Most people have experienced the cost of living crisis in some form or another over the past few years. Whether that’s in increasing grocery prices or the comparative stagnation in wages, one result has been a widespread attempt to cut costs wherever possible.
One area where this has been particularly relevant is in the context of heating bills. That’s why we decided to take a closer look at a common cost-saving question a lot of people tend to have, which is whether or not to turn the boiler off during the warmer summer months.
Modern boilers
The first thing to note is that modern combi boilers constantly turn themselves on and off throughout the day. This is called modulation, and means that the boiler is only ever heating as much water as is needed by the household.
If the thermostat is set high and it’s cold outside, as will be common during winter, then it’s likely that the boiler will need to stay on for longer periods of time.
If, however, it’s warm enough outside that it doesn’t need to turn on to hit the temperature required by the thermostat, then it will likely stay off, for central heating purposes at least.
Hot water only modes
In some modern combi boilers, you can actually turn them on to ‘summer’ or ‘hot water only’ mode during the summer months. This way, the diverter valve will stay in the hot water position only, allowing you to heat water for the taps while ensuring that the central heating system remains switched off.
This is sometimes also known as eco mode, and you’ll have to check how to turn that mode on with your specific model. You can either do this with the instruction manual, or with help from an engineer from somewhere like Able Plumbers when you have your annual boiler service done.
Lowering the thermostat while you’re away
If you’re planning on going away for a while, either during summer or winter, then it’s a good idea to leave the heating on, but on a lower thermostat setting.
Even when unoccupied, houses need to be kept at around 12-14°C to make sure that you don’t suffer from any damp-related issues. It might cost a little more than leaving the heating totally off, but it’s a lot cheaper than having to repaint and dry out your entire home.
Pilot lights
While with older boilers, even if the boiler wasn’t technically heating water, the pilot light would still be on and burning gas; this is no longer the case.
Modern boilers use electronic ignition systems like sparks or hot surfaces, meaning that when the boiler is off, it’s not using any unnecessary gas. This can save you up to around £100-150 throughout the year, compared to boilers that keep a pilot light on 24/7.
In most cases, it’s not totally necessary to turn off your boiler entirely during the warmer months. However, it could be worth switching it into ‘summer’ mode, if you don’t need the heating at all for a little while and your boiler model has that specific setting.
