Understanding your heating system & heat network
I have a leak from my Heat Interface Unit (HIU)
How is my home heated?
Your new home is served by a low carbon heating and hot water district heat network. The energy is generated in a communal plant room or energy centre. Your heating system is robust, reliable and controllable. You can control the heat level through your thermostat and heating controls in the same way as if you had an individual gas boiler in your property. Your hot water is provided on demand and you only pay for the energy you use.
Learn more by watching this video.
To learn more visit My Heating System.
Can I control the temperature the same way as a conventional boiler system?
Yes. There is no difference in the way you control your system i.e. with a programmer, thermostats and/or radiator valves.
Can I turn the heating on and off when I want to?
Yes. There is no difference in operation to a conventional boiler system.
What is vTherm°?
Your home may have a Heat Interface Unit (HIU) installed. It looks very similar to a traditional combination boiler and transfers the heat from the network into your home. vTherm° is a brand of heat and cooling interface units supplied by Vital Energi, which provides your home with instantaneous heating and hot water.
What is Glass?
The Glass App & Portal is your online platform, which gives you visibility over your energy user and control over your energy spend. With Glass you can manage your account online and make quick top-ups or bill payments from the comfort of your own home. Get started with Glass by clicking here.
What is vPro2?
The vPro2 is a smart heat metering solution which uses an in-home display to help you understand, budget and control your heat energy consumption.
vPro2 connects into your energy supply to provide information directly to you through your vPro2 in-home display.
You can view your current consumption, remaining balance and an estimation of the number of days until your top up will run out (this is based on your previous consumption) on the vPro2 in-home display.
What is a Guru Meter?
The Guru Hub II provides you with a simple way to take control of your energy. Reliable and always on, the system provides a real-time view of consumption in your home. It avoids the need for bills by helping you to stay in control of your energy consumption and spend through the prepayment/credit system.
I have no heating and hot water
In the event you have no heating or hot water, please carry out these simply checks.
- Settings - Check if your Heat Interface Unit is switched on and it is not just set to come on when the ambient temperature drops too low.
- In-home display - Check your in-home display or Glass for energy usage, spend information and messages (where applicable).
- Check your balance - Are you in credit and have paid for any outstanding friendly credit.
- Hot water only - Finally, check if you have hot water only and no heating.
Also it would be useful to know:
- Do your neighbours have the same issue?
- Is the electricity working in your home?
- Is the switch next to your heat interface unit in the 'on' position?
- Is the thermostat turned up and timer turned on?
Once you have completed these checks, please contact your energy supplier.
Who do I contact out of hours?
We have an out of hours service, should you need to get in touch outside the normal office hours.
You can contact us on 0800 138 4560
To arrange an emergency call out, please call 0800 138 4560 and select Option 2 for Operations and Maintenance.
What is a heat network?
A heat network is a system of insulated pipes that takes heat from a central source, such as an energy centre, and delivers it to your home and other homes or buildings on the network.
To learn more about living on a heat network and your heating system visit My Heating System
What is an energy centre?
An energy centre is a building that houses equipment which generates heat and hot water to each property on the heat network.
What equipment do I have in my home if I’m on a heat network?
Heat Interface Unit: Your home may have a Heat Interface Unit (HIU) installed. It looks very similar to a traditional combination boiler and transfers the heat from the network into your home.
Heat Meter: Your heat meter is an essential part of your metering system as it measures the amount of heat you use. This information is used to calculate your bills. We only use heat meters with proven technology which guarantee accurate readings ensuring you only pay for the heat you use.
vPro2: The vPro2 system is your in-home hub with interactive display, designed to help you budget and control your energy usage.
Glass App: As the name suggests, our Glass was developed to give you greater transparency and control over your energy usage and spend anytime anywhere. The Glass App & Portal is available on mobile phone, tablet or desktop computer and is your online platform for managing your account. Click here to learn more about Glass
To learn more about living on a heat network and your heating system visit My Heating System
Who manages my heat network?
The company who supplies, sets your tariff and charges you for the supply of heating, hot water and cooling is responsible for your heat network.
Can I switch supplier?
As the heat for your property is generated from a central source, you cannot switch suppliers. However, we work with various support organisations to ensure you are protected and treated fairly.
What is a heat interface unit?
A heat interface unit or HIU, is the hydraulic break between a communal boiler, central plant room or energy centre and the heating and hot water services within your home. It provides the functionality of a gas boiler within your home, but without the hazards associated with combustion. Water, heated within a central plant room or energy centre, is distributed via a network of pipes to the heat interface unit installed within your home.
Who maintains my Heat interface unit?
This will vary from site to site depend on the operations and maintenance contract arrangements made by your housing association, managing agent or developer. If you have an issue please contact your housing association, managing agent or concierge who can arrange for a maintenance engineer to visit.
Why does my meter show that I’m using energy even when I’ve not been using the heating or running hot water?
In order to provide instantaneous hot water, the temperature of the heat interface unit needs to be constantly running. In prolonged periods with no heating or hot water demand, this is achieved by passing a small amount of heated water through the unit. As this water passes through the meter, it will be recorded and processed as energy usage.
What do I do if my Heat Interface Unit (HIU) is leaking?
The water passing through the heat interface unit is at a temperature that will scald and so under no circumstances should you attempt to resolve a leak even if the source is obvious. In the event of a leak within the heat interface unit, place a non-plastic container below the unit to catch the leaking water and protect the flooring. Contact your housing association, landlord or managing agent or concierge to arrange a visit from an operations and maintenance engineer.
Will I still get hot water and heating in the event of a power cut?
In the event of a power cut you will not have heating or hot water because the HIU is powered by the electric. The heat interface unit is designed to prevent you being scalded should the power to the unit be cut off/components within the HIU will automatically close should power to the unit be removed. Once power to the HIU is reinstated, the unit will work as normal without the need for intervention.