Calculation of heating in an apartment building: standards and calculation formulas for houses with and without a meter

Are you surprised by the monthly heating bill presented by management companies: this is not the first time that the figures in the receipt seem inflated? The little pleasant thing is that in the fall, winter and spring, despite the air temperature outside the window, you have to pay a considerable amount, calculated by someone unknown. Do you agree?

The calculation of heating in an apartment in an apartment building depends on the established heat standards, which it would seem should be standard. However, heating tariffs are increasing every year. To avoid being deceived, consumers prefer to control the accuracy of the management company’s calculations. But how to do it correctly and what might be required?

It is these issues that our material is devoted to - here we will tell you how to correctly calculate the amount for supplied heating in a high-rise apartment. The article will examine in detail the latest legislative standards for heat consumption and present various formulas for calculations that take into account the presence of a common house, individual meter, as well as their absence. We will supplement the presented material with thematic videos and visual photos.

Legislative regulation of payments

Currently, four Government Resolutions are considered to be the valid documents regulating the rules for calculating payments for utility services to residents of apartment buildings:

• N306 dated May 23, 2006 (the procedure for establishing service consumption standards for apartment buildings was considered);
• N354 dated May 6, 2011 (the procedure for providing services to residents was determined);
• N258 dated March 28, 2012 and N344 dated April 16, 2013 on amendments to the previous document (in PP N306);
• N1708 dated December 28, 2018 (changes in PP N354).

The first and second documents are systematically undergoing changes, the last of which took place on April 4, 2020.

Based on these documents, each individual region of the country independently makes a decision on the choice of payment form:

• option 1 - the fee is calculated only for the heating season (usually October-May);
• Option 2 - the fee is spread evenly throughout the year.

This form affects those who do not have heating meters installed to a greater extent.

And consumers with installed meters are affected by one of the main changes in the Resolution - the adjustment of calculation formulas, which now begin to take into account meter readings without taking into account installed appliances in the house.

The installation of a common building heating meter is carried out based on the decision of the residents of the apartment building. Meter verification and necessary routine maintenance are also organized by the residents of the house

However, in apartment buildings with meters, the difference in readings between the general and apartment meters is recalculated and added evenly to the payment of each consumer.

Thus, payment for heating consists of the following components: heating in the apartment + heating in the entrance.

Installing individual heating meters in an apartment is currently not mandatory.However, taking into account the experience of a number of users, it can be argued that payment for thermal energy consumption by meter is lower than payment according to the established standard and tariff

In general, there are several formulas for calculating heating for each of the possible options:

• if there is a communal metering device;
• there are or are no individual appliances in the apartment/non-residential premises;
• when using heating equipment, if this equipment is considered part of the common property of the house.

Each specific case will be discussed more clearly in the following parts of the article.

Formulas for performing calculations

Formulas for calculations in the presence of a common house, individual heat meter, as well as in their absence, differ. Next, we will consider the procedure for accrual in various situations.

Option #1 - without a common house meter

If the residents of an apartment building have not installed a common house meter, then payment will be made based on three conditions:

• established standard;
• heating tariff;
• heated area.

Heating standards are set independently in each region by local authorities and depend on the climatic conditions of the region. The tariff is also set differently in each region. The concept of “heated area” includes the entire area of ​​the apartment, with the exception of the balcony and loggia.

Thus, the formula for calculating the cost of heating is presented in the following photo:

The final cost of heat, based on the formula, does not depend on the thermal energy actually needed to heat the room. In order to increase the energy efficiency of heat supply, an active campaign is underway to install heating meters everywhere

This is a general formula for calculating electricity consumption for houses without communal meters.

When calculating, it is necessary to take into account the form of payment: for the heating period or for the whole year. Based on the forms of payment, calculations are made according to the formulas given below.

Payment for the heating period

In accordance with the rules, payment for the heating period is made according to the following formula:

P_i = (V_i + (S_i x S^oi x N^T x(S^about -S^ind)) / (S^about x(S^about -S^ind +S^oi)) x T^T ,

Where:

P_i – the final payment amount for the heating used.

S_i – area of ​​the room for which the calculation is carried out (m²).

S^about – total area of ​​all premises of the house (m²).

S^oi – total area of ​​common property premises (common premises) (m²).

N^T – established heating standard (Gcal).

S^ind – area of ​​all apartments/non-residential premises in which there are no heating devices, (m²).

T^T – established heating tariff (RUB/Gcal).

V_i – the amount of energy consumed from heating for a specific room.

The concept of “common areas” includes the following:

• landings;
• vestibules and halls;
• corridors;
• other premises that do not belong to individual owners.

The amount of energy consumed from heating for a specific room (V_i ) is calculated using this formula:

V_i = S_i x ((N^T x(S^about -S^ind))/(S^about -S^ind +S^oi)),

Where S_i, S^about, S^oi, S^ind, N^T – the values ​​are the same as in the previous formula.

Electronic temperature sensors installed on the battery have no significance for calculating payments for thermal energy consumption. They can only control the temperature of the heat given off

Payment for the whole year

In some regions, in order to ease the financial burden of paying for utilities, the cost of heating is spread over the entire calendar year.

The formula for calculating this cost is as follows:

P_i = (V_i + (S_i x S^oi x N^T x K x (S^about -S^ind)) / (S^about x(S^about -S^ind +S^oi)) x T^T .

This differs from the previous formula by the appearance of the coefficient TO, which is determined by dividing the number of months of the heating season by 12.

The coefficient K is also added to the formula for calculating the volume of thermal energy per specific room:

V_i = S_i x ((N^T x K x (S^about -S^ind))/(S^about -S^ind +S^oi)).

Calculation using complex, at first glance, formulas, if all the values ​​are available, can be done independently.

Option #2 - with a home meter installed

It is believed that the situation when a common heating supply meter is installed is the most common. The use of a common meter occurs due to the inability to implement individual meters in the design of utilities.

Ultimately, each consumer cannot independently control the required amount of thermal energy for his apartment.

Therefore, calculating the cost of heating will take into account the following main parameters:

• total amount of thermal energy consumed;
• room area;
• building area (including all premises)
• heat tariff.

The general formula for such a calculation will look like this:

Using a building-wide meter does not make it possible to perfectly control electricity consumption, since it is not possible to regulate the heat supplied to each apartment individually

When calculating heating, a certain form of payment is also taken into account.

Payment for the heating period

Based on the general calculation formula, a specific formula is determined for each consumer:

P_i = (V_i + (S_i x(V^d — ∑V_i ))/S^about) x T^T,

Where:

P_i – the final payment amount for the heating used.

S_i – area of ​​the room for which the calculation is carried out (m²).

S^about – total area of ​​all premises of the house (m²).

V^d – the volume of supplied heating according to the meter readings, if payment is calculated for the period of the heating season, (Gcal).

T^T – established tariff for heating, (RUB/Gcal).

∑V_i – total energy consumption from heating in all rooms of the house. It can be calculated by multiplying the area of ​​residential premises by the result of dividing the volume of thermal energy according to the readings of the house meter V^d for the amount of all apartments and premises not included in the property.

V_i – the amount of energy consumed from heating for a specific room.

Calculated Vi according to the following formula:

Vi = S_i x(V^d /(S^about -S^oi +S^ind)),

Where:

S^about – total area of ​​apartments/non-residential premises of the house (m²).

S^ind – area of ​​all apartments/non-residential premises in which there are no heating devices, (m²).

S^oi – the total area of ​​all common property premises in the house (common areas) (m²).

It is this formula that is used by utility services to calculate the amount of payment for heating.

Heat meter readings must be reported monthly to your management company so that they make calculations based on actual heat consumption

Features of calculations for the year

The calculation is made using the same formulas as for payment for the heating period.

However, there are some peculiarities in the calculations:

1. The amount for consumed heating in the previous year is calculated.
2. Calculation of the amount of payment for heating this year.
3. Adjustment of the final payment amount.

The adjustment is made according to the formula:

P_i = P_kpi —P_npi,

Where:

P_kpi – the amount of heating fees calculated based on consumption for the previous year.

P_npi – the amount of heating fees charged to the consumer for this year.

To calculate the heating payment form for the previous year, use the parameter V^d for the previous year. To calculate the monthly payment amount, it is necessary to divide the parameter of the annual volume of thermal energy according to the readings of the common house meter by 12.

To calculate payment this year, use the parameter V^d for this year.

More detailed question calculations for communal meters We looked at heating in our other article.

Option #3 - with individual meters

A solution that allows you to pay for the thermal energy actually used - installation of an individual meter.

However, calculating payment using an individual meter becomes more complex and includes the following parameters:

• amount of heat consumed;
• the amount of heat energy consumed by the house;
• room area;
• the area of ​​the house that is heated;
• established tariff for heat energy.

The general formula for calculation is shown in the photo:

To use this formula for calculation, it is necessary that 95% of all premises in the building are equipped with individual meters. Naturally, a house meter must also be installed in the house

Payment for heating the entrance and other general premises is made by the residents of the house themselves.The amount of payment is determined by subtracting the sum of the readings of all individual meters from the readings of the common house meter and dividing the resulting result by the number of people living in the house.

The cost of an individual apartment heat meter starts from 6,000 rubles. This amount can pay for itself within the first year of using the meter

The calculation is carried out according to the formula:

P_i = (V_iⁿ + V_i^one x(S_i /S^about)) x T^T,

Where:

P_i – the final payment amount for the heating used.

S_i – area of ​​the room for which the calculation is carried out (m2).

S^about – the total area of ​​all premises of the house (m2).

T^T – established tariff for heating, (RUB/Gcal).

V_iⁿ – reading of the heat energy consumption meter for the calculated room.

V_i^one – readings from a common building meter for the provision of thermal energy, minus the amount of energy supplied to each room.

However, if not all residents of the house have installed individual meters, for each specific apartment the consumption of thermal energy can still be calculated in accordance with the meter readings.

The calculation formulas are similar to those used to determine the amount for heating in apartment buildings with a common building meter:

P_i = (V_i + (S_i x(V^d — ∑V_i ))/S^about) x T^T

The difference lies in the calculation of the element V_i.

V_i – the amount of energy consumed from heating for a specific room:

• for premises with meters - according to instrument readings, when calculating heating for the heating period;
• for premises without meters – calculated throughout the year from the average monthly volume.

Formula for calculating the amount of energy consumed:

V_i = S_i x(∑V_IPU /∑S_iIPU),

Where:

S_i – total area of ​​the room for which the calculation is being carried out, (m2).

∑V_IPU – total meter readings during the heating season, or per month when calculating for the year, (Gcal).

∑S_iIPU – the sum of the areas of all premises participating in the calculation and having installed meters.

When calculating heating payments for the entire year, for the exact payment amount, it is necessary to determine the adjustment using the formula:

P_i = P_kpi —P_npi,

Where:

P_kpi – the amount of heating fees calculated based on consumption for the previous year.

P_npi – the amount of heating fees charged to the consumer for this year.

Option #4 - calculations for communal services

In addition to the above options, there are two more, for which calculation formulas are also derived:

• Communal apartment;
• apartment buildings without central heating.

For communal apartments, the calculation is similar to the calculation according to consumption standards or according to the meter for apartment buildings. The only difference is that the fee is determined in proportion to each room.

This calculation is made using the formula given below:

When calculating payment for heating in a communal apartment, the difference obtained when taking into account the corridor, bathroom, vestibule and kitchen is considered insignificant and is not taken into account

Option #5 - for houses with a personal boiler room

In houses where there is no central heating and have their own boiler room, the consumed utility resource for heating a particular apartment is also calculated.

The general formula is as follows:

Modern apartment buildings are equipped with their own boiler rooms. Using your own gas-fired boiler houses is considered the most economical way to heat rooms

Are you building a private house with individual heating? In this case, we recommend that you read gas consumption standards for heating or look example of calculating gas consumption when heating a house with an area of ​​150 m².

What to do if the accrual is incorrect?

Unfortunately, many consumers are increasingly faced with the problem of incorrect charges. An unscrupulous accountant of the management company, errors in accruals, any inattention caused by someone else - all this ultimately falls on the shoulders of the thermal energy consumer.

Before paying the received receipt, you must check all the data given in it with your calculations.

If an error is identified at this stage, there are several ways to solve the problem:

1. Write a statement/complaint to the management company.
2. File a complaint with the State Housing Inspectorate.
3. File a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor.
4. File a complaint with the prosecutor's office.
5. Apply to the court.

When submitting a written application to the Management Company, you need to make sure that there has been no increase in the tariff. If the tariff remains the same, then often, after writing such a statement, the company will find an error in the charges and agree to a meeting.

Using a claim, you can determine the procedure for returning overpaid funds:

• return in money;
• recalculation against future payments.

You can file complaints with Rospotrebnadzor and the State Housing Inspectorate if the management company deliberately inflates tariffs. In this case, the application/claim is submitted in person or sent by registered mail. Based on the results of the inspection of these structures, an administrative penalty may be imposed on the Management Company.

An appeal to the prosecutor's office occurs when previous authorities do not solve the problem that has arisen. And when going to court, it is necessary to have irrefutable evidence of identified violations in the calculations.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

This video shows how to calculate the amount that needs to be paid for heating:

Another thematic video on calculating heating fees:

We examined in detail the basic formulas for calculating payments for consumed heating. When calculating using general, simpler formulas, you can determine the approximate amount. However, utilities take into account all parameters in their calculations, performing them using more complex formulas, also described by us in this article. If you know all the initial values, then despite the existing subtleties, calculating the cost of heating will not be difficult.

If after reading the article you still have questions or want to clarify a number of nuances with our experts, ask them in the special comment form located below the article. Also here you can share your personal experience of performing calculations or successfully resolving a dispute with the Management Company.