Why pay more than what you consume?
How to pay the right amount? With Gestical heat allocators you pay only your actual consumption. In newly built apartments, there is an obligation under the Federal Energy Act of 1998 to provide tenants with individual metering of heating costs. Cantons are also responsible for introducing metering for existing properties.
Currently, in many properties, tenants continue to pay the average prices obtained from apportionment in proportion to the area of the apartments or cubage. Thrifty tenants thus also pay for consumption above the average of their neighbors.
What are Gestical Heat Allocators?
Gestical electronic radio heat allocators, installed on the radiator, make it possible to calculate the energy actually consumed within the apartment. Consumption data can be read directly on the allocator (direct reading) or can be transmitted by radio frequency. The system is ideal for apartment buildings with central heating systems, particularly for column heating systems.
The combination of the allocators with evohome, a zone management system, is then the ideal solution for households that are conscious of savings and the environment because heat is delivered only where and when it is needed.
What are the advantages?
- Detection of actual consumption
- Energy savings of about 20% to 30% for each tenant each year
- No longer having to pay for neighbors’ consumption but only one’s own actual consumption
- Data reading via radio frequency outside the apartment
- Conscious and thrifty energy consumption is rewarded
- Energy expenses are allocated correctly and fairly based on each tenant’s actual consumption
- 10-year warranty
Energy Consumption Detection with Heat Allocators
The Gestical Heat Allocator is an electronic device capable of detecting the heat delivered by the heating body to which it is attached by means of a special bracket. Designed according to the UNI EN 834/94 standard, its technology allows measurements to be taken with extreme precision.
The Gestical data allocator has an optical interface for programming the device, an operation by which each allocator is coded with data on the technical characteristics of the heating body on which it is mounted. The parameters concern first of all the dimensions of the heater (height, length, depth), which are necessary to determine its radiant power. Another aspect is given by the type of manufacture of the radiator: depending on the material of composition (cast iron, steel, aluminum) and the form of construction (element, lamellar, bathroom furnishing, plate, etc.) there may in fact be different thermal transmission.
The allocator is also programmed so that at the closing of the annual heating season the consumption values recorded up to that date are stored in a special memory. As of that date, the display resets to zero and the allocator begins measuring consumption for the following heating season.
Security
Any attempt to force the device is signaled by sending a tampering message with an indication of when the event occurred. Therefore, it is recommended to warn us before carrying out any work in which the heat allocator is indirectly or directly involved.
Consumption values are kept in memory for 2 years, and those of the previous season are shown on the display alternately with current consumption and room temperature. From the values thus measured, a ratio is derived which, together with the radiator output programmed on the instrument, makes it possible to correctly determine the heat consumed within the utility.
Why is hot water consumption estimated in old buildings?
In old buildings, estimating hot water consumption is also expensive, as it is usually necessary to mount a hot water meter on each water outlet. This is why it is customary in these buildings to estimate hot water consumption in relation to the number of water outlets or the area of the apartment. In this type of building, in most cases cold water consumption is measured only for each building.
Beyond its dynamic design and small size, the Gestical heat allocator conceals sophisticated and complex electronics, powered by a lithium battery with a 10-year life + reserve.
Gestical Heat Allocators: tailor-made solutions
Designed to be able to cope with a multiplicity of problems posed by heating systems, Gestical allocators represent an optimal detection system optimal for all heating systems of the central heating systems, regardless of the temperatures
of operation, and for all the special situations that a building with a centralized system may present.
Start paying only for what you consume
Questions?
Heat allocators/Generalities
A heat cost allocator (RCR) is a device that measures heat energy consumption in order to calculate heating costs. More precisely, it is what is called an auxiliary device since it does not measure any physical parameters (e.g., liters or grams) but displays mathematical algorithms.
What are the obligations?
Federal law and cantonal energy regulation
Here, below, you will find the Federal Energy Law and Regulations on Energy Utilization that can be consulted and downloaded in PDF format.
In “Regulations on Energy Utilization legal information” you can understand in which cases the count is not mandatory according to the Regulations on Energy Utilization .
Federal Energy Law
Regulations on Energy Utilization Legal Information
Individual cost accounting is regulated by Articles 29, 30 and 31 of the Regulations on Energy Utilization .
A waiver of individual metering is possible only for cases defined in Article 31, i.e. for buildings that are Minerigie certified or for which the installed heat output is less than 20 W/m².
If one does not fall under the cases defined in Art. 31, a possible abandonment of the metering system violates the requirements of the Regulations on Energy Utilization.
Federal Energy Law Excerpt
Excerpt from the Federal Energy Law
Art. 38
These regulations shall be published in the Official Bulletin of Laws and Executive Acts and shall come into force immediately.
The Executive Decree on Energy-Saving Measures in Buildings of February 5, 2002 is repealed.
Section 5: Obligations of the user.
Art. 13
Installation, commissioning and maintenance of meters. In addition to the responsibility under Article 21 Paragraph 1 of the Ordinance on Measuring Instruments, the user is responsible for:
a. for complying with the manufacturer’s instructions on the installation and commissioning of the meters;
b. for the maintenance of the meters and the periodic overhaul of their parts subject to wear, aging and soiling.
Article 18 Entry into Force
This ordinance shall enter into force on October 30, 2006.
March 19, 2006 Federal Department of Justice and Police:
Christoph Blocher
Regulations on Energy Utilization Excerpt
Excerpt Cantonal Law Regulations on Energy Utilization
12
Chapter Five
Individual metering of heating and hot water expenses
Article 29 New buildings and groups of buildings equipped with a central heating system for five or more use units shall be equipped with the necessary devices for individual metering of heat energy consumption for heating and hot water.
2. In the case of heating surfaces, the building element separating the heat emission system and the adjacent use unit must have a U-value ≤ 0.7 W/m²K.
3. Existing buildings with centralized heat production for five or more use units in the case of complete renovation of the heating and/or domestic hot water system must be equipped with the necessary devices for individual determination of heat consumption for heating and domestic hot water.
4. Groups of existing buildings with centralized heat production shall be equipped with the necessary appliances for determining the heat consumption for heating and domestic hot water for each building when more than 75 percent of the envelope of one or more buildings has been rehabilitated.
Art. 30 1. In buildings or groups of buildings, for which there is a requirement to equip them with individual metering equipment, most of the expenses shall be apportioned on the basis of the metered consumption for each use unit.
2. Only equipment whose suitability has been certified by the Federal Office of Metrology (METAS) may be used to set up metering.
3. The apportionment key for heating and hot water expenses must be determined in accordance with the principles contained in the “Metering Model” published by the Federal Office of Energy.
If you have specific questions call us on 0900 22 22 33 (CHF2.-/min) or email us [email protected]