Heat energy meter – installation rules and types

Heating bills have become more and more frightening in recent years and it is very desirable to reduce them. Perhaps, at the moment the only way to save money is to put a heating meter in the apartment. But it is not always possible, such is the modern legal framework.

Profitable or not

Paying for heating in recent years is becoming more and more, and many people think about putting a meter for heating in the apartment. This is possible if your house has a common heat metering unit and the MC/TZHS/HEC keeps records on individual meters. The second condition is horizontal heating distribution in the apartment. Unfortunately, most of the multi-storey buildings have a vertical distribution – in each or almost in each room there is a riser from which radiators are supplied. With this type of wiring to put meters on each riser, and it is not cheap and pay off this event will be a long time.

If you are lucky and in your house horizontal distribution, then put a meter for heating, it will be profitable. How much – depends on how much heat loss in your apartment. When the apartment is internal, has few walls facing the street and/or these walls are insulated, if there are plastic windows or wooden, but not blown through, and the doors are insulated – the benefit can be very large. Once a heat meter is installed, you may find that you are only paying a small portion of your previous charges on a shared basis.

But that’s not all: at the moment, the payment for heating by individual heat meters will be charged only if they are installed and put into operation in 100% of residential and non-residential premises of the house. This is realistic only in new buildings, which are handed over immediately with metering devices. In other houses such cases are extremely rare, which casts doubt on the expediency of installation.

Rules of installation and operation of heat meters in the apartment

To put a heat meter in the apartment for the heating season, it is necessary to start acting in advance, better – before the end of the heating season. The order of actions is as follows:

The whole process may take two or three months or even more – that’s why it is better to start acting well in advance, in order to have time before the heating season starts. In principle, in every city there are organizations that will do all this for you, but their services are not cheap.

What is the legal framework

If you need the names of regulatory documents that regulate the conditions for the provision of public utilities – here are the current regulations:

The procedure for calculating payment for heat, determining tariffs – all this is determined by regional authorities, in order to know exactly how things are in your region, it is necessary to study the regulatory framework of your region specifically. The only thing that applies throughout Russia is the necessity of installing the metering of communal meters.

How often to take readings

In fact, this is not an easy question – there are different types of heat meters and the procedure for reading them is very different. The process is described in detail in the instruction manual.

By the way, according to the latest decree (№ 344 from 16.04.2013), you do not have to transmit readings every month. You are obliged to do it every six months, and the organization must recalculate the readings you submitted.

Verification

The primary verification of the meter for heating in the apartment passes at the factory, about which a mark is necessarily made in the passport of the product. A note is also made on the front panel of the device. The frequency of further verification depends on the type of metering device, the verification interval is also recorded in the passport and on average is 3-5 years.

If your heat meter is to be calibrated, it is better to do it immediately after the end of the heating season, as the procedure may take several months. Before removing the meter you need to notify the MC / HOA, they will come, record the readings. After that you can remove the device. After verification you put the meter in place, call the MC again, wait until they come and seal the meter. This verification can be considered complete. It remains only to figure out where to give the heat meter for verification. There are only three options:

1. The service center of the manufacturer of your meter.
2. A commercial organization that has a license for this type of activity.
3. A subdivision of the enterprise “Rostest”.

Verification of an individual heat meter can be carried out in any of these organizations. In advance, you can inquire about the terms and prices and choose the most suitable option.

Types of apartment heating meters

Meters for heating to the apartment there are several types. Each of them has some disadvantages, there is no ideal, but you still have to choose. Let’s briefly consider the characteristics and features of each type:

• Mechanical or tachometer. In fact, they are very similar to ordinary water meters – there is an impeller in the body. According to the method of installation there are turbine and screw. Poorly react to the presence of mechanical impurities in the water, so at the entrance should be a coarse filter. Their plus – a low price, which determines their popularity.

Buying a meter for heating in the apartment, pay attention to the fact that he had a certificate of quality, which should stand data on its verification. There should be a date and the name of the organization that verification was carried out.

To summarize, it is worth saying that the heating meter in the apartment is beneficial if you have at most eliminated all possible heat leaks.