Heating, electricity and ventilation 

  

Get an electricity agreement for your home  

Make sure to make an electricity agreement with the service provider of your choice for your home by the moving date. If you move out, remember to end your electricity agreement or transfer it to your new home.   

The lights and other equipment in the common areas of the buildings are powered by real estate electricity procured by Heka. All real estate electricity procured by Heka is produced using renewable energy sources. 

In an increasing number of our properties, part of the property’s electricity is produced by a solar power plant. Some of our properties have a geothermal heat system or a pump using exhaust air. Even in these properties, the residents procure the electricity used in their apartments with their own electricity agreement.  

Distribute your electricity consumption outside the peak consumption hours 

Electricity is used most in the morning from 8 to 10, while in the early evening the peaks are from 4 to 5 and 7 to 8. Distributing the consumption of electricity outside the consumption peaks safeguards the sufficiency of electricity. Try to even out your electricity consumption. Avoid unnecessary electricity consumption during peak consumption hours on weekday mornings and evenings. It is recommended that you use electricity when it is available in abundance and it is inexpensive. 

Distributing your consumption makes sense regardless of whether you have a fixed-price or an exchange-rate electricity contract. Download Fingrid’s Tuntihinta application to your phone and monitor the price of electricity which reacts to the supply and demand of electricity.  

Utilise the timer function and introduce new device operating times to your daily life. For example, postpone the use of your dishwasher and washing machine until early morning, noon or later in the evening. Charge electronic devices outside the peak hours of electricity consumption. Turn off the electrical appliances and unplug the charging cables you are not using. 

Temperature in the apartment and how to adjust it 

Suitable room temperature is 18–22 degrees Celsius. In the bedroom and kitchen, the temperature can be even lower. Sleep is more pleasant in a little cooler environment, and the use of the stove and oven keeps the kitchen warm.  

Thick curtains help keep cold air outside the window. On a sunny day, it is advisable to close the blinds, as they prevent the apartment becoming uncomfortably warm. 

You can adjust the temperature of the rooms from the thermostat of the radiator. If you are not satisfied with the temperature of your apartment, please submit a defect notification.  

The target internal temperature of Heka homes during the heating season is 21 degrees Celsius. However, there is sometimes an imbalance in the heat distribution networks, which means that not enough hot water is flowing to all the radiators in the network and the apartments are warming up unevenly. We balance theheat distribution systems every year if the temperature dispersion of the apartments in a property becomes significant. 

Heka buildings are heated with district heating.  Some of our properties use geothermal heat, and our goal is to have geothermal heat in as many of our new and renovation properties as possible.  

Radiators 

Radiators work well when there is no furniture or thick curtains in front of them. Clean the radiators regularly.  

Radiators require maintenance when they emit a disturbing noise, gurgle or leak water. In these cases, submit a defect notification. Do not attempt to service the radiators yourself.  

The bathroom radiator is most often connected to the hot water system of the building, and it is warm year-round to enhance the drying of the bathroom. If such radiator is cold even though the valve is in the open position, submit a defect notification. To prevent the valve from becoming choked, turn the valve between the closed and open position from time to time. Always ensure that the valve remains open. Bathroom radiators connected to the heating system of the building are cool outside the heating season. 

Airing and ventilation 

You can always air out your apartment if necessary. In winter or when the apartment is otherwise heated with radiators, only air out the apartment briefly by keeping the windows or the balcony door open for 5–10 minutes. Short and efficient airing out is more economical than keeping the windows and doors open for a long time. Do not air out your apartment through the staircase.   

At the beginning of the pollen season, allergic people should limit airing out their apartments. Pollen can easily get into apartments through open windows and doors. 

Heat pumps may not be installed in Heka apartments.  

Heka buildings have either gravitational or mechanical ventilation.  

How to keep the mechanical ventilation working:  

• Always keep the fresh air vents or openings on the window frames or walls open. Even in freezing weather conditions they cannot be closed completely. If the fresh air vents are blocked, the system can suck in replacement air from the drains, for example.  
• Do not change the position of the exhaust air vent. This will interfere with the ventilation.  
• Clean the fresh air vents and openings by vacuuming them with a soft nozzle or brushing them at least twice a year.  
• Dust and grease accumulate in exhaust air vents. Clean the vents with warm water, cleaning agent and a brush at least twice a year. To remove the vent, turn the round frame anticlockwise. Dry the vents before re-installing them.  

• Perform a quick check of the ventilation: Place an A4 piece of paper on the exhaust air vent. If it gets sucked against the vent, air is flowing through the exhaust vent in the correct direction.  

If the building has an apartment-specific air conditioner, Heka will replace the filters as needed about 2–4 times a year.  

Does it feel like the ventilation in your apartment is not working correctly?  

Characteristics of a failure of the ventilation system include:  

• Odours and fumes do not leave the apartment within a reasonable period of time.  
• The inside of the windows becomes fogged or frozen even if the windows are closed properly.  
• The bathroom dries slowly after you have used the shower, even if the floor and walls have been dried with a squeegee and the door has been left open.  
• The apartment smells like the staircase even though the doors are closed properly.  

• You can hear the air flowing through the cracks in the door or the letter box.  
• Exhaust air vents hiss in a disruptive manner.  
• The air in the room becomes stale again soon after airing.  

Check that all fresh and exhaust air vents in your apartment are open and clean. If the vents are open and clean and the situation remains unchanged, please submit a defect notification.