Heating in your building

The cost of central heating is split between the homes according to how much each one uses. We work out the figures and hand them to the building: your building manager passes them on to you.

How it works

Who does what, in three steps

Three parties are involved in central heating. Knowing who does what saves you time when you need an answer.

1. The devices measure

The heat cost allocators on the radiators — the small devices fitted to each one — record how much heat your home uses. If your system has a heat meter instead, that is what records it. We collect the readings from a distance: you do not have to send us anything, and we do not need to come into your home.

2. We do the sums

We put together the usage we have measured and the cost figures the building manager gives us. From those we prepare the heating cost statement: the document that splits the cost between the homes. We hand it to the building.

3. Your building manager shares it out

It is the manager who gives you your own sheet from the statement, and asks you for your share together with the other building expenses. The timetable and the ways to pay are decided by the building.

You do not get a heating bill from us. If you also have water with L.I.R.A., that is a different thing and arrives separately. If your statement has not reached you, or you want to know when it will, the right person is your building manager. We do not know when they hand it out.

The most common question

Why you pay even with the radiators off

Because the cost is split into two parts, and only one of them depends on how much you turn the heating on.

The part that depends on you

It is worked out from the readings of your devices: the longer you keep the heating on, the higher it goes. Use less and it comes down. This is the part you can really do something about, and you already see it in the statement for the following year.

The part everyone pays

It covers the heat the shared system loses anyway: the boiler that stays hot, the pipes that run through the building. It is there even with your radiators closed, because that heat is produced all the same.

In other words: this second part does not pay for your heat, it pays for the heat the shared system loses anyway. That is why it applies to every home in the same way.

An example with figures

A building with 10 homes and a cost of €10,000 for the season. In this example €30 of every €100 is split between all the homes, and the other €70 follows usage. Here is what three different homes end up paying.

How a cost of €10,000 is split between three homes with different habits
Item	Your home	A warmer home	Heating off
The part everyone pays €3,000 split between 10 homes	€300	€300	€300
Usage recorded by the devices	600 units	1,400 units	0 units
The usage-based part €7,000 split in proportion to the units	€420	€980	€0
Total to pay	€720	€1,280	€300

These figures are made up: they are only here to show how it works. How big each of the two parts is changes from building to building, and so does the rule for splitting the part everyone pays. The residents' meeting decides both, within what the rules allow. The figures for your own building are written on your statement. If they do not add up for you, write to us and we will go through them with you.

Using less brings down the usage-based part, not the part everyone pays: it is still the part you can act on. How to do it is explained further down, in using less makes a difference.

The costs

Where the cost of heating comes from

For heating there is no authority that sets a rate, as there is for water. The cost is what your building really spends over the season: the fuel, plus running and maintaining the system. Where the shared boiler also produces the hot water at the taps, that is part of it too.

Those costs are approved by the residents' meeting, and the building manager passes them to us. We do not set them and we do not collect them: we split them between the homes using the criteria that apply. The statement explains how the calculation was done.

Water works differently: there the rate is set by an authority, and you will find it explained on the water rates page.

The document

How to read your statement

It is a single document in three parts: two are about the whole building, the third is about you.

The summary for the whole building. How much the heating cost the building as a whole, and how it is split between the different services.
The breakdown of the costs and the criteria. The cost items, the criteria used to split them and the comparison with previous years.
The sheet for your own home. The readings from your devices, the two parts of the cost and the total you have to pay. This is the one that really concerns you.

Read it with us, box by box

If something is wrong

The device shows an error, or it is damaged

It happens: a device showing a code, a blank display, a knock during building work. It is not a problem for you to sort out on your own.

What not to do

Do not take it off and do not open it: it is sealed, and the figure it records goes into the calculation for the whole building.
Do not move it to another radiator: it is set up for the one it is fitted to.

What to do

Just call us directly. We work out what it is and we tell you who has to deal with it: that way you do not go round in circles.
Tell us about work on the radiators too, if you have replaced or moved one. The device has to be mapped again, or the figures will not add up.

One distinction that saves phone calls: we look after the metering devices and the calculation. The boiler, the thermostatic valves and radiators that do not heat up are the job of the people who maintain the system. They are appointed by the building.

Call 051 226693 letturecalore@lirabo.com

Our phone service is in Italian.

Using less

Using less makes a difference

Each of these acts on the usage-based part, the one worked out from your own readings. They are simple things, and you already see them in the next statement.

Keep the temperature sensible: every degree less makes a difference to what you use.
Use the thermostatic valves room by room, instead of opening and closing them fully.
Do not cover the radiators with curtains or furniture: the heat stays trapped and more of it is needed.
Air the rooms briefly and often, instead of leaving the windows open for a long time.

All our guides to using less

Legal deadline

Compliant metering by 1 January 2027

Heat metering systems have to meet the new legal requirements: devices that can be read remotely, and cost allocation that follows the rules. There are 134 days until the deadline: now is the right time to plan the work.

Check your system

If you are not sure

Who should I talk to?

Two people to talk to, with two different jobs. Knowing in advance who to ask is the quickest way to get an answer.

Your building manager

When and how to pay your share
The statement has not arrived yet
Disputes about the building's expenses
Decisions about the system and the boiler

Us, the heating office

The readings from your devices
A device on a radiator showing an error
How your own sheet was worked out
Questions about how the cost was split

Write to letturecalore@lirabo.com: the same address is printed at the bottom of your statement. You can also call the switchboard on 051 226693 during phone hours — on the phone we answer in Italian. The contact form works just as well.