With Spring well and truly underway, it’s time to turn our attention to the summer and jetting off on a well-deserved break. After Covid-19 had scuppered plans for many of us over the last few years, it is good to look ahead to something positive. However, going on holiday leaves you with many things to consider and the thought of leaving your boiler on might leave you worried. You might be concerned about something happening and you might be concerned about your energy bills. So, let’s look at whether you should turn your boiler off when you go away.
Should Your Boiler Be Turned Off When You Go On Holiday
All boilers are different, especially when it comes to their age. An older boiler might experience problems and so, it is natural to worry about leaving it on when you are away. We cannot overlook the risk that modern boilers might have problems if they have not been maintained correctly. So, you might still want to turn it off.
Some people believe that turning their boiler off is not cost-effective although leaving it on doesn’t sound cost-effective either. Still, dealing with this will be determined by the time of year you holiday.
Holidaying in the Summer
If you turn your boiler off during the summer, you can expect no problems. You won’t need your unit to keep your house warm during the summer months, so it makes sense to turn it off.
Holidaying During Winter
If you choose to head off on holiday during the winter when it is cold, then you are best to leave your boiler on. The heating will ensure your home remains warm and it can help to prevent pipework from freezing, helping to avoid other problems. Additionally, nobody wants to come home to a cold home, so if it is left on, your home will be warm when you arrive home.
Things You Can Do With Your Boiler While You Are Away
You have several options that you can choose from when it comes to your heating when you are away.
Use the Thermostat
When away, you don’t need to keep your home at a high temperature, so drop it down to something lower such as 15 to 18 degrees, as this will help to reduce costs and keep your home comfortable.
Temperature regulators are a great way of ensuring comfort as you can turn your heating on before you return although you will need to leave your boiler on to take advantage of this.
Use Frost Protection
If you have a boiler that has an antifreeze setting then you are fortunate. This will enable you to keep your boiler running at a low temperature and some boilers will turn themselves off when frost protection is activated. This is a great setting if you want to prevent problems and keep fuel bills low.
Use a Timer
You can use a time while you are away so it comes on at certain times, which might only be an hour or two during the day. Consider the best time of day, such as those times of the day when the temperature is likely to be at its lowest such as the early morning or early evening. This will ensure the system comes on to prevent freezing.
Call on Friends and Family
If you don’t have access to the methods above then you could always ask reliable friends or relatives to do it for you. You could ask them to turn it on every other day for an hour or so or ask them to turn it on for an hour a day if you know temperatures are going to drop low.
Turn off Hot Water Tanks
If your system has a hot water tank, your boiler will have the job of heating up the water and maintaining it at the right temperature. During your holiday, hot water won’t be needed, so you can turn the function off, so turn off all of the water tanks in your home.
Will it be Cheaper to Leave the Heating On?
Many believe that it can cost more money to turn your boiler back on after it has been out of use for some time, instead of keeping it running at a lower temperature. However, this is not true and nothing more than a myth.
The reality is that turning your boiler off is more energy-efficient whereas a boiler that stays on will still be consuming energy.
Is It Dangerous to Leave a Boiler On During a Holiday?
There are certain dangers that come with boilers and there are many risks that might mean that you are worried about leaving it on when nobody is at home. However, the main thing to consider is that there is a very low chance of you coming home and finding your property damaged. To add to this, this is only completely true if you have your boiler regularly serviced and maintained by a specialist. This is because it would have been thoroughly checked for problems, which means that the risk is exceptionally low.
Modern boilers have certain safeguards built into them but of course, older units do not benefit from this. If you have a boiler that uses a pilot light then you might want to turn this off to prevent any damage. Again, the risk is low but with an older boiler, the risks do increase, so you want to make sure that you do everything possible.
While summer is the ideal time to go away, it is also the right time to have your boiler serviced professionally. They will make sure that your boiler is working perfectly before you go away, ensuring you have complete trust in your system while you are away. In addition to this, if your boiler is serviced, you can be sure that it will work perfectly throughout the winter, keeping you and your home warm.
You should only have your boiler serviced by Gas Safe Registered engineers as they are qualified to check your system safely and securely. So, if you take care of your system then it will take care of you, even when you are away.
Conclusion
So, it is ok to turn your boiler off while you holiday during the summer although you should make sure it maintains a low temperature during the winter months. You should ensure it is maintained correctly and use the right settings where possible such as the thermostat, time or the antifreeze setting. Finally, don’t think that it will cost you more to turn it off because that is not true, so do what’s right and you can jet off in style.
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