Czech industry ministry proposes lower building heating temperatures in an emergency

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO) proposes that buildings be heated to lower temperatures in the event of a fuel shortage at district heating plants. The aim is to respond to a possible disruption of gas supplies and achieve the necessary savings. The MPO said so in a press release today. The European Commission's goal is to reduce gas consumption in European countries by 15 percent. For example, temperatures in centrally heated living rooms or offices should be reduced to 18 degrees, and to 19 degrees in school classrooms.

In the proposed decree, the MPO sets temperatures for different types of buildings and rooms. A temperature of 18 degrees Celsius should also apply in kitchens, dining rooms and children's rooms. According to the MPO, the current indicative temperature there is around 20 degrees. In bathrooms, the temperature should fall from an indicative 24 degrees to 19 degrees Celsius. For example, according to the MPO, the current indicative temperature in entrance halls or corridors is 15 degrees, and this would not need to change. The planned decree was highlighted on Tuesday by HN.cz.

In halls or rooms with partitions, the temperature should fall from 18 to 15 degrees Celsius under the proposal. In school classrooms, the temperature should be reduced from 20 to 19 degrees, while in gymnasiums it should instead rise from 15 to 17 degrees. Nursery schools should now have 19 degrees Celsius. In hospital rooms, the temperature should fall from 22 to 20 degrees, and in doctors' surgeries from 24 to 20 degrees Celsius. Waiting rooms should have 18 degrees, while operating theatres should have 20 degrees instead of the current 25 degrees. In hotel rooms, the proposal envisages reducing heating by two degrees to 18 degrees Celsius, with the same applying to dormitories and hostels.

The decree proposed by the MPO sets a threshold below which the temperature in individual rooms should not fall. The temperature should exceed this threshold by no more than one degree. This threshold is further increased for individual rooms depending on how many external walls they have. In rooms with one external wall, the threshold will therefore be one degree Celsius higher, in spaces with two external walls 1.5 degrees higher, and in spaces with three walls two degrees Celsius higher.

„Our aim is to have legislative tools ready that will help us achieve the necessary savings should Russian dictator Vladimir Putin further escalate his energy war,“ said Industry and Trade Minister Jozef Síkela (STAN).

Under the current legislation, the lowest possible temperature in occupied rooms is set by the building design, which is based on a technical standard and calculation values determined according to the so-called indicative temperature. The new rules stemming from the decree should apply to customers connected to district heating systems, with the exception of systems using at least 80 percent renewable energy sources. The decree therefore applies primarily to coal-fired and gas-fired sources, as well as central heating using fossil fuels.

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