Everyone knows the famous saying that says that the sleigh should be prepared from the summer. The same can be attributed to the hot water system. And most of us are concerned about the question of why hot water is turned off in the summer. This is mainly due to technical work. And in order to keep warm in the houses on the most frosty day, hot water is turned off for a certain period in the summer. Is there really such a need? After all, we, as consumers, experience inconvenience, even if only for a relatively short period of time. Can preventive work be carried out in such a way that there is no damage?
What to do without hot water?
Usually, if there is no urgent need, hot water is turned off for a strictly defined period, which is up to 2-3 weeks. This is not so much compared to the period when we use it, however, this period also needs to be lived through somehow. Therefore, the question of why hot water is turned off in the summer,especially relevant.
To wash dishes or floors, you can heat water in several pots on the stove. Of course, it’s not very convenient to mess around with a basin, periodically I change the water to rinse cups, plates and cutlery. But this is even the lesser of the evils that lie in wait for each of us. Taking care of your personal hygiene in the absence of hot water is much more difficult. If it's hot outside, then a cold shower will allow you to freshen up well, but hardly anyone will be able to fully wash.
Water system
Water supply is a complex and multi-kilometer network of pipelines. Before getting to our apartment, the water passes all the bends and metal joints. In addition, it is under high pressure in the system. As a rule, the heat carrier is supplied from a thermal power plant or a boiler house. Normally, the water temperature should correspond to 60 ° C, but in order to exclude heat losses, before leaving the CHP, the water is heated to 75 ° C.
As a result, the pipes are subjected to enormous stress, which increases many times in winter. Significant temperature fluctuations adversely affect the material of the pipes, which usually leads to their rupture. Therefore, it is necessary to regularly carry out preventive work.
So why turn off the hot water in the summer? Centralized heating was built at the time when the USSR existed. It allowed us to quickly and effectively resolve the issuehot water supply for residents of houses, and in each apartment. Only everything is organized in such a way that it is necessary to check the condition of pipelines before each heating season. This to some extent explains why hot water is turned off in the summer. If there are appropriate signs of system malfunctions, scheduled or major repairs are carried out.
Obvious answers to obvious questions
Many tenants of apartment buildings with the advent of warm summer begin to cautiously look around for a notice that warns residents about the imminent shutdown of hot water. At the same time, some do not hide their indignation, although this practice has existed for more than a year.
Any responsible motorist always carries out maintenance of his vehicle and will not drive under any pretext without proper MOT. The same applies to the question of why hot water is turned off in the summer. For a neat housewife, there is nothing more important than the absence of scale on the heating elements of the washing machine. We all lubricate the hinges on a regular basis to rid ourselves of a squeak that is contrary to hearing. If the screws are not tightened in a timely manner, then the stool will completely fall apart. There are quite a few such examples.
However, when it comes to technological equipment that provides each person with a comfort zone, few people think about caution. To dispel all doubts, it is worth finding out what specialists do during a hot water shutdown.
Strength test
Typically, a planned shutdown lasts up to two weeks, during which the necessary hydraulic tests are carried out. This measure is forced, because otherwise emergency situations would have to be eliminated in the winter. And this causes inconvenience to both the residents and the repair team itself. Summer is just the perfect time to identify the weak points of the system and eliminate all existing malfunctions in a timely manner. Probably, each of us was at least to some extent interested in what exactly people do during maintenance work.
The rules for the technical operation of heating networks imply annual testing of the hot water supply system. To this end, an increased pressure is created in the pipeline network, which exceeds the operating performance by 58% (usually 16-20 atmospheres) in 10 minutes. In this way, possible defects are identified, which can then be eliminated in a timely manner.
On the first day of a scheduled outage, the hot water boilers are stopped so that the water temperature in the main line drops to 40-45 ° С. This is done for safety reasons in the event of a pipe burst. At the same time, bystanders risk getting severe thermal burns. However, the pumps that pressurize the system continue to function.
To begin with, the quarterly network (stretches to the houses) is tested, and then only the backbone. Due to the increased pressure, weak points in the network will make themselves visible. After that, specialists will only have to compile a list of existing defects, mergewater and troubleshooting.
Repair work of heating networks
The heating main running underground, sooner or later, but inevitably wears out, which leads to an emergency. It is eliminated by a special team that repairs pipelines, usually including:
- repairing individual elements of the heating system;
- replacement of components;
- installation of an additional insulating layer of the pipeline or other protective structures.
As a rule, such updating of communication lines is temporary, and the whole procedure is repeated at certain intervals. In cases where it is not possible to repair the heating network, a complete reconstruction is indispensable.
Check equipment
While some specialists are busy checking the integrity of the hot water supply system and repairing pipelines, others are carrying out preventive maintenance of boiler station equipment. Periodically it is necessary to flush the boiler heat exchangers and replace the fittings. In addition, heat metering devices are being checked, which, according to the rules, must be serviced every two years.
It is simply impossible to do without such prevention. In theory, you can organize everything unnoticed by consumers. But in this case, it is necessary to build a backup source next to each boiler house with the laying of a pipeline network to each house, as is the case with the main CHP. However, this is only theoretical, and in order to put it into practice,too much will be required.
Regular norm
As experts note, preventive work related to turning off hot water for 14 days is already an established norm, which has been carried out for more than a year. This term is followed by all regions of the country. Moreover, the time period may increase by several days due to exceptional circumstances. For example, if you need to carry out large-scale work. New deadlines must be agreed with local executive and administrative bodies, after which residents are informed about the new deadlines.
Can the dates be changed?
This is not entirely possible due to the use of a centralized water supply system in Russia and a number of CIS countries. It has a dead-end character, that is, water is supplied from the source to end consumers. Theoretically, if there is a large budget, the time for preventive maintenance can be reduced to a minimum (about three days), but technologically it is impossible to do this without a large-scale replacement of heating networks.
According to experts, the period can be reduced by replacing worn-out pipelines with insulated analogues. But, as practice shows, most of the heating systems have been in operation for about 25 years or more. And the resource of the pipeline is just designed for a quarter of a century. It is impossible to completely replace the entire heating network in a single moment of time due to increased costs. In addition, it will take many years to carry out a complete reconstruction.
Not cheap alternative
Now it is clear how much hot water is turned off in the summer. It can be seen that the two-week discomfort is fully justified by the technological necessity in order to check the performance of the heating network. Of course, you can build a backup point and lay pipes. However, if you take such a large city as Moscow, then you will need to dig up the entire metropolis, and then rebuild roads, sidewalks, plant flower beds, etc. So isn’t it better to endure these 14 days?
However, for consumers there is one way out of the situation, but you need to invest your money. You can purchase one of the instantaneous water heaters, and then the problem of cold pipes for hot water will no longer be affected.
Only there is one little "but": the cost of such equipment is 1.5-5 million rubles, or even more. Are there many who want to part with such a bag so that they do not know discomfort for two weeks? The answer is obvious, and therefore it is worth treating the forced preventive maintenance of heating networks with understanding.
How about in other countries?
Abroad, a different water supply system is used. For example, in the UK, almost every house is heated individually. In Finland, two types of heating are used: centralized gas and individual electric. At the same time, a centralized one costs about 150 euros (half the cost of utilities), and an electric one costs a little less - already 100 euros. But perhaps the main reason why they turn offhot water in the summer for two weeks, and in other European countries fit in two or three days, is the lack of necessary technical and material means.
