HKVO: as of December 31, 2013
The heating costs ordinance (HKVO) contains some changes for landlords as of December 31, 2013. These must be taken into account in the heating bills and may also require some preparatory effort.
Amendment of the HKVO - December 31, 2013 an important key date
As a result of the federal government's climate and energy program, the heating costs ordinance of 1989 was amended at the beginning of 2009. Various paragraphs have been changed here. For some of these changes, the transition period ends on December 31, 2013.
- There is, for example, Section 9 (2) of the HKVO. It regulates how from 31. December 2013 the proportion of required energy to be determined for hot water generation, and names the determination method in the event of unreasonably high implementation effort.
- Section 12 specifies in paragraph 2 the obligation to replace obsolete measuring devices by the 31st December 2013.
Regulations for determining the cost of hot water
- According to HKVO ยง 9 paragraph 2, from 31. December 2013 to use measuring devices for heat metering to determine the amount of heat that is allocated to the hot water supply system.
- Paragraph 2, sentence 2 specifies in detail the formula and procedure for the calculation in the event that the measurement of the amount of heat can only be carried out with an "unreasonably high effort".
- For landlords, this means the need to check the reasonableness of the measuring device installation. The building owner decides whether this is reasonable or not. Even if neither an authority nor an expert is required for this, the decision made should be plausible and comprehensible at all times.
- If a heat meter with the necessary sensors can be installed in the usual way by the competent craftsman without great effort, then according to the HKVO there is an obligation to do so. In this case, make sure that the installation takes place in accordance with your billing interval. (If this is done before 31. December starts.)
- It would be unreasonable, for example, if pipes had to be cut or if the supply line were difficult to access in compact heating systems. In this case there is no need to install the measuring device and the amount of heat can be calculated. However, the HKVO does not give a precise definition of "unreasonably high expenditure".
If you need to record the consumption of a heating system, you can do so with a ...
Obligation to replace outdated measuring devices
The HKVO states that outdated measuring devices and hot water cost allocators must be replaced with modern, calibrated devices.
- This particularly affects devices based on evaporation with only one tube.
- Since no hot water cost allocators have been installed for a long time, only a few owners are affected by this.
- Basically, only calibrated measuring devices may be used.
You should not wait until the last moment to take the necessary measures, as time and material bottlenecks can be expected for the craftsmen in question at the end of the year. If you have any questions about these points of the HKVO, you will find advice and active support from your local plumber.
