Heating an unocuppied property

jonny2510

What with the cold weather ahead of us, what do people suggest with regards to heating an unoccupied property.

The property is an end terraced, and is currently empty. It has a combi-boiler with a timer, but no wall thermostat.

I suppose I'm worried about frozen pipes really, and just wondering how many times a day the heating should be on, and for how long each time in order to maximise the prevention of burst pipes (without having to have the heating on 24*7).

For those with empty properties (rental, holiday home, for sale etc), what do you do with regards to heating when frost/snow is due?

SailorSam

If it's only the pipes you're worried about you only need to turn things off at the main. Although i fotget the name but there is something in the boiler that could break if it froze up, so turning off all the services may not be an option.

dacouch

You could drain the water system down

pinkteapot

Any option to get a thermostat added to the system? The trouble with having it on for just say a couple of hours morning and evening is that the house can get very cold in between (especially if the insulation isn't great).

If we go away in winter, I leave the heating on at our usual times (5am-8am and 3pm-9pm) and turn the thermostat down low (12 degrees ish) to keep the bill reasonable but stop the house getting too cold inside.

Without a thermostat though the heating will run constantly during whatever hours you use it so it could get expensive.

blossomhill_2

Insurers of empties ask for 17 degrees

WLM21

We were renting out out home, while moving away for a while and during the empty period, which included decoration work etc, we set the boiler to come on/off for 20 minutes every couple of hours, on low night and day.

The boiler had a built in 'dial type' timer, so the 20 minutes was the minimum it could be on for.

All I really wanted was the water to circulate and add a bit of warmth.

As the OP mentions, a frozen pipe is the last thing anybody wants, so it was money well spent in my opinion.

tired_dad

If I were leaving a house totally unoccupied for a long period, I would turn off the mains water and run the taps dry.

I would leave the heating off but not drain as long as boiler and pipes were all internal. Switch off all heating and electric. Why waste money.

By unoccupied I don't mean going away for a few weeks etc. I mean many months or years. Especially if leaving the country etc

Ken68

Identify also the uninsulated cold pipes coming from the rising mains and going to the taps, certainly those going over thru the loft and down.

southcoastrgi

turning it off & just leaving it is a really bad idea, either leave it on as others have suggested or turn off the main open the taps & drain the heating completely

jayyar66

Don't just turn the water off at the main stop tap, and don't rely on draining down the pipework. It's almost impossible to guarantee getting every last drop of water out of the pipes, and then when it freezes there's still the risk of burst pipes. I'm a plumber and I've seen the devastation caused by burst pipes. . . . For the cost of a bit of gas, it's not worth the risk.
If there isn't one already fitted then I would advise adding a frost thermostat to your system. This would be relatively easy and cheap to do and would give you peace of mind. Alternatively fit a normal room thermostat, set it as low as it will go, typically 10degs, and leave the heating on 24/7. Or at least leave the heating on for a good few hours each day. If you were to just leave it as is and have the heating timed to come on an hour or 2 at each end of the day then there's no guarantee that these timings will coincide with the coldest parts of the day.
Hope this helps.