Seoul City Joint Public-Private Visit Inspection and Consultation for Heating Vulnerable Sites

Implemented Until the 31st of Next Month

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] Amid rising household burdens due to soaring heating costs caused by low temperatures and increased heating demand this winter, the Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 7th that it will jointly inspect heating-vulnerable sites and provide consultations to improve heating efficiency in collaboration with public institutions and related associations in the energy sector.

The city has formed a 'Public-Private Joint Heating Efficiency Improvement Support Team' with the Korea Energy Agency, the Korea Energy Technicians Association, and the Korea Heat Management Construction Association, and plans to conduct inspections from the 7th until the 31st of next month, targeting apartment complexes and detached houses using central heating, district heating, and individual heating systems.

There are a total of 118 apartment complexes with 106,478 households in Seoul using central heating systems, accounting for about 6.7% of all apartment households. Most of these are older apartments with high heat loss, and since the billing structure does not charge based on individual household usage, residents' dissatisfaction due to soaring heating costs is increasing.

The Korea Energy Agency and the Korea Energy Technicians Association will inspect loss factors such as aging boilers, piping, heat exchangers, and valves, and directly check heat loss using thermal imaging cameras. After the inspection, they will improve operational methods that can be applied immediately on-site and provide consultations based on air ratio measurement results and other data to adjust operating conditions. The city will also listen to difficulties and suggestions from workers on-site to discover projects aimed at improving energy efficiency.

Currently, four providers in the Seoul area (Seoul Energy Corporation, Korea District Heating Corporation, Narae Energy Service, and Daesung Industry) supply district heating to 650,000 households, which is 17% of Seoul's 3.9 million households.

Seoul Energy Corporation initially planned to inspect 66 sites in 10 apartment complexes but has expanded this to 151 sites in 30 complexes, including Mokdong 1 Complex, to minimize citizen inconvenience caused by soaring heating costs. Consulting will also be promoted for residential buildings (56 sites in 28 complexes) and office/public buildings (65 sites in 41 locations) until the end of March. Korea District Heating Corporation will conduct inspections of 35 sites in 24 complexes, including Dogok Hyundai Villate, until February 28, and will provide focused consultations for eight complexes where heat usage increased by more than 30% in December and January. Additionally, branch-specific information centers will operate until March 31 to provide guidance on heat billing responses and energy efficiency improvement plans for each complex.

Individual boiler heating facilities, which account for 53.4% of heating households in apartment complexes and most detached houses, will be inspected through joint visits by the Korea Heat Management Construction Association, district diagnostic consultants, and local governments. Households in detached houses wishing to have boiler inspections and energy diagnoses can apply to their district environmental departments from the 13th to the 24th. On-site inspections and consultations will be conducted from the 27th until the 10th of next month. However, boiler malfunctions or abnormal operations will continue to be handled by the boiler manufacturers' after-sales service (A/S) centers as before.

The city will promote heating cost-saving methods by heating type on the Seoul Metropolitan Government website and in apartment management offices, distributing promotional materials (leaflets) to continuously encourage lifestyle habits that reduce heating expenses.

Lee In-geun, head of the Seoul Climate and Environment Headquarters, stated, “To reduce the burden on citizens caused by soaring heating costs, we are strengthening customized inspections and efficient operational consulting by heating type. Since continuous increases in city gas rates are expected in the future, we will continue to discover various support measures that can induce customized operation and facility improvements to reduce heating costs.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.