Heating and hot water costs

1. Same systems for heating and hot water

Heating and hot water

You use this category if the heating and also the hot water for the entire building are supplied via the same system, e.g. via a central heating system.

Book here costs that are incurred jointly for heating and hot water and cannot be clearly assigned to only one area. These include, for example, fuel or energy costs for central heating as well as other apportionable costs that affect the entire heating and hot water supply.

Typical expenses are e.g. :

Gas bill for the central heating system For example, deductions or annual billing from the gas supplier if gas is used for heating and hot water is generated.
Heating oil bill For example, delivery of heating oil, including delivery costs for the common heating and hot water system.
Pellets, wood or other fuels For example, fuel supplies for a pellet heating system that supplies heating and hot water.
District heating bill For example, the fee for heat supplied if the building is supplied with heating and hot water via district heating.
Rent for a gas or oil tank. For example, ongoing rental costs for a liquefied gas tank or oil tank that is needed to operate the common heating and hot water system.
Maintenance of the heating system For example, regular maintenance by a specialist company, including testing of operational readiness and operational safety.
Cleaning of the heating system and the operating room For example, cleaning of boilers, burners, exhaust systems or boiler rooms, as long as they serve ongoing operations.
Chimney sweep and immission control measurements For example, exhaust gas measurements or legally required measurements according to the Federal Immission Control Act.
Consumption Tracking Costs For example, rent, leasing or use of heat cost allocators, heat meters or hot water meters, insofar as these are required for the billing of the system.
Costs for billing and apportionment For example, costs of a metering service provider for reading, calculating and apportioning heating and hot water costs.

Immodio then divides these joint costs into a heating cost share and a hot water cost share for billing purposes.

If heating and hot water are generated separately, do not book the costs in this category, but separately under "Heating" and "Hot water".

Repair costs do not belong to this category, as they may not be passed on to the tenants.

Use this category only if heating and hot water are generated by a common system.

If heating and hot water run through separate systems and the costs are shown separately, book the costs separately in the categories "Heating" and "Hot water" instead. Further information on billing for separate systems for heating and hot water can be found here.

Operating electricity, electricity for heating

You use this category for electricity costs incurred by the operation of the heating system.

These include, for example, electricity costs for:

Heating pumps or circulation pumps
Burners, control and regulation of the heating system
Technical components necessary for ongoing heating operation

Why does operating electricity have to be booked separately?

The operating electricity of the heating system may not simply be booked as general electricity. It is legally part of the heating costs and must therefore be distributed according to the requirements of the Heating Costs Ordinance. If the heating electricity is not recorded via a separate meter, the share attributable to the heating must be determined or estimated in a comprehensible manner. The background to this is the case law of the Federal Court of Justice, in particular the Federal Court of Justice, judgment of 20.02.2008 – VIII ZR 27/07.

Separate booking is important because a different distribution key applies to heating costs than to general electricity. Heating costs are regularly distributed in whole or in part according to consumption. General electricity, on the other hand, is often distributed according to living space, units or another general allocation key.

Costs for meter reading, meter reading, preparation of the heating cost statement

You can use this category for costs incurred in connection with the reading of meters and with the preparation of the heating cost and hot water bill.

These include, for example, costs for:

the (digital) reading of meters such as e.g. heat cost allocators, heat meters or hot water meters
the recording and evaluation of consumption values
the preparation of the heating cost statement by an external service provider
Billing fees of the metering service provider

Select this category if you are shown corresponding items for reading, consumption recording or billing in the finished heating cost and hot water bill.

You can also pass on part of the tariff fees that you pay for the use of Immodio to your tenants as part of the heating cost bill. The appropriate amount of the apportionable amount in each case must be examined on a case-by-case basis.

Assignment

These costs are assigned to the owner in Immodio. Therefore, under Assignment, select the appropriate owner.

Rent, calibration, maintenance for heating meters

In this category, you enter running costs for devices that are used to record the heating consumption of the individual units.

This includes in particular:

Rental costs for heat cost allocators,
Rental costs for heat meters,
Leasing costs or other running costs for the use of recording devices,
calibration costs for custody transfer heat meters,
Costs for the replacement of a heat meter due to the expiry of the calibration period,
ongoing maintenance or service costs for the metering devices,
Costs for functional testing, battery replacement, sealing or technical inspection of the devices,
as well as costs directly related to the use of the recording devices for heating cost billing.

Renting or buying: What is apportionable?

§ 7.2 of the Heating Costs Ordinance expressly mentions the costs of renting or transferring equipment for consumption recording as well as the costs of using this equipment, including calibration, calculation, distribution and consumption information, as apportionable costs of the heating cost bill.

Two conditions in particular must be met:

The allocation of operating costs must be agreed in the rental agreement (if you use a digital rental agreement from Immodio, this allocation will be automatically agreed accordingly).
In the case of rented or leased equipment, the procedure under Section 4 (2) of the Heating Costs Ordinance must be observed.

If the equipment is to be rented or leased, you must inform your tenants beforehand. The notification should clearly state the type of equipment, the type of transfer of use and the costs incurred as a result. If the majority of users property within a month, the devices may not be rented or leased in this way.

The purchase of the devices is to be treated differently. Acquisition costs for purchased heat cost allocators or heat meters are not ongoing operating costs and should not be entered as a cost item in the heating cost statement.

Calibration of the devices

In the context of device calibration, it is important that not every recording device is treated equally.

Heat meter

Heat meters measure heat consumption, usually in kWh or MWh. They are subject to calibration. The calibration period is currently 6 years. After the calibration period has expired, the meter must be recalibrated or replaced in good time.

Hot water meter

Hot water meters are subject to calibration and have a calibration period of 6 years.

Heat cost allocators

Heat cost allocators on radiators are usually not calibrated meters. They do not measure kWh directly, but record consumption values for the distribution of heating costs.

Therefore, they are not normally subject to the calibration obligation. Nevertheless, they must be suitable, correctly assembled and functional. In the case of electronic heat cost allocators, for example, battery replacement, functional testing or device service may be necessary.

In Immodio, you have the option of creating a task and to record the respective deadline for the calibration of the meters. Immodio automatically informs you about calibration and meter change.

Operating electricity, electricity for heating

The Federal Court of Justice has ruled (Federal Court of Justice, judgment of 3.6.2016, V ZR 166/15), that the operating electricity of the heating system may not simply be billed as part of the general electricity. As a landlord, you must therefore separately determine the operating electricity for the generators on which heat generation depends. If there is no intermediate meter, an estimate is permissible, but the basis of the estimate must be disclosed.

Operating electricity is the electricity required for the ongoing operation of the heating system. These include, for example, electricity costs for burners, pumps, control, regulation, blowers or other technical components of the system.

The most accurate is a separate intermediate meter for the heating system. Then the actual electricity consumption can be recorded directly and booked as operating electricity.

If there is no intermediate meter, the operating current can be estimated. The estimate must be comprehensible, for example on the basis of the connected loads of the pumps and control units, the estimated running times and the electricity price. Alternatively, a professional assessment by a heating specialist or metering service provider can be used.

If the operating electricity is initially included in the house electricity bill, it should be deducted there and recorded separately as operating electricity of the heating system.

Example of an estimation method:

A circulation pump has an output of 80 watts and runs for an estimated 4,000 hours a year.

80 W = 0.08 kW
0.08 kW × 4,000 hours = 320 kWh
With an electricity price of 0.35 €/kWh result in € 112.00 operating electricity.

In practice, if more precise data are not available, the operating current can often be estimated on the basis of an appropriate percentage of the fuel costs or a professional assessment can be obtained from the heating company or the metering service provider.

2. Separate systems for heating and hot water

2.1 Heating costs

All costs for heating incl. maintenance, no repairs

You use this category for all costs that have been incurred exclusively for the heating and are to be passed on to the tenants according to the existing heating cost statement.

These include, for example:

Fuel costs or energy costs for heating
Heating maintenance
Cleaning or maintenance of the heating system
Other ongoing operating costs of the heating system

Select this category if heating and hot water are generated via separate systems.

If heating and hot water are generated via a common system, do not book the costs here, but together in the appropriate category "Heating and hot water".

Do not book repair costs here. Repairs to the heating system are generally not apportionable and may therefore not be distributed among the tenants.

Costs for meter reading, meter reading, preparation of the heating cost statement

You can use this category for costs incurred in connection with the reading of meters and with the preparation of the heating cost and hot water bill.

These include, for example, costs for:

the (digital) reading of meters such as e.g. heat cost allocators, heat meters or hot water meters
the recording and evaluation of consumption values
the preparation of the heating cost statement by an external service provider
Billing fees of the metering service provider

Select this category if you are shown corresponding items for reading, consumption recording or billing in the finished heating cost and hot water bill.

Assignment

These costs are assigned to the owner in Immodio. Therefore, under Assignment, select the appropriate owner.

Rent, calibration, maintenance for heating meters

You use this category for costs incurred in connection with the heating meters.

These include, for example, costs for:

the rental of heating and hot water meters
the calibration of heating and hot water meters
the maintenance or replacement of heating and hot water meters

Assignment

Select "Property" in the mapping, and then select the affected property.

The costs are thus allocated to the entire property and distributed to the tenants as part of the operating cost statement.

Important

Only book costs here that relate directly to heating and hot water meters.

Costs for cold water meters or other types of meters should not be booked under this category, but under the appropriate cost type.

Operating electricity, electricity for heating

You use this category for electricity costs incurred by the operation of the heating system.

These include, for example, electricity costs for:

Heating pumps or circulation pumps
Burners, control and regulation of the heating system
Technical components necessary for ongoing heating operation

Why does operating electricity have to be booked separately?

2.2 Cost of hot water

All costs for hot water incl. maintenance, no repairs

You can use this category for all costs that have been incurred exclusively for the hot water supply and are to be passed on to the tenants.

Book these costs here if hot water and heating are produced via separate systems. This is the case, for example, if the hot water is heated via individual instantaneous water heaters and thus independently of the heating system.

These include, for example:

Energy costs for heating the hot water
Maintenance costs of the hot water system
Costs for cleaning, operating or monitoring the system, provided that these are apportionable

Repair costs do not belong to this category, as they may not be passed on to the tenants.

Distribution of heating and hot water costs

Not covered: There is no heat meter for the hot water content and the heat quantity of the water must be determined mathematically.

When operating a monovalent heat pump (preparation of hot water and heat)
In the case of heat supply (local or district heating) owned by the landlord, which does not count as an "independent commercial heat supply".

See: https://github.com/HighPerformingTeam/immodio/issues/3717

Distribution of heating costs

Distribution of heating and hot water costs

Scope of application of the Heating Costs OrdinanceThe Heating Costs Ordinance regulates when heating and hot water costs are to be billed according to consumption.§ 1 para. 1 Heating Costs Ordinance:"This ordinance applies to the distribution of the costs of operating central heating systems and central hot water supply systems." This means:Application only for central heating and hot water systemsNo application for decentralised solutions within individual apartmentsTypical cases without application of the Heating Costs Ordinance:Instantaneous water heatersGas floor heatersIndividual stoves (e.g. coal stoves)§ 2 Heating Costs Ordinance:"The provisions of this ordinance are not to be applied to buildings in which [...] the heat consumption cannot be recorded or can only be recorded at disproportionately high costs." Basic principle of distributionHeating and hot water costs are always divided into two components:consumption-based shareshare independent of consumption (basic costs)The following applies to heating costs:50 % to 70 % according to consumptionmaximum 50 % according to areaThe landlord determines the specific distribution within this range. Special regulations for heating costs

Mandatory 30:70 ratio

In certain buildings, the distribution is fixed:

30% base cost
70% consumption costs

Requirements:

Thermal insulation ordinance of 1994 is not complied with
Oil or gas heating
Heating pipes mostly insulated

Uninsulated pipes

In the case of uninsulated pipes, part of the heat is not emitted via radiators and is therefore not fully captured.

Heat cost allocators primarily record radiator heat
Pipe heat is not taken into account

This can lead to a skewed distribution. Correction is possible according to recognized rules of technology (e.g. VDI 2077), but not mandatory and rarely implemented in practice.

Distribution of hot water costs

The following also applies to hot water:

50% to 70% after consumption
maximum 50 % by area

Deviating from this, a complete distribution according to consumption can be contractually agreed.

Change in distribution standards

The distribution scale can be adjusted, e.g.:

with the introduction of new measurement technology
according to energy measures
for appropriate reasons

Important:

Changes only apply to future billing periods
Implementation only at the beginning of a billing period

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