The Heating Season: When Radiators Come On and What to Do If Yours Stay Cold

Every autumn brings the same conversation: the neighbours have heat, your flat is cold, and heating already appears on the bill. It is easier to sort out once the mechanism is clear - who decides on the start-up and on what basis.

When heating is switched on

The heating season begins not on a calendar date but after a sustained drop in outdoor temperature. The common benchmark is a daily average below +8 degrees holding for several consecutive days. The decision is taken by local executive authorities, so the start may differ by a few days between districts.

Facilities with special requirements are connected first: hospitals, kindergartens and schools. Residential buildings follow, and not all at once - filling the system and bleeding air building by building takes several days in a large town.

Why your flat is still cold

The most common cause is air trapped in the system: until the riser is bled, water does not circulate and the radiator stays cold even with the boiler house running. The second is sequence - buildings are connected on a schedule. The third is a local fault: a blockage, a closed valve, or a system left unbalanced after repairs.

Check before calling

• Is the riser pipe warm to the touch, separately from the radiator?
• Is the situation the same in every room?
• Do neighbours above and below on the same riser have heat?
• Is the valve on the radiator connection closed?
• Has the building's start-up been announced in the entrance hall?

The required indoor temperature

Minimum temperatures are set by sanitary requirements for residential premises. The benchmark for a living room during the heating season is not below +18 degrees, with a higher figure for corner rooms. Measurements are taken in the centre of the room at about 1.5 metres, away from windows and external walls.

Record your measurements with date, time, indoor and outdoor temperature. If it comes to a recalculation these notes support the formal report - though only a measurement taken by a representative of the servicing organisation carries legal weight.

Whom to contact

1. The emergency dispatch service of your housing maintenance organisation - always ask for the registration number of your request.
2. If there is no response, escalate in writing to the district or city housing authority.
3. Then the local executive committee department responsible for utilities.
4. The unified 115 service also registers utility complaints and forwards them with deadline control.
5. For persistent breaches of the standards - the housing inspectorate.

Recalculation for insufficient heating

If the indoor temperature falls below the standard, the heating charge is reduced. This requires a report drawn up with a representative of the servicing organisation, recording the date, time, thermometer reading and measurement conditions. Without that report no recalculation is made.

What you can do yourself

• Bleed the radiator through its air valve, with a container underneath
• Clear the radiators - floor-length curtains and furniture pressed against them cut output
• Check windows and balcony doors; seals and adjustment matter more than expected
• Insulate window reveals and the recess under the sill if there is a draught
• Avoid decorative radiator covers without ventilation openings

Replacing radiators, cutting into the riser or adding sections without approval is not permitted: it disturbs the hydraulic balance of a shared system and leaves neighbours without heat. Such work must be agreed with the servicing organisation.

Electric heaters as a stopgap

A portable heater helps during the transition but needs care. Do not run it through an extension lead shared with other appliances, do not dry clothes on it and do not leave it unattended overnight. The autumn rise in domestic fires is closely linked to heaters and overloaded wiring.