By Vestnik Kavkaza
The heating season has begun on most of Russian territory. Residents of houses in which there are problems with the heating system send complaints, but don't always achieve results. The chairwoman of the commission of the Public Chamber on Local Self-Administration and Housing and Utility Policy, Svetlana Razvorotneva, says that every heating season starts with problems.
Moscow knows how to attract investment in the housing and utilities infrastructure. In 270 residential buildings of Moscow it is planned to install automated control units (ACU) in the heating system, Igor Frolov, director of Energetika, says. It will enable heat savings of 30-35%.
“If everyone has an electricity meter and a water meter at home, almost everyone, we can see how much we spend, how we can save, the introduction of heating meters is provided only for new buildings. In older houses, people pay according to the space they occupy, based on the information provided by the general metering device of the building. As a result of research it has been discovered that very often overheating occurs, that is, too much heating. People, of course, when it gets too warm, open windows, start to heat the street, and in the end we have inefficient use of heating,” Frolov explains.
Due to ACU, residents of a building can use only the amount of heat that they need. Sensors installed on pipes analyze the input and output parameters of coolants. One sensor registers outside temperatures, so the effect of excessive heating is eliminated.
However, Frolov didn’t explain what can be done in buildings where heating is not sufficient.
The problem is that this device is in fact quite expensive. It costs something like 300 or even 500 thousand rubles. “Of course, it is problematic for people to pay this amount up front in order to install this device. But international experience suggests, and recently we have started to apply it successfully here, an energy service contract. This means that with the money of an investor some energy-saving equipment is installed, and the investment returns to the investor only at the expense of achieved savings.”
According to Frolov, the Eastern and South-western districts of Moscow have been selected, where by now we have worked out most issues with management companies, with prefectures. It comes down to about 100 houses per month. 270 houses have already been selected, in 110 of which the first meetings of tenants have been held and in 7 of them there are already contracts prepared to be signed literally this week. I think that such a positive practice will be implemented throughout Moscow, that is, the Department of Fuel and Energy will be responsible not only for reliable supply, but, as always, for more effective work both at the facilities that generate energy and at consumption sites,” Frolov stated.
