Voluntary and involuntary heating consumption

In central condominium heating the cost splits into two components: voluntary consumption, which depends on each owner's choices about how much and when to heat, and involuntary consumption, which relates to system losses and does not depend on individual behaviour. Legislative Decree 73/2020 provides that at least 50% of the total cost of the service must be attributed to actual voluntary consumption, measured by meters, while the rest is split as a fixed share. Understanding this distinction is the key to a correct allocation.

What voluntary consumption is

Voluntary consumption is the share of thermal energy each owner chooses to draw by adjusting their heating elements. Those who open the thermostatic valves wider, keep the radiators on longer or set high temperatures consume more and pay a larger share. This component is measured by the allocators fitted to the radiators or by heat meters, and it is the part of the cost that rewards virtuous behaviour and holds those who waste accountable.

What involuntary consumption is

Involuntary consumption is the energy the system disperses regardless of individual choices. It includes heat losses from pipes running through the common areas, dispersion from the boiler room, and heat passing through walls and floors between adjoining apartments. No owner can eliminate this consumption, because it derives from the structure of the system and the building: for this reason it is split among everyone as a fixed share, normally based on heating thousandths or other objective parameters such as installed power or floor area.

The 50% rule and the end of the UNI 10200 obligation

Until 2020 the technical standard UNI 10200 was the binding reference for splitting costs, determining the shares through an energy diagnosis of the building. Legislative Decree 73/2020 amended Article 9 of Legislative Decree 102/2014, removing the explicit reference to UNI 10200 as an obligation: today the law requires that at least 50% of the total cost of the service be attributed to voluntary consumption, giving the owners' meeting more freedom in choosing the criterion for the remaining fixed share.

How costs are actually split

The allocation follows a few recurring steps:

• The total cost of the service is determined (fuel or energy, management, maintenance)
• The voluntary consumption share, measured by the meters, is separated and must be at least 50%
• The voluntary share is split in proportion to the individual device readings
• The fixed involuntary share is split by heating thousandths or the criterion approved by the meeting
• The two components are added to obtain each dwelling's cost

Why the fixed share cannot be zeroed out

Some owners would like to pay only for what they consume, eliminating the fixed share. This is not possible, nor would it be fair: those who keep the radiators off still benefit from heat filtering in from neighbouring apartments and from the risers, and the system must stay operational and compliant for everyone. The fixed share distributes precisely these shared costs and structural losses, preventing them from weighing only on those who turn on the radiators.

The role of the owners' meeting resolution

Each year the meeting approves the heating account and may set the criterion for the fixed share, provided it respects the 50% minimum consumption threshold. A resolution splitting the cost solely by thousandths, ignoring the meter readings, would breach the rules and could be challenged. The manager must therefore present clear tables showing the voluntary and involuntary shares separately, so that every owner understands how their cost was calculated.

AmministraPro lets you manage the heating allocation by automatically separating the consumption share from the fixed share, importing meter readings and generating transparent tables for the meeting. See how to set up thousandths tables and consumption-based allocation on /funzioni and choose the plan that fits best on /prezzi.