A Washington couple claim they have been left shivering in the cold after struggling to regulate the heating in their home.
John and Janette Gray, of Oxclose, are awaiting a new boiler being fitted as part of an upgrade to their central heating system, but say in the meantime, their home is too cold for Janette, 59, who is in very poor health and has very limited mobility.
The couple, who have lived in their home since 1980 and bought it from Sunderland City Council in 2003, currently heat their home via the ageing Washington District Heating System, which is being decommissioned in the Oxclose and Albany areas of Washington. Gentoo, which owns the system, admitted that it was over 50 years old and "inefficient".
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The Grays, who say they have got used to the district heating system over the years, claim this winter has been particularly difficult so far, especially for Janette, who has suffered from thalamic syndrome after a stroke in 2009. "Janette cannot regulate her own temperature at all," said John, 61, who gave up work to be her full-time carer. "She suffers from hot flushes, then shivering, not helped by her very poor mobility. The heating has been much worse this year."
Mr Gray claims:
- Their home is not heating to an adequate temperature compared to last winter;
- It is taking two hours for the house to heat up;
- There are some times during the day when the heating will not come on at all, and some when the radiators are too hot to touch;
- Gentoo has turned the main boilers down in an effort to save money
"We can switch the heating on at 4pm and it's 6pm before any heat comes to the radiators," said Mr Gray. "The heat dies down again at around 9pm, but by 11pm, the radiators are so hot you can't touch them. Janette is really cold. She has lots of anxiety and mental health problems on top of her poor physical health, and this is just too much for her to manage.
"We've found the district heating system fine up to now, but this year, we're struggling with it and our neighbours are saying the same thing. We feel that Gentoo don't want to know about the problems and the Switch2 engineers are getting annoyed because we are always calling them out."
Although Gentoo apologised that the couple felt the district heating system supplying their home was not adequate, James Haste, director of property maintenance said the boiler house is running at the same temperature as it was in December 2021.
“At Gentoo we believe everyone has the right to live in a safe and secure home, and we’re sorry to hear the district heating system supplying Mr and Mrs Gray’s home is not heating their home sufficiently," he said. “Gentoo is in the process of decommissioning our district heating system in Washington. The system, that currently supplies more than 900 homes in the Albany and Oxclose area, is over 50 years old and is inefficient.
“As part of our investment in replacing the inefficient system, we will be providing all homeowners with a new gas boiler free of charge. We understand that the inefficient system, coupled with the plummeting overnight temperatures may be causing those living in these homes to be feeling colder than usual. We’re sorry to hear Mr and Mrs Gray’s home feels cold. Once a double pole isolator is installed through EDF energy to this property, Gentoo will install their free gas boiler. With a more efficient system in place, we are confident Mr and Mrs Gray will feel more comfortable in their home.
“However, we can confirm that the boiler house which supplies the heating to Mr and Mrs Gray’s property, is fully operational and running at the same temperature as it was in December 2021.”
Mr and Mrs Gray's complaint is the latest in the wrangle between people living in the villages and Gentoo Group, as the housing association replaces the aging district heating system.
The row started when families who had bought their homes from Gentoo or, prior to that, Sunderland City Council, received a letter asking them to pay £3000 to replace heating pipes. The homeowners said that as they were not permitted to touch the pipes or radiators supplying heating and hot water into their homes, the replacement was Gentoo's responsibility.
Home owners in the area set up a Facebook group, Gentoo Communal Heating Charges Group, to get together to fight the charges. and after their story appeared on ChronicleLive, the payment was reduced to a £300 deposit with the rest to be paid by individual arrangement with Gentoo The homeowners remain adamant that Gentoo should renew the pipes at their own cost and the row has not been resolved.
Around 200 homes have been fitted with the new boilers and been removed from the district heating system as Gentoo Group presses on with the scheme.
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