Property managers: communal heating, properly controlled
In an apartment block with communal heating, the boiler room controls decide when the building heats and how hot: the compensation curve, night setback, the time schedule of each circuit and hot water production. Elyos Building Automation, a controls integrator in Anderlecht, Brussels, since 2017, audits, reprograms and takes over those controls for property managers and co-owners across Brussels, Wallonia and Flanders. [to confirm]
What reaches the property manager
Residents only see their radiators, and you are the one they call:
Too hot at the top, too cold at the bottom. Top-floor flats open their windows in midwinter, while the ground floor and the north side are cold.
A setpoint raised ‘to be safe’. After a complaint, the curve was turned up and never turned back down, so the whole block heats for its coldest flat.
A badly placed outdoor sensor. In full sun, it tells the controller the weather is mild, and the north side goes cold.
Night setback missing or badly set. The block heats at night as it does by day, or flats are cold when people get up.
A controller nobody knows any more. The installer left with the program backup, and spare parts can no longer be found.
Alarms that reach no one. A boiler locks out on Friday evening, and residents report it the next day.
Part of this is fixed by programming. Part comes from pipework out of balance, which is your heating contractor’s work: the audit tells you which is which.
What we do in your boiler room
In a communal boiler room, one controller runs it all: one or more boilers, sometimes in cascade, or a heat pump; the heating circuits, often one for each side of the building or each stairwell; and domestic hot water. We work on that controller, its sensors and its actuators, for the syndic (the Belgian name for the property manager of a building in co-ownership) or the association of co-owners (ACP), never for a single resident.
- An audit of the existing controls.
- Compensation curve, schedules, where the sensors are, the state of the actuators, circuit by circuit, hot water included.How an audit works
- Reprogramming.
- A curve set for the building, a night setback, a morning start before people get up, schedules for each circuit. Setpoints raised ‘to be safe’ come back down.Programming and commissioning
- Taking over or replacing the controller.
- A controller installed by another firm, with no backup or no spare parts: we take it over where we can, or replace it without touching the boilers that still work. [to confirm]Taking over an existing system
- Remote monitoring and alarms.
- Secure remote access to the controls: a boiler fault or a failed sensor, and the alarm goes to you or your heating contractor before residents call. [to confirm]Troubleshooting and support
- Follow-up.
- Settings reviewed at the change of season and after a complaint. [to confirm]
Your controller is not on our systems page? Send us a photo of its label and we will tell you whether we can take it over. [to confirm]
A clear file for the general meeting
Work in the boiler room goes to the co-owners’ general meeting. To help you put it to them, after the visit you receive [to confirm]:
- a written assessment in plain words: what is wrong, and what each piece of work changes for residents;
- an itemised quote, line by line, to send out with the meeting notice;
- an order of priority: what programming fixes, what needs a part, what can wait.
When the work is done, you receive the settings, a backup of the program and the updated diagrams for the building’s technical file. [to confirm]
Working with your heating contractor
Your heating contractor keeps the servicing of the boilers and the pipework under their contract. We take the controls and pass on every setting we change. [to confirm] If the audit finds something in their trade, such as balancing, a pump or a valve, we sort it out with them.
Does the BACS regulation apply?
The BACS regulation covers non-residential buildings with more than 290 kW of heating or air conditioning. An apartment block is therefore generally not covered. A mixed-use building with shops or offices can be, depending on its non-residential share and the region: in Brussels, when non-residential EPB units make up more than 50% of the floor area served.
Last checked: 9 November 2026
Frequently asked questions
Can you work on the controls without replacing the whole boiler room?
Yes. The compensation curve, setbacks and schedules can be reprogrammed without touching the boilers. A controller that is too old or has no spare parts left can be replaced on its own. [to confirm]
Do you work with our current heating contractor?
Yes. They keep the servicing of the boilers and the pipework, we take the controls and tell them what we have changed. [to confirm]
Can a co-owner or a tenant call you about their flat?
No. We work on the shared installation, for the syndic or the association of co-owners, not for private households. Residents who are too hot or too cold tell the property manager, and that is often the first sign of a setting to review.
Can you set up remote monitoring?
Yes, when the controller can communicate, through a module or a gateway where needed. The boiler room needs a connection, either the building’s line or a 4G router, in the co-ownership’s name. [to confirm]
Communal heating that needs looking at?
Send us the building’s address, the number of flats, a photo of the controller and the latest complaints, and we will get back to you to arrange a visit.