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He lives in a two-room apartment from the 1950s on Grimstaskogen in Vällingby and has had heating problems since moving in 2015. Every year he complains to Svenska bostäder, who comes to measure the temperature.
– They say it’s 20 degrees and something is wrong with my thermometer. But I have taken the thermometer with me to my workplace, where it does not freeze, and it differs only a tenth of a degree. There is no problem with my thermometer. Nothing is wrong with me. I’m freezing because it’s cold here, says Eva-Lena Lundin Cabrera.
Lying on the couch Sheepskin rugs and blankets that are always wrapped. She says crusty bread gets soft in cold moisture. That the grandchildren change so they can play on the floor. Who lights candles for warmth and sleeps with clothes on.
– I don’t think you should be so cold, that as soon as you get home you are forced to turn on the oven, it is not the 19th century. Having it like this from time to time is one thing, but not knowing every fall that eight months of cold await us now.
Eva-Lena Lundin Cabrera reported Svenska Bostäder to the environmental administration and now the company measures the temperature in several rooms to record the degree for three days.
Photo: Jonas Lindkvist
This fall she has enough and reported the problem to both the Tenants Association and the environmental administration. For this reason, the real estate company has placed meters in bedrooms, bathrooms and living rooms to record the heating for three days. They should be placed in the living area of the bedrooms, but they are all located at head height, one above the bedroom closet near the ceiling.
– I don’t know how seriously I take this measure. We’ll see what happens, I’ll probably have to buy a flat because I can’t stand it like that. It’s tiring for the body to freeze, and who can worry about the temperature all the time, I guess I have other things to do in life.
She shows Swedish houses brochure that indicates how much a degree of heat corresponds to the climate impact. Like continuously vacuuming for 130 years or toasting 45 million slices of bread.
– They want us to have feelings of guilt. But then it should apply to everyone in the country, even those who can regulate heating in villas and condos – it’s not just some of the tenants who should help with environmental thinking, says Eva-Lena Lundin Cabrera.
According to the Swedish Public Health Agency, the indoor temperature should not be lower than 20 degrees, and the recommendation is 20 to 23 degrees. Municipal housing companies follow the lower limit, but have themselves set the upper limit at 21 degrees; then the heating system turns off. Real estate companies allege environmental reasons and refer to the city’s climate action plan.
– I understand those who complain, but we have a carbon dioxide budget for the city that we are not allowed to emit as much carbon dioxide. That interest sometimes collides, says Maria Löfholm, Svenska bostäder’s environmental coordinator.
Is it reasonable for tenants, but not owners, to have a maximum heating ceiling for weather reasons?
– No, but it can come. If we want to be climate neutral, homeowners can’t get too hot indoors in winter either. Everyone will probably have to pay more for heating, but so far it is relatively cheap, says Maria Löfholm.
“I don’t think you should take it so cold, that as soon as you get home you are forced to turn on the oven, it is not the 19th century,” says Eva-Lena Lundin Cabrera.
Photo: Jonas Lindkvist
Stockholm’s big three housing companies say they have received roughly 400 complaints about temperature since 2019. So far this year, the family home has received 200 complaints through bug reports.
– Most come when the heat is turned on, that is, when the outside temperature drops to 10-15 degrees, and these are quick questions about when the heat turns on and problems that have simple solutions. About 25 require more action, says Lott Jansson, communications manager for Familjebostäder.
Some conflicts continue to the environmental administration, which has had 53 temperature drops at its table this year. Svenska Bostäder has seven disputes in which the parties do not agree on the interior temperature.
– It can be complicated if you are at the border. We have a dialogue because each tenant is unique. It must be taken into account if the person is sitting still a lot, cooking a lot, if it is a corner floor, if we are going to close. Sometimes you also have to talk about clothes, if you wear a T-shirt in January when it’s 20 degrees cold outside, you probably need to dress a little more to avoid freezing, says Maria Löfholm, Swedish housing.
According to the Swedish Public Health Agency Sensitive groups such as the elderly, the sick and the disabled should have two degrees warmer, that is, 22 degrees, to avoid the risk of health problems. But none of the companies has the ability to adapt the heating to different needs in different apartments through the systems.
– Now it says “should” be, not “should”. But the first question I ask is whether he belongs to the sensitive group. Then, look separately according to the specific case. We cannot increase the heating in an individual apartment with the help of the house heating system, but then it becomes an additional element, says Maria Löfholm.
No housing company has a solution to meet the heating needs of more and more seniors living at home.
– You may have to see how Micasa does it, which has nursing homes, but again we have the climate problem, says Maria Löfholm.
Read more: “We cannot bear to freeze a winter until the middle of the pandemic”
