September is a month with a shortness of breath of summer heat ! But that's in the past. Today, the weather outside is mid-October. The average daily temperature fluctuates at 5-9 °C, and this is not a reason to start the heating season in Svetlogorsk. And the whole reason is in the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus No. 286 dated 14.05.2020, regulating the temperature threshold for the beginning of the heating season.
As they say - it's cold, but we are tolerant.
Let's dig a little deeper to understand the essence of the problem, which still limits the possibility of earlier heat supply to apartments, kindergartens and schools, and try to answer the question instead of a banal answer "In accordance with the Resolution"hellip;":
- Who produces heat and how ?
- How does it reach the apartments ?
- What is the principle of its price formation and does it make sense to sacrifice comfort / health for the sake of ... savings?
How and with whom is the process of mutual settlements for the consumed heat
All housing facilities (communal form of ownership) are serviced on the basis of an agreement between its owner and the management organization represented by a communal housing unitary enterprise (KZHUP "Svetoch").
By itself, KZHUP does not produce heat, but is only an intermediary between the heat producer (Svetlogorsk CHP) and its consumer (population, organizations). Nevertheless, all the maintenance costs of the main communications that provide heat supply are carried out by the KZHUP, with which a utility service contract has been concluded. Therefore, the final bill for heat for residents / organizations is issued by the same KZHUP and includes the costs of the CHP + maintenance of the KZHUP. The largest cost item in this cost is, of course, the costs of the CHP (steam + water).
A logical question arises - if the consumer (customer) is ready to pay for the services of the seller (supplier), what prevents the provision of heat supply services when the first one needs it?
Right! - The resolution …, where it is indicated at what temperature it can be carried out abroad, because the state (represented by the local CHP) allegedly spends more than it receives from this transaction with the population and because of this (during the heating period) it has to subsidize the housing fund. The cost of heat according to the state estimate (production cost) is actually much higher than indicated in the figures.
How heat is produced and supplied from Svetlogorsk CHP to houses and apartments
A little off topic, but in order to understand what the cost of heat is formed from, and in general for general development, we will reveal the general principle of production and supply of heating water from Svetlogorsk CHP to our houses / apartments.
The local thermal power plant (CHP) produces heat in Svetlogorsk. The mechanism of release and delivery of a heat source (hot water) to the consumer is really quite expensive.
The basis for everything is gas or a cheaper alternative - fuel oil/coal.
In a steam boiler, gas (fuel oil /coal) is burned, due to which heat is transferred to the water circulating in its circuit and high-pressure steam is formed (pressure over 200 atm, temperature over 500 °C).
Steam is sent from the steam boiler to the steam turbine, where its energy is converted into mechanical. The steam energy drives the turbine rotor, which is connected to the shaft of the electric generator. Thus, the rotating turbine generates electrical energy, which is already transmitted to the city through transformer substations.
Then part of the steam from the steam turbine is sent to a special water heater, which heats the mains water to a temperature above 100 °C. And then, with the help of pumping equipment, it is transported to thermal points (of its district / microdistrict).
In the heating points, the heat of the water coming from the CHP and the water from the house is exchanged. Then the water is returned back to the CHP.
The remaining part of the steam from the turbine (except for the water sent for heating for the city) is sent to the condenser, where cold water circulates, which turns the steam into condensate. The formed condensate in a purified (sterile) form enters back into the steam boiler, and the already heated condenser water is sent to the cooling tower, where it is cooled by air and then back into the condenser to perform its main function - steam cooling.
The lack of water in the circuit gets from external sources (river) after undergoing thorough cleaning (filtration).
That's the simple scheme by which heat, like electricity, comes to our homes.
Separately, we note that it is the transportation of hot water to heat exchange points that forms a considerable amount of costs, which is always associated with heat losses, which are compensated locally by local reheating (especially during cold periods).
In general, it can be seen that when burning gas /fuel oil/coal, two products are formed - electricity and steam (hot water for heating). Which of them is primary when calculating (distributing) costs is a big question. And the pricing system of heat and electricity in this case is so veiled that it is very difficult to find out exactly the real cost of this product, especially to reliably judge how much the population dates today, especially during the heating season.
The moral of this fable is as follows....
Yes, as you can see, the mechanism is costly, taking into account also the not small costs of transporting hot water (pumps, maintenance) and possible burnout at the heat exchange points (TP) of the city. And the maintenance of the housing department itself is not a cheap pleasure.
We will not go into the details of all the cost items of this process in digital quantities, with the release of gas and its processing (although it would be interesting), we will proceed from another.
It is necessary to take into account the fact that the price of gas is still non-market (fraternal, as they say), and subsidies are considered from the market. It's just not entirely clear from which one. In fact, we do not make calculations according to the market price?!
Or does it mean that the population is dated from a preferential price? That is, gas is bought in Russia at a special price, and it is given to the network at an even lower price. Well , then it 's clear !
Then it really makes sense to be patient, in order to save money!
And it's not a fact that gas is constantly being burned, maybe fuel oil / coal, but the price does not change.
But even if so, why, if there is hot water in the system (in heat exchange points), gardens and schools are connected first, and residential buildings later (for a week or two). How much will the costs of the CHP increase if the valve is opened in the TP in all directions at once? Hot water is already in the system anyway.
What is the efficiency (efficiency factor) in this case, if you compare the amount of costs generated with the amount of payments received (only from schools, kindergartens, hospitals). Maybe it makes sense - even if it slightly increases costs, due to the volume of water supplied and the operation of pumps, but it will probably increase several times the receipts from the entire housing stock (+houses, apartments). Well, what is the savings here, when some are connected earlier, others later!? And, for example, there are also children in the same apartments and houses, only those who are just in schools and kindergartens at other times of the day.
Well, even if this is the case, then why not apply heat during the period before reaching the regulated average daily temperature level of 8 °C (in accordance with the above Resolution), at market (increased) tariffs - it would probably be cheaper for people than to increase the pharmacy business, and the state should pay for sick leave.
We think that the Resolution itself, on which all this is tied, hardly takes into account, except for the temperature itself, for example, the location of the terrain, the factors of the wind rose, their directions, which directly affect the human feeling in residential premises, measured in °C.
Unfortunately , everything is purely subjective and not subject to revision !
Svetlogorsk heat – from the CHP to the house: why the population needs to be patient before the deadline ? – Somehow!
