answers:
Of course, you cannot turn off the heating in winter. But here it should be noted that if this happened as a result of an emergency shutdown, that is, there was a pipe break, an accident, a flood, etc., then a temporary heating limitation for the period of emergency work and the elimination of the leak is permissible. It is not clear from the question what incident happened to you. If the neighbor changes the heating system, then this is wrong. You can file a complaint with the Criminal Code, HOA, emergency service, Teploservice, Housing Inspectorate, prosecutor's office and with a lawsuit against a neighbor for compensation for moral damage and damage caused by the lack of heating in the apartment in winter.
Installation of the heating system in emergency mode
The weather won't wait for you. If today is only October 25 and it is -20C outside, then it is not a fact that there will be a thaw tomorrow. And it will be, as it is seen in the forecast, up to -25C and so on until December. And there already and under the "thirty" frosts promise.
Hence, it is useless to be engaged in decoration. The heating system should be installed quickly and as thoroughly as possible. For, as they say, there is nothing more permanent than something made for a while.
You can start without finishing, the main thing is fast!
Hang "snot" wires or temporary pipes, and they will be with you for the next 10-15 years in your house.
To quickly start the heating system in cold weather, it is worth doing a few "tricks" from the arsenal of specialists - boilers:
- Start the heating system on the ground floor first. The CO on the second floor can be started when the CO on the first floor heats up the whole house.
- Install horizontal pipe sections with bends and shut-off valves under the radiators. And install 2-3 radiators per floor. When the boiler is started at minimum power, these radiators will already provide heat and allow the rest of the heating system to be mounted in relative comfort.
- Leave the installation of service automatics, weather-dependent controllers and room sensors for later. Your task now is to start the boiler in the simplest mode. Let the house start heating, and the automation can be prepared and connected later.
- For boilers with liquid fuel - it is possible to start without connecting to the main tank. If you did not have time to bury a container under a diesel fuel for 1-3 tons before the snow, then you can no longer rush. A diesel boiler can also be started from a large canister. And it can be fed all winter from a barrel with a volume of 60-200 liters, which can stand next to the boiler.
Spring will come, and then you will start digging the ground again and continue the unfinished earthwork.
The head of the legal support department Ksenia Buslaeva answers:
Formally, the contractor providing utilities (today, in the overwhelming majority of cases, this is the management company, that is, the management company), has the right to suspend the provision of the service (in this case, the heating of an apartment building, that is, MKD), but only for scheduled or emergency repair work. The maximum allowable period for turning off heating in the MKD during the heating season is 24 hours during a month or at a time no more than 16 hours, provided that the temperature in residential premises is not lower than + 12 ° C.
In fact, the owner of the apartment, in which it is planned to repair the heating system during the heating season, applies to the Criminal Code with a request to authorize work that may entail a cessation of heat supply to all or part of the apartment building. The final decision on further actions of the Criminal Code is taken independently - either to authorize and carry out repair work, or not.
Purpose: replacement of radiators
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Choice of coolant
Comparison of the parameters of water and antifreeze
The next stage in starting the heating system in winter is the choice of the heat carrier. Despite the emergence of new antifreeze liquids, water remains the best option for filling. This is due to its heat capacity - 1 kcal / (kg • deg). The lower this indicator, the more energy you need to spend on heating the house. That is, the amount of heat that is expended to heat it will be transferred to the room with minimal losses.
However, in addition to this, the negative aspects of using water must be taken into account. The main one is crystallization at sub-zero temperatures. This will cause ice plugs to appear in pipes and batteries. Therefore, the instructions for starting the heating system necessarily indicate that it is not recommended to use water at subzero temperatures in the room. In this case, antifreeze should be added. It differs depending on the composition.
Ethylene glycol heat transfer fluid
Currently, it is not used for the first start-up of the heating system. This is due to its high toxicity - if it gets on the skin or into the respiratory tract, it is dangerous to human health. But at the same time, in terms of its parameters, it is as close as possible to water. The only difference is in the higher density.
Propylene glycol
It is part of a standard food supplement and is completely safe for humans. The disadvantage is the high cost and high heat capacity.
Glycerin-based heat carrier
It is currently the best replacement for propylene glycol. These antifreezes have a higher heat capacity and are also safe for use in both open and closed heating systems. The disadvantages of glycerin include its fluidity. Therefore, when planning the order of starting heating, it is necessary to add the replacement of rubber gaskets with paronite ones. In this way, small leaks can be avoided.
All types of antifreeze can be bought both ready-made and concentrated. When preparing the solution yourself, you need to take into account the lower freezing limit. For 40% of the composition, it is -30 degrees.
Konstantin Bobrov, director of the Edin.center legal service, answers:
The legislation does not prohibit turning off the heating in order to repair the heating system, since the lack of repair can lead to even more negative consequences (to the breakdown of the entire system). Therefore, it is even necessary to implement it.
However, the owner of the apartment where the work will be carried out is obliged to carry out repairs in such a way that it causes as little inconvenience as possible for the neighbors: it should be as efficient and quiet as possible, a warm day should be chosen for the work, and so on.
What to do if this citizen does not respect the interests of neighbors (for example, works in a 30-degree frost)? You can complain about him to the prosecutor's office. It is advisable to attach written explanations from other neighbors to the application. The prosecutor's office will have to bring the offender to administrative responsibility. In addition, compensation for non-pecuniary damage can be recovered from the perpetrator in court if the violation caused significant suffering. To do this, you need to prepare a substantiated statement of claim. But judicial practice shows that the amount of compensation will be small.
First start-up of the heating boiler
The procedure for the first start-up of the boiler before the start of the heating season depends on its model and type. But despite this, a visual check of its condition is carried out. This is one of the most important stages preceding the final start of heating in a private house.
The heat exchanger is one of the most vulnerable elements of the boiler.Its verification is mandatory, because during the operation of the device, it is constantly exposed to high temperatures. Along with the task of starting a heating radiator, preparing the boiler is one of the most important during the process.
Solid fuel boiler
Before the start of the heating system has not yet taken place, a comprehensive monitoring of the state of the solid fuel boiler is carried out. Its surface is cleaned of rust, the performance of the manometer and thermometer is checked.
This is followed by the following steps to properly start the heating system:
- Cleaning the furnace and ash pan from soot. This can be done with a metal brush;
- Checking the condition of the chimney. Its pipe must be securely connected to the boiler nozzle.
For pyrolysis and pellet models, the operation of the electronic control unit, fans and nozzles is tested. If the heating system starts up correctly, the malfunctioning of these elements can lead to sharp temperature jumps, which directly affects the state of other components.
A gas boiler
Before starting the gas heating boiler, you should read its instructions. For different models, the order of the steps may vary slightly. This is due to the different types of construction. This applies in particular to condensation models, in which the correct formation of condensation must be monitored during operation. Without it, heating the secondary heat exchanger will be impossible.
How to correctly start heating with a gas boiler? After filling the system with water, you need to do the following:
- There is a valve at the bottom of the boiler that blocks the flow of water into the circuits. After the end of the heating season, it can be closed. Therefore, you need to open it - in this case, the pressure gauge readings will change. The pressure value should not exceed 3 atm;
- After heating the coolant, open the make-up tap again. If there are air locks in the system, you can remove them using Mayevsky taps. The system pressure may drop slightly during this phase;
- In fact, it will be necessary to launch the sinking radiator 2 times. The first one - during filling with a coolant, and the second - when the boiler is turned on;
- The correct functioning of the boiler is controlled by the values on the dashboard.
The result of starting heating in a private house should be a stable temperature regime of the entire system, as well as the absence of pressure surges in the pipes.
Yulia Dymova, director of the Est-a-Tet resale real estate sales office, answers:
The living quarters must be landscaped, and for carrying out these works, the appropriate regulations must be established. Self-replacement of the heating system is impossible - it is carried out only with the consent of the management company, which will notify all residents of the house. In the cold season, the heating shutdown period should not exceed three hours.
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