Switching boiler on remotely - is this impossible?

aliasojo

I have no idea if this is something that is possible or not hence the question......could you switch your boiler on remotely?

If you were away from home longer than expected for example, and a cold snap set in, is there anything on the market that would enable you to switch the boiler/heating on remotely, in order to help avoid burst pipes?

YorkshireBoy

Short answer...yes.

Long answer...Google "boiler remote control"

aliasojo

YorkshireBoy wrote: »

Short answer...yes.

Long answer...Google "boiler remote control"

Now see, I wouldn't have googled that phrase as that sounds like a tv remote control type thing to me.....you know, one where you aim a remote from the other side of the room because you're too lazy to walk to the tv. :rotfl:

Thank you....got some reading to do now then.

MaryDru

We have our boiler switched wired on a mechanical outlet timer, so we can set it to
- go on one hour before we wake up (for showers, etc)
- go on one hour before the kids' bathtime (ditto)
- make sure we don't leave it on too long and burn out the element (yup, been there, did that)

If you were going on a trip and wanted to make sure it didn't freeze, setting it to go on 30 minutes twice a day would probably work very well. Because it's a mechanical switch I feel like it's less dodgy than a digital control

ariba10

What we do if we are away for any length of time in the winter is to set the timer to come on for about an hour at about 4.00 am (The coldest time of the day)

Works OK for us.

malc_b

aliasojo wrote: »

I have no idea if this is something that is possible or not hence the question......could you switch your boiler on remotely?

If you were away from home longer than expected for example, and a cold snap set in, is there anything on the market that would enable you to switch the boiler/heating on remotely, in order to help avoid burst pipes?

Boilers often have this. It's called a frost stat and turns on the heating if internal temperature drops below 5C.

aliasojo

I'm not sure if I'm at cross purposes here....I want to turn the boiler on not just the heating?

So if the boiler is off completely, can I switch it on remotely? Or can I only switch the heating on remotely if the boiler is already switched on?

I do have a frost setting but the boiler needs to be on for that. If I switch it off at it's on/off button then nothing works.

I wanted to switch the boiler off completely if I was away but then switch it on from somewhere else if I needed to.

Is that not possible? Can I only turn the heating on remotely if the boiler is already on (i.e. already has power to it)?

Apologies if I'm being dense here, just need to clarify.

Hintza

You'll need an App for that :rotfl:

Biggles

My heating (and therefore boiler) is always 'on', the only thing that changes is the set room temperature.

When I'm away, it's set for 10° 24/7. In very cold weather, it will cut in occasionally, otherwise it won't.

LadyBoss

Your boiler will always be on, but on standby. Depending on the type, it'll be waiting on a command to heat water for taps or radiators. For example, a combi may have a room thermostat that will command the central heating to come on when it hits, say 18c. It will then stop requesting hot water once it's over this temp. You can also determine the time frames that this will apply, for example from 4pm to 9pm. A combi will also only (normally) heat water for taps when a hot water tap is opened (or washing machine, dishwasher, etc) requests it.

Not sure why you'd want it powered off at all.

Hope that helps.

aliasojo

LadyBoss wrote: »

Your boiler will always be on, but on standby. Depending on the type, it'll be waiting on a command to heat water for taps or radiators. For example, a combi may have a room thermostat that will command the central heating to come on when it hits, say 18c. It will then stop requesting hot water once it's over this temp. You can also determine the time frames that this will apply, for example from 4pm to 9pm. A combi will also only (normally) heat water for taps when a hot water tap is opened (or washing machine, dishwasher, etc) requests it.

Not sure why you'd want it powered off at all.

Hope that helps.

Yes, I understand all that but there will be times in the future when I need to be away from home.

If for argument's sake I will be away for say 3 weeks, I would want to turn the boiler off.

If, whilst I am away, a sudden icy cold snap arrives, I would like to be able to switch the boiler back on again remotely and turn the heating on to help avoid burst pipes etc.

This is what I'm asking, is there something on the market to enable me to do this or does the boiler have to be left on so really it's only the actual thermostat that can operated remotely??