"China Economic Weekly" reporter Hu Wei | Beijing report
In China, water, electricity, and gas are metered and charged by households, and the people not only recognize it, but have also become accustomed to it. However, in northern centralized heating areas, there has been a lot of controversy over whether heat bills should also be measured on a household basis.
In fact, it is more common to charge for heating by area, but household metering and charging methods have also existed for a long time. Relevant national departments proposed the reform direction of "household metering" in 2000, and the amount of heat bill is directly linked to the amount of heat used.
Heat is a commodity. Under the market economy system, there seems to be nothing wrong with paying as much heat as you use.
Then why is it always difficult to promote reform? Some people point out that heating costs will be greatly increased for middle- and low-income people who live in old and poorly insulated communities. Most of these houses were built before the start of the housing reform in 1998. Distribution At that time, the residents themselves had no choice, and it was unfair to ask them to bear the increased costs.
Since heating has always had the social responsibility of "protecting people's livelihood", the traditional billing method also has a certain tendency of "robbing the rich and giving to the poor" - public buildings with good insulation effect and low energy consumption often have higher heating bills than residential buildings. However, some old residential areas have poor insulation effects and high energy consumption, and the heating bill collection rate is lower than that in other areas. In fact, much of the high heat charges collected from public buildings is subsidized to these communities. If billing is based on heat, the basis for this subsidy may no longer exist, and the pressure on thermal enterprises will rise sharply.
For some thermal enterprises, the policy of "refunding more and not replenishing the less" makes it difficult for them to be active in the process of implementing thermal reform - if the billing based on heat is lower than the billing based on area, the thermal enterprise will have to pay according to the thermal reform. Charges based on heat usage; if the billing based on heat is higher than the billing based on area, the heating company can only charge the heat fee when billed based on area.
Most people in the industry believe that the logic and direction of targeting thermal metering charging are correct. The key issue lies in how to charge. Since heat is conductive, the conduction and dissipation of heat vary greatly among different house types, different floors, and different communities. How to bill fairly has become a major problem at present.
The accuracy of heat meter readings has also been questioned - some industry experts bluntly said that the current readings of household metering heat meters have been "corrected", and even scholars who want to study the subject cannot find real data.
Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, member of the National Energy Expert Advisory Committee, and director of the Building Energy Efficiency Center of Tsinghua University Jiang Yi believes that heating companies are enterprises and have to pay taxes and make profits, but they are faced with a fee cap of "refunding more than they should and not making up for less". policy. But without this policy, ordinary people may object, because at the same temperature, the heat consumption of different households may differ several times. "Refund more but not make up for less" has suppressed the enthusiasm of some hot companies to promote hot reforms.
Former officials from relevant departments in Beijing believe that heat metering charges are divorced from China's reality. China's current heating capacity is limited, and the goal is to ensure that the minimum temperature reaches the standard. The renovation of old houses and the energy-saving renovation of the heating system have not been completed. The implementation of household metering and charging has been too hasty.
Danfoss , a world heating giant from Denmark, does not shy away from saying that it has participated in China's thermal reform. They believe that based on Danfoss' experience in projects around the world, there is no problem with China's thermal reform direction, and the current difficulties are caused by poor policy implementation.
Relevant experts from international organizations said that Europe has been rapidly promoting household metering, and the penetration rate in Germany has even reached 100%.
Judging from international trends, billing based on calories seems to be imperative.
Jiang Yi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and member of the National Energy Expert Advisory Committee:
The current heat metering reform is difficult to solve the issue of fairness
Although the heating reform started in 2002 included discussions on whether private enterprises can enter the heating market, the core is to measure the area according to area The metering is changed to charging based on heat metering.
At that time, there were many laid-off people and low-income groups in China, and the hot fee collection rate was only 70% to 80%. At that time, heating companies were mainly state-owned enterprises, and even state-owned institutions were responsible for urban heating. If heat bills could not be collected, heating companies faced a dilemma.
In the late 1990s, Harbin Heating Power Company once failed to collect the heating bill and suddenly stopped heating the building. As a result, the government believed that this move affected stability and unity, and the person in charge of the heating company was dismissed. This incident has a great impact on the heating industry, indicating that valves cannot be closed casually, because heating is to protect people's livelihood. On the one hand, heating enterprises are enterprises and need to make profits and pay taxes. On the other hand, they have to protect people's livelihood for society. When there is a conflict between protecting people's livelihood and making money, priority must be given to protecting people's livelihood.
Household metering requires modification of the pipeline system. In the houses built earlier in our country, the heating pipes were connected vertically, and the heating upstairs and downstairs were inseparable. In order to cooperate with heat metering, the pipes need to be connected horizontally, with one valve for each household. When a certain household closes the valve, the upstairs and downstairs are not affected.
Next, we need to install a heat meter. Around 2003, many places began to install heat meters, opening up a new market. For example, if there are 10 billion square meters of heating buildings in the northern region, and each household is calculated as 100 square meters, it will cost about 1,000 yuan to install a heat meter, and the national market will reach a scale of 100 billion yuan.
The first people to advocate thermal measurement were actually foreign energy conservation and environmental protection people and foreign thermal measurement companies.
However, heating measurement faces a problem - the measurement of heat meters is very different from electricity meters, water meters, and gas meters. Heat can be transmitted to adjacent rooms through walls, making it difficult to completely calculate the account.
The main residential buildings in China are large apartments, and the basic principle of heating is that as much heat as the house emits, the heater will add as much heat as possible to maintain a constant indoor temperature. In the same building, there will be three or even four exterior walls at the corners of the roof, while the homes in the middle may only have one or two exterior walls. If both households are 100 square meters and maintain the same room temperature of 20°C, the heat consumed by the corner of the roof may be three or four times that of the household in the middle. If charging is based on heat metering, the cost difference between the two parties in a winter may reach two to three thousand yuan.
In addition, if the middle resident turns off the heating, since the neighbors above, below, left, and right turn on the heating, for example, the temperature is 20°C, the temperature in the middle household's home will probably reach 16 to 18°C. In this way, the middle resident does not have to pay a penny, but the heat consumed by the neighbor increases.
Therefore, there has been discussion on whether insulation materials need to be added to the partition walls between residents. Some people think that insulation materials also need to be added to partition walls, otherwise household metering will be unfair.
Wrapping the exterior wall with insulation material can reduce heat loss, which is beneficial to the entire building, but there is no point in adding insulation material to the middle partition wall. If I turn on the heating in my house and don't want the heat to pass to your house, it's like I'm a rich man and would rather throw away the leftover food than give it to the poor. It's neither emotionally nor rationally appropriate. Moreover, if insulation material is added to the partition wall, when both sides are heated and the temperature is the same, the insulation material will have no effect and it will be a waste of material.
Since the heat dissipation conditions of each household in an apartment building are different, some people in the industry have begun to study correction methods and formulate correction coefficients to reduce the difference in heat bills between the top floor residents at the ends of the building and the middle residents. But what is the basis for the revision? China's buildings are very different. Can the correction coefficient be realistic? Metering charges must be different. If a correction coefficient is applied, each household will be almost the same. To put it to an extreme, it would be easier to measure by area.
The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development proposed that the hot price system will gradually transition from a two-part system to a one-part system. The two-part heating price is to charge a certain basic heat fee based on the area, and then charge a metered heat fee based on the heat used, gradually increasing the proportion of the metered part. It makes sense for
to charge a basic hot fee, which is similar to a public stall. Because the heating pipe system is built into this building, even if one household does not use heating, but other residents want to use it, the heating system must be connected to the one that is not in use. But how should the ratio of charging by area and charging by heat be determined? If the proportion of area charges is too large and the impact of measurement is too small, the purpose of metering charges will be weakened; if the proportion of area is small and the proportion of heat is large, various contradictions will become prominent.
An important purpose of metering and charging is to encourage building energy conservation. When metering and charging were proposed, China had already begun to carry out building energy conservation work, strengthen the insulation effect of newly built houses, and carry out energy-saving renovation of old houses.
When buying a house, if the heating fee is charged based on the area, it will be the same no matter what kind of house you buy. According to metered charges, if the developer strengthens insulation, the house may be more expensive, but the annual heat bill will be more affordable, and consumers will be willing to buy it. Home buyers will also consider the floor plan and location when choosing a house.
Metering and charging also have another purpose - to prevent indoor overheating. It turns out that when charging is based on area, many residents do not care about excessive temperatures. If charging is based on metering, some residents will lower the heating temperature.
There are two motivations for charging based on heat and carrying out thermal reform. One is to speak to the house and encourage energy-saving buildings; the other is to speak to people and encourage energy-saving behaviors.
Houses built after 2000 in northern areas are well insulated. For example, in Beijing, 1 square meter consumes approximately 0.2 GJ (per heating season, the same below) of heat. However, houses built in the 1980s and 1990s or even earlier could consume 0.3 to 0.5 GJ per square meter. Some bungalows consume more energy due to poor insulation.
However, people living in old houses include a large number of groups with relatively low incomes. If they are charged based on heat metering, their payments will be higher. Their houses were not bought cheaply, but were allocated before the reform of the housing system. They lacked the right to choose in the first place, so how can they bear the responsibility?
Heating companies also provide heat for public buildings such as shopping malls. Because the buildings in many shopping malls are well insulated, the energy consumption per square meter is even less than 0.1 GJ, but the heating bill is more expensive than residential buildings. Some people live in bungalows that consume a lot of energy, so they may not be able to collect their heating bills. Hot companies charge more money from some places and in turn subsidize low-income groups. That's essentially it, but no one's saying it.
If the charge is changed to heat metering, the payment in large shopping malls may be much less. However, the payment rate for residents in old communities was not high in the past. If they use more heat and have to pay more, more people may not pay. As a result, the heating companies lose money on both sides, and the main body of implementing the heat metering reform happens to be the heating companies. If we lose our jobs through reform, will we still push for it?
When the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development implemented the thermal metering charging policy, it set an upper limit for charging, that is, the policy of "refunding more and not making up for less". For example, if a certain household used to charge 2,000 yuan based on area, but now only spends 1,500 yuan charging based on metering, the heating company will refund 500 yuan to this household; but if another household uses more heat than before, it will be charged based on metering. 2,500 yuan, but you still only need to pay 2,000 yuan.
Thermal Power Company is an enterprise and has to pay taxes and make profits, but it is also faced with this policy of capping fees. But without this policy, ordinary people may object, because at the same temperature, the heat consumption of different households may differ several times. The policy of “refunding more but not making up for less” has suppressed the enthusiasm of some hot enterprises to promote hot reforms.
Technical problems will also cause costs to rise.
The heat meter will age after long-term use, and the readings may drift. Generally, it should be calibrated every 3 years. Calibrating a heat meter costs five to six hundred yuan, and maintenance costs are too high. Therefore, it is difficult for hot enterprises to do household measurement by forcing them to do so, so they have to make false claims. It has been many years since the installation of meters, but I have never seen any company that can provide a complete set of measured heat data for a certain residential area. Most of what was taken out were fabricated.
hot table data is inaccurate. In addition to technical problems, there are also reasons for opaque management.
If a hot company publishes the data of a certain community, this one is 5,000 yuan, that one is 3,000 yuan, and another one is 1,000 yuan, is it not allowed to cause trouble in the community? Some data look reliable, but are actually compiled by someone.
There is no difference between "correcting data" and "editing data". Major universities are studying heating, and many experts want to analyze heat measurement data, but why is there no paper studying this big data? Because the data itself is unreliable.
The current household metering is actually learning from Europe.
A group of experts and officials from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development went to Finland for inspection. To the surprise of these experts and officials, the relevant person in charge in Finland said that they did not implement metering by household, but by building.
A few years ago, the Chinese chief representative of a well-known foreign heat meter company once said that "per-unit metering" was a translation error. Per-unit refers to "per-unit (heating) unit", which was previously mistranslated into "per-unit". household".
The reason why foreign companies changed their tune after influencing China's thermal improvement process is due to the issue of interests - if only one heat meter is installed in each building, the market will be small, but if every building is equipped with a heat meter, the market will be huge. "One household, one meter" has been promoted by a group of European companies in China. In the past, domestically produced heat meters had a small market share. Now that domestic companies have advanced in technology, foreign companies have begun to lose market share, which means translation errors.
In addition, household metering will also encounter China’s national conditions.
European residences are different from China. There are many single villas, while most of China's urban residences are apartment buildings. Even in European apartment buildings, the number of units is small, often two units per floor, and the difference between each unit is very small. However, in China, the exterior wall area of each household varies greatly.
Household metering also involves the issue of housing vacancy rates. The vacancy rate of new homes in China is relatively high. In some areas, half of the houses in a building are even empty. If the owner does not live here, or does not use heating throughout the winter, and the heat meter does not read, can he not pay the bill?
A survey report in Chengde, Hebei Province shows that the higher the vacancy rate, the higher the energy consumption per unit building area. If there are 100 households in a building, the energy consumption of 1 square meter may only be 0.2 GJ when fully occupied. If 50 households live in 1 square meter, the energy consumption may rise to 0.3 GJ. If there are only 10 households, the energy consumption of 1 square meter The energy consumption of a meter may reach 0.5 GJ.
As a building as a whole, whether it is an apartment or a villa, the heating fee should be charged to the building as a whole, and then the problem of how to share the heating fee should be solved within the building.
has relatively mature experience abroad. Take Finland as an example. Apartments in Finland implement a corporate system. Residents are the shareholders of the company, and the shares are determined by factors such as the housing area. A household occupying 2% of the area is like occupying 2% of the shares. The heating facility as a whole is shared, and its use, repairs, management, etc. are all shared according to equity negotiations.
The purpose of metering and charging is to encourage energy-saving behavior and everyone to consciously adjust the temperature, which depends on the overall quality of citizens. To form an energy-saving culture, a building must be self-managed and have restrictions on everyone, just like refusing to spit anywhere.
The prerequisite for metering and charging is that building energy efficiency must meet standards.
The state allocates a fixed amount of funds for energy-saving renovation of buildings every year. However, there are no clear standards for how to use the funds. Some buildings with relatively good insulation effects have been given priority for renovation.
Building energy-saving renovation and heat metering reform should be considered comprehensively, and a foundation should be established to be responsible for both undertakings. After the foundation is established, hot enterprises can operate in a fully market-oriented manner, and the foundation assumes the social responsibility of "protecting people's livelihood."
Low-income groups living in old communities consume a lot of heat due to poor insulation, so the foundation can pay the excess heating bills. If a certain community subsidizes too much heating bills, it means that its building insulation effect is not good, and the foundation can accurately implement building energy-saving renovations.
Former official of the government regulatory department:
Heat metering charges are deviated from China's actual
It is reported that household metering in Europe is mainly based on comfort heating, while our country has adopted the Soviet Union's security heating model for a long time. The heating system facilities are different. After long-term construction, Europe can achieve regulation and control from low temperature to high temperature, and our country's goal is to ensure that the minimum temperature reaches the standard.
A former official from the relevant departments in Beijing said in an interview with a reporter from China Economic Weekly that the current household metering is equivalent to us using European heat metering technology and running it on the Soviet heating system. There is already insufficient heat supply, and household metering to promote behavioral energy conservation will be greatly compromised. "The logic and direction of using heat metering charges as a goal are completely correct, but it is divorced from China's reality."
He believes that there are three steps to promote heating reform. Walk. The first step is to clarify the purpose, which is energy saving; the second step is to figure out the energy saving percentage, that is, where the energy saving space is; the third step is to determine the technical route based on the energy saving percentage.
"Beijing has commissioned scientific research institutions to conduct a large number of investigations and studies. The conclusion is that heat loss is mainly caused by the lack of insulation of the building envelope. This part has about 60% energy saving potential; secondly, the heating system is not energy-saving, such as the pipe network. This part has 30% to 35% energy saving potential due to problems such as obsolescence and water leakage; behavioral energy saving only accounts for 7% to 10%. "The former official said that to save energy, we need to start with the building envelope. The first step is to protect the structure, then to improve the heating system, and finally to behavioral energy conservation.
At present, the renovation of old houses and the energy-saving renovation of heating systems in Beijing have not been completed.
It is reported that after the thermal reform began, Beijing’s strategy was to prioritize what could be done, such as measuring the heat of the building and apportioning it internally based on area. By measuring buildings, we can find out whether the systems of buildings and heating companies are energy efficient.
"The relevant technical routes at that time were: first, public construction first, then residents, second, first new construction, then existing ones, and third, first renovation, then measurement." The former official said that the relevant departments in Beijing had done this A lot of work, including resource integration, updating boilers to modern boilers, system transformation and energy-saving renovation of old houses, etc.
After a series of work, the heating energy consumption level of Beijing residents has been greatly reduced, and the energy efficiency of 31 large heating centers has increased from 55% to 85% to 90%. "These have little to do with metering, but advancing these works has actually created good conditions for heat metering."
European buildings have good internal and external insulation, and stopping one household's heating will have little impact on its neighbors. However, the thermal conductivity of Chinese houses is relatively high. A heating failure in one household may cause the temperature of other households to drop by 1°C. However, the heating failure of this household can actually maintain a certain temperature. In order to ensure that the room temperature of other residents reaches the standard, the heating company needs to increase the heating intensity.
The former official believes that complete fairness is difficult to achieve, and unfairness cannot be solved by thermal metering.
In addition, thermal metering also involves cost issues.
The former official said that according to their calculations, household heat metering will cost an additional three or four yuan per square meter every year, and it is a difficult question who will bear this cost. Moreover, these costs are not necessarily cost-effective compared with the energy-saving benefits. "As far as I know, the metering in Northern Europe is metering by building. The cost of metering by household is too high and the gain outweighs the loss."
Previously, the state required that new residential buildings must have household heat metering conditions, but the implementation effect was not good.
It is understood that some developers have difficulty in ensuring the quality of household heat metering facilities, and even dismantle the heat meters after passing the inspection. The supervision of government departments is not fully in place.
"Let developers undertake the construction of household heat metering projects. They must hope to save costs. When purchasing heat meters, they first consider the price, regardless of whether they can operate normally afterwards. In this case, it is very important for heating companies to implement household metering. Passive. Therefore, the system should also be changed. The developer should pay the fee and the heating company should be responsible for the related construction. This is the practice in Shandong and other places," the former official said.
He said that in fact, in some places or communities that meet the conditions for household metering and charging, the reason why it is difficult to promote is that many parties such as residents and developers benefit, but the heating companies are excluded. This is exactly what the heating companies want. Adds a lot of cost, so there is a reluctance to push.
Some residents are dissatisfied with the fact that they also have to pay heating fees in the public stall area.
Heating Company:
The two companies have different opinions on whether household metering is energy-saving.
In the view of heating companies, household metering charges require the refinement of hardware facilities and related policies to be in place, but as the main operator of household metering, Participants are often passive.
It is reported that in most areas, thermal enterprises rarely have a say in the construction process of household metering-related facilities. If the pipeline installation is unreasonable, the heating company can only make suggestions, and it is up to the developer to decide whether to adopt them.
On the other hand, the shift from welfare to marketization in heating needs to be implemented gradually. When fuel costs and other costs rise but heat prices do not rise, heating companies must be responsible for their own profits and losses, and also provide public utilities, facing a dilemma.
According to a Beijing thermal enterprise, under the current technical conditions, especially for newly built residential buildings after the implementation of thermal reform, it can be achieved if it only meets household metering requirements. "But household metering does not mean household metering and charging. Heat metering is just a reference. The heat prices and pricing standards approved by the price department are still based on area charges."
The above-mentioned thermal enterprises believe that household metering can theoretically save energy, but Their actual feeling is that the energy saving effect is not obvious. "This research topic is very meaningful, but it cannot solve the actual problems of enterprises at the moment."
Another hot enterprise in the central province believes that household metering and charging is a practical policy, and users' "behavioral energy saving" can start to a considerable effect.
The settlement situation of this central province's heating enterprises in the 10 heating periods from 2008 to 2018 shows that about 70% of heating users have achieved energy savings. About one-third of the users who have achieved energy saving and expenditure saving per unit area during the entire heating period are 30% more energy-saving than the heating energy consumption index specified for energy-saving buildings. "We consider this part of the energy saving to be the user's 'behavioral energy saving'" . According to the thermal enterprise, metered charges for the same type of residential buildings save more than 20% more energy than charges based on area.
The person in charge of a thermal enterprise in a central province believes that household metering can promote users' energy-saving awareness to change into energy-saving behavior. "Based on our experience, most residents can save more than 300 yuan in heat bill per household every year, and some users even save more than a thousand yuan in heat bill."
He said that from a national perspective, metered heat price levels vary greatly. The metered heat price in some cities is too low. Under the policy of "refunding more and not making up for less", users can save money without saving energy. The heating companies have put in "extra" labor, but their heating revenue has been significantly reduced, which has hindered the development of heating companies. The enthusiasm of household metering; in some cities, the metered heat price is too high, and in some cities, the heating fees of households metered users are even higher than those charged by area heat prices in large areas, which dampens the enthusiasm of heat users to save energy.
In addition, there are still many problems with metered charging, such as metered heat charges in the shared part.
The above-mentioned Beijing heating company said that the sharing of heating fees is similar to the sharing of buying a house. "Our explanation work is mainly based on numbers, and more on explaining concepts. If we really come up with a set of formulas, it may be more difficult for owners to understand. Moreover, , once the metering data is fully disclosed, there may be differences in different communities and households. This difference is difficult to explain and will do more harm than good. "
During the actual operation of the heating bill sharing, the heating company found that there were many basements in the buildings. , the garage is also equipped with radiators. "Who generally uses the basement? It's not necessarily the owner or the heating company."
Danish heating giant Danfoss:
Household metering average energy savings of about 20%
Danfoss has more than 70 years of experience in system control and heating in the heating field. Operational experience.
Yu Yongming, President of Danfoss Heating Division China Asia Pacific and India, introduced that in a project in Denmark, a total of 7 residential areas implemented household metering and charging from 1991 to 2005. Users can save up to 30% of energy, and the average energy saving is 15%. ~17%. "Based on many project cases and research in other European countries, on the basis of users having the ability to adjust indoor temperatures independently and allowing users to clearly know their energy consumption values, energy savings of 10% to 30% can be achieved through changes in user behavior, with an average energy saving of 10% to 30%. About 20%. "
Yu Yongming believes that the great significance of household heat metering is to improve the operating efficiency of heating units, strengthen the energy awareness of consumers, and promote a sustainable "energy culture" through metering methods.
In 2015, China's total building energy consumption was 857 million tons of standard coal, accounting for 20% of the country's total energy consumption. Among them, the heating area and energy consumption in northern cities and towns are 12.9 billion square meters and 193 million tons of standard coal respectively, and the heating energy consumption intensity is 14.9 kg of standard coal/square meter. If heat metering charges are implemented, according to data provided by Danfoss, at least more than 38 million tons of standard coal can be saved and more than 50 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced every year.
Due to the different insulation effects and heat dissipation conditions of houses, some people worry that household metering and charging violates the principle of fairness. Yu Yongming responded that household metering exactly reflects the principle of fairness. “Purchasing commercial housing in the market is an act of free choice in itself.People spend more money to buy houses with good insulation and low energy consumption, but they have to pay the same heating fee based on the area. This is unfair. "
Yu Yongming believes that under centralized heating conditions, the essence of household heat metering is to eliminate unfair welfare heating. "In the pipe network system of the same residential building, there are proximal users and end users. This results in a large difference in room temperature, but it is not fair to pay the same heating fee for the same living area. "
Compared with metering by building, Danfoss believes that metering by household is a better choice.
"If the entrance of the building is simply used as the settlement point, users will still have the idea of eating from a "big pot" and cannot truly achieve independent behavioral energy saving. Measurement will lose its meaning. Yu Yongming said.
Since the implementation of household metering, the energy-saving benefits have not been significant. Therefore, some scholars and industry insiders are skeptical or even negative about the policy of heat metering reform. Yu Yongming believes that some problems that have arisen during the reform, It cannot be proved that there is a problem with the policy, but it is caused by poor implementation of the policy. “For example, if the heat meter is clearly installed and starts reading, why is it not charged according to the meter? When heat meters are idling, people's energy-saving behavior cannot produce economic returns, which directly leads them to give up the practice of behavioral energy-saving. For another example, the poor quality of heat meters has led some people to use this as an excuse to refuse to implement household metering and charging. However, the poor quality of heat meters is not caused by the household metering policy. The solution is not to abolish household metering, but to strengthen quality supervision. "
Some people in the industry believe that household metering is not popular in Europe. Yu Yongming responded that the current EU heating metering regulations require household metering that reaches the "end user" level. In countries such as Germany, household metering is Metering is already a common practice. In 2016 alone, a total of 3.6 million heat meters were sold in the EU. By 2019, the number of heat meters in the EU will reach 6.7 million. Heat distribution meters (Editor's note: A type of heat meter that is different from heat meters). Metering devices, one household may need more than 25.8 million.
Danfoss is an active promoter of China’s heating reform, and is therefore suspected of expanding its business interests in China.
“Supporting thermal reform is first of all based on our energy conservation. Professional knowledge and understanding in the field, and believe that it is a good thing both publicly and privately. There is no contradiction between corporate interests and social interests. Only on the premise that interests are consistent can corporate behavior truly reflect corporate social responsibility. Yu Yongming said that the purpose and focus of Danfoss' current support for thermal modification is not to expand the sales of heat meters, but to call for the actual use of installed heat meters. "Not only does this not bring us profits, Instead, you have to pay for after-sales services (such as the operation and maintenance of heat meters). "
Danfoss believes that whether it is based on the local successful experience in China or the mature and successful experience in Europe (especially Northern Europe), "we are convinced that household metering is the correct technical route."
The stone from other mountains
European household metering Metering is highly popular
Regarding the current problems encountered by household metering, Chen Zhuolun, a senior researcher at the Copenhagen Energy Efficiency Center of the United Nations Environment Program, believes that there are currently corresponding solutions
"For example, we are in the Sanbei region (Northwest) of China. , North China and Northeast China), we found that some people installed bypass pipes next to the heat meters, which is equivalent to allowing the heat supply to bypass metering and use it for free. This is an individual phenomenon, but it also tells us that we must strengthen the construction of relevant laws and regulations and strictly enforce the law. "He said.
He often hears hearings on water and electricity prices in China, but he has never heard of hearings on heat prices. "In fact, heat prices should also receive attention. In foreign countries, residents and heating companies will sign contracts and agree on price adjustment mechanisms. For example, based on changes in electricity costs, fuel costs, labor costs and other factors, the heating company can start a price increase only when one of these items increases by more than 5%. "
It is generally believed that building energy-saving renovation can reduce energy consumption by 5% to 15% more than the energy-saving behaviors encouraged by household metering, but usually the investment required for building energy-saving renovation is greater than household metering.
Chen Zhuolun said that from this From a perspective, household metering is worth investing in. “The cost problem can also be solved by introducing a business model.There is an energy service company abroad. After an energy audit, the company will formulate a complete set of energy-saving plans and then carry out related facility renovations free of charge. The company will share the reduced expenditures due to reduced energy consumption according to the agreed proportion. "
He introduced that household metering is common in Nordic countries. 100% of new buildings can be metered by household. Centuries-old houses whose heating systems are difficult to retrofit can at least be metered by building." Denmark Buildings are divided into five energy consumption levels: A, B, C, D, and E. Houses of different levels have different heating prices. B-class houses may be very expensive, but compared to E-class houses, their energy consumption level may be only 1/5. There is a certain economic return for paying higher housing prices. "
In many European countries, the German government's household metering billing method has a penetration rate of 100%.
Liu Yu, senior manager of Sino-German Cooperation Development of the Building Energy Efficiency Department of the German Energy Agency, said that Germany's household metering charges are composed of two parts. : The first part is the basic heat fee, which is mainly calculated based on the household's heating area (including the shared public area); the second part is the metered heat fee, which is settled based on the household metering data.
The basic heat fee in Germany is similar to that in Denmark. The proportion of metered heat charges is generally determined based on the building’s energy consumption.
Liu Yu said that compared with Germany, China’s metered charging system is still at an earlier stage, so some of Germany’s experiences and lessons are worth learning from.
“Germany has begun to implement it. During household metering, large heating companies established metering service companies. To date, metering services across Germany are mainly controlled by three major companies, so there is a certain implicit monopoly factor in fee pricing. Liu Yu said that in recent years, start-ups have begun to intervene in the heating metering service market in Germany. China can also make attempts in this area to optimize the quality of metering services and reduce service costs through market competition.
case
virtual and real household division Measurement data
On August 13, 2018, Mr. A, who lives in Guofengmeitang Langguan Community, Changping District, Beijing, received a lawyer’s letter: Mr. A should pay Beijing Jinfang HVAC Energy Saving Technology Co., Ltd. (responsible for the community) The heating bill from the heating company (hereinafter referred to as Jinfang HVAC) totaled 5,509.2 yuan from November 15, 2016 to March 15, 2018, but it has not been paid yet. Mr.
A said that the court did not accept the above lawsuit. " According to the heating contract signed when moving in, Jinfang HVAC should levy heating fees based on the reading of the heat meter, but in fact it was levied based on the housing area. It was their breach of contract first. "The heating contract presented by Mr.
A shows that the heating fee is the sum of the basic heat fee and the metered heat fee; the basic heat fee is calculated by multiplying the basic heat price by the area of the household, and the metered heat fee is calculated by multiplying the metered heat fee by the heat meter. The meter reading is calculated. Before the start of the heating season each year (at the latest before December 31 of the year), the household first pays the heating fee for the heating season to Jinfang HVAC in a lump sum based on the traditional area fee. Jinfang HVAC should pay the heating fee in The fees will be settled within 365 days after the end of the season, and no refund will be made. The area of Mr. A’s home is about 90 square meters, and the annual prepayment fee is about 2,750 yuan per area.
"The fee will be paid starting from the second year (that is, the 2015-2016 heating season). There is a metered fee, so I pay great attention to room temperature adjustment, do not open windows to dissipate heat, and turn off the heater when I am not at home. However, after receiving this year's bill, I found that I used a lot of heat and there was no room for refunds. Many other residents were like me. " Mr. A said.
Ms. B, a resident of the community, told the reporter of China Economic Weekly: "I think Jinfang HVAC has falsified data. A resident who knew how to read the meter sent the detailed method of reading the meter to the owner group. After everyone read the meter themselves, they found that the number was different from the number on the bill they received. "
Beijing media reported at the time that "the heating company admitted that the actual amount of heating used by owners of four buildings was wrong, and then recalculated and posted an announcement. "
But Ms. B said that almost two years have passed and there has been no refund.
Many residents have a crisis of confidence in Jinfang HVAC. "I don't think they will charge strictly according to metering. In the 2016-2017 heating season, Just open it and use it."Mr. A showed his own meter readings to the reporter of China Economic Weekly. He used 4,740 units of heat in the year of "sparing use" and 6138 units in the year of "open use". Mr.
A said, " If they cheat once, they may cheat a second time. So, what I want is completely open and transparent billing. "
Many owners are also very concerned about the measurement of public areas. Ms.
B recalled that during the heating season of 2015-2016, her family shared 2,895 units of heat, while the meter reading at home was 5,647 units. , the heat consumption in the public area was half that of her own home, which she found unbelievable: "The public area did not inform us of the calculation method. If this part was fake, we would not know it." "
Ms. B shared about 765 units of heat in 2016-2017, and her home meter reading was 3826 units. However, Ms. B does not agree with this data and hopes to disclose all measurement data.
("China Economy Weekly reporter Hu Wei | Photo)
Some experts told reporters from China Economic Weekly that inaccurate heat meter readings, wrong meter readings, opaque information and other similar situations will bring destructive effects to the promotion of household heat metering and charging methods. The resulting trust crisis has made many residents unwilling to accept the household metering model.
Mr. A lives in the corner and has three exterior walls; Ms. B lives in the middle and has two exterior walls. The area of the exterior walls is much smaller. Mr. A's home. In the heating season of 2015-2016, Mr. A's recorded heat consumption was 4740 units, which was greater than the 3826 units of Ms. B's home in the heating season of 2016-2017.
But Mr. A said "No." "Fair" has no complaints. He believes that "unfair" heating is a false proposition. "If the heating effect of the house is not good in winter, the cooling effect of the air conditioner in summer must also be bad." If I pay more for electricity in the summer, can I also cancel the metered charging model for electricity? "
There are many homeowners who hold the same opinion as Mr. A.
Ms. C's home in the same community is located on the corner of the top floor and has the largest exterior wall area. She said that she did not consider the issue of heating fees. I am worried about the low room temperature. “When it was cold last winter, the temperature was only 17.1°C. I had to wear a coat to watch TV at home. Now I just hope that the room temperature can reach the standard, and I am willing to pay a little more. "
If the "more refunds and less compensation" policy is cancelled, will Ms. C still support household metering and charging? Ms. C thought about it for a long time and finally answered: "If the difference in heat consumption compared with other households is about 2 times, it is still acceptable. The premise is that the room temperature reaches the standard. "
On November 26, a reporter from China Economic Weekly called Jinfang HVAC. The staff said that disclosing all measurement data would leak the privacy of other residents and would not be disclosed.
On November 27, the reporter came to Jinfang HVAC to work. The staff initially refused to be interviewed, and then promised to verify the situation reported by the residents of the community, but as of press time, the reporter had not received a reply.
(Zhu Yan also contributed to this article)
Text editor: Zhou Qi
.
