Heat meters

We are installing heat meters for properties in blocks with communal heating to help reduce waste and bills for tenants and leaseholders

A heat meter measures the energy you use to heat your home and the hot water you use. It means we can charge you accurately for the energy you use, and it allows you to monitor how much energy you are using.

This will help with the cost of living as well as helping reduce carbon emissions which fits in with our plan to reach net zero carbon by 2030.

Communal heating

By law, all homes on a communal heating network must have a heat meter where possible. This means we need to check all council blocks that we manage to see whether it is cost effective to install heat meters for homes. To comply with new regulations, installations began in autumn 2022.

Your heat will still come from the communal heating system. The only thing that will change is how you are charged and how you pay.

Billing and payment

Where we are required to do so, contractors will install payment meters into your home.
Once your payment meter is installed you will pay only for the heat and hot water that you use. You will no longer pay for this service in your rent or service charge.
When your heat meter is installed you will use Switch 2’s pay as you go billing service. However you may choose to apply for monthly billing.
Further information on your Switch 2 account can be found in your Switch 2 account.
Your payments to Switch 2 will be made up of charges for heat you have consumed and a daily standing charge. Your communal heating repairs and maintenance charges will still be included in your service charge (leaseholders) or rent (tenants).

Tariff setting and standing charge

Heat tariff

Homes that are provided with communal heating and hot water and have heat meters installed are required by law to pay for their heating and hot water based on how many units of energy (kW) are used. Your energy usage will be measured by the Switch2 heat meters. We set the unit charges for heat and, if supplied directly from our water supply, hot water. These charges are referred to as the tariff.

To calculate the tariff, we use the cost of gas we purchase on the wholesale market and make adjustments for the efficiency of the boilers and heat losses in the network delivering heat to communally heated homes from our boiler houses. This means that the heat tariff is roughly double the original cost of gas.

Efficiency

The calculation we use is set out below. Each system has been classified as 50% efficient. As we issue final bills and have data from everyone’s homes, as well as our own network data, this efficiency figure may increase or decrease for individual blocks. We expect some of our more efficient networks to be 60% efficient and some of our worst to be around 30% efficient. We now amend our tariffs each year to include network efficiency.

2024/2025 tariff calculation

The council pays £0.0461p per kW of gas supplied by our communal suppliers.
PAYG: 0.0461 x 2 = £0.0922 per kW.
Monthly Billing: the kW cost has a bad debt provision of 5% added so the charge per KW is - 0.0922 + 5% = £0.09681 per KW.

Based on the current unit costs someone using the average UK amount of heat (12,000 kWh) so this times the unit cost of heat (0.09681p kWh) means the average annual cost of heat will be £1,161.00 or £96.00 per month. If they use more then it will be higher than this and if they use less it will be less. There is also the standing charge for gas and the cost of the switch 2 billing service which will be paid as part of a standing charge.

Gas and billing service standing charge

All gas customers, including the council, pay a standing charge to energy companies for providing the gas service, however much gas is used. The total standing charge is divided among all the homes supplied through the communal gas services. This is £114.40 per household, per year.

Pay as you go calculation

For pay as you go (PAYG) customers, there is also a charge of £78 (including VAT at 20%) per year that all residents pay to cover the cost of the Switch2 billing service. There is also a charge of 5% of the total of the two standing charge elements to cover any bad debt provision. This is the cheapest standing charge that we offer.

Gas £114.40 (inc 5% VAT) + billing service £78 (inc VAT at 20%) + bad debt provision 5% = £202 annually or £3.88 per week.

Monthly Billing calculation

For Monthly Billing customers, who opt out of the PAYG billing service, the charges are different because of the extra work by Switch2 and the increased risk of bad debt. The cost for this service is £99 (including 20% VAT) per year to cover the cost of the Switch2 service. The 5% is no longer applied to the standing charge and is instead applied to the kW calculation. This means that the cost of a kW becomes 5% higher for all residents on the Monthly Billing system.

Gas £114.40 (inc 5% VAT) + billing service £99 (inc VAT at 20%) = £214.40 annually or £4.12 per week.

Saving money and energy

The Government estimates that once heat meters are installed, homes will use around 20% less energy in the first year. But this will depend on your household usage.

While these measures may reduce household usage of heat, the cost of gas changes a lot and heating costs are going up for most households.

We want to invest in our heating systems to make them more efficient for residents and will target our least efficient systems for replacement with fuel efficient alternatives.

Find out more about how to keep your home warm and help with energy costs.

You can also visit our cost of living support page.

Contact and repairs

If you have any queries relating to your heat meter, email tristan.lynch@islington.gov.uk.

To report a repair call 0800 694 3344 or 020 7527 5400 and press option 1.

Frequently asked questions

How long will the meter and billing equipment installation take?

We hope it will take less than a day for every home, but as every block and home is different, we will confirm timings when contractors start work on your block.

Who will install the meters?

Our contractors Switch 2, who provide a metering service on some other Islington estates, and GEM Environmental Building Services Ltd.

Will the heating service I receive change?

Fitting heat meters is a change for residents but the service you currently receive will not be changed for now. You will continue to have access to heating for the usual heating hours and during the cold season. We want to find out what you think about the communal heating service, including when you want to be able to access heating, whether you would want to turn the heating off sooner, and back on later to save fuel, as this will affect costs too. We will consult with residents so we understand your priorities.

Will all of Islington’s communal heating blocks be fitted with heat meters?

The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) have provided a tool which we have used to check whether the installation of heat meters is viable at your building. The tool uses historic consumption to calculate likely savings after heat meters have been installed. Viability is dependent on the anticipated savings being more than the costs associated with installing the heat meters, the results can vary even between identical or similar blocks if consumption differs. Current regulations require that the viability assessment must be carried out every four years using updated consumption and financial information.

Can I opt out of having the heat meter and billing equipment?

No, because the government has made it mandatory. You will need to provide access to your home for the equipment to be installed. Heat meters give you greater control over your heating costs and the council will continue to provide services at a fair cost to our residents.

Can I switch heating provider or install my own boiler?

No. Your home is part of a communal heating system that is managed by the council. The council buys gas in bulk from suppliers on your behalf, at the best available price, and this is the cost that we pass to you. The council will continue to be your heat network operator.

I think I already have a heat meter and payment equipment, what do I need to do?

A small number of estates already have communal heating payment systems, but if you get a letter about the change, it is unlikely that you already have this. All homes will be visited for a survey before the installation so you can discuss any concerns with the engineer.