Communal heating?

Annie35

I knew someone who lived in a council flat which was communally heated from the city incinerator. It was free/included & always on.

HampshireH

Do not be misled into assuming that it is included.

Call them and ask.

Most flats with have an electric meter plus a heat meter. Both readings are taken and both accounts go into the customer name depending on which agreement is in place.

Do not just assume. I also wouldnt waste a bid either until you know.

PasturesNew

You need to find out more about the specific system that's installed.

There have been many stories in the papers of people having HUGE bills. In short, if you're poor and want to spend £10/week on heating and just sit under a blanket, you can. With these systems, chosen by the middle classes who might have their heat pumping through their 5 bed house for 5-6 hours a day or even more ... the bills seem "so cheap, such a bargain".

Heating might be included in the rent - or it might just be running on a central boiler and she's still individually billed. One expert looking at one system said that they're designed for heating to be on all the time, whereas poorer people turn heating on and off.... so they will never be in a position to benefit from the expensively installed central system.

So, you need to ask questions about the system.... and bills. In writing preferably, but they probably don't like doing things in writing.

jonnygee2

I've lived in two such places previously, and now I own one.

All of the ones I lives in, the heating was included in the service charge, and therefore in the rent when I was renting. The majority are run on that basis, is my understanding.

Of course, you are effectively paying for the heating in your service charge / rent. But, as they are mainly local council this is still reasonable. My service charge is £1500, far lower than the majority of private developments nearby, even though heating is included. Our gas bill, which only runs the oven/hobs, is about £7 / month so a big saving.

Another fringe benefit - as water comes into the property in two places its generally impossible to fit a water meter. Therefore, if you ask the water company to fit a water meter and they can't, they have to give you a reduced rate, roughly halving the annual water bill.

I'd say it suits you if you like to run the heating a lot. My partner is from a much warmer country, can't stand the cold, so it's a nice benefit to keep the house warm without worrying about the cost of doing this. You also get a nice, constant supply of very hot water - really great for families.

If, though, she is being billed individually then I'd avoid it. I've seen my neighbours with their windows open all winter, I'd feel a bit !!!!ed off about paying for that!

boliston

communal heating sounds like a good idea as it avoids the need for an expensive boiler - they can cost a fortune to replace - also the idea of one boiler heating a whole block is probably more efficient

jonnygee2

communal heating sounds like a good idea as it avoids the need for an expensive boiler - they can cost a fortune to replace

Well, if the communal boiler goes, I think it gets replaced and the leaseholders are charged for major works.

Taiko

I was three different setups at a housing association, all of which were bad. 1st was connected to a geothermal network, so they were tied in to a single supplier for the lifetime of the building. They then opted to have rented and leaseholders in the same block, fitting the rented customers with pre-payment meters. The main issue was the renters would then phone up to report their heating wasn't working, and the HA's in-house repairs team would go out and remove the valve from the pre-payment meter, things would work, tenants would be happy but the reality is they'd then get free heating for life because it wasn't reinstated.

2nd one was in a 2015 new build, again attaching everything to different prepayment meters. Left before the project really took off, but it didn't look great.

3rd was the worst one for me. They installed communal heating/CHP in a supported housing complex for the elderly. Everything submetered, and recharged quarterly to residents. Idea was to recover the costs, but their repairs staff were not actively maintaining the system, and so the CHP wasn't kicking in, resulting in more mains power being drawn. The worst part though was the calculations for the unit prices that they put in, which came to around 15p/kWh of heat, and for 1m3 of hot water was an eye-boggling £18. That's not a typo. One resident got charged almost £1000 in a quarter as they needed a lot of hot water.

seashore22

Thank you for all the replies and apologies for not returning sooner. She is waiting to hear if she has been shortlisted. If she is we will try to find out more about the actual system they have installed.