Switching boiler on remotely - is this impossible?

Homeagain

Biggles wrote: »

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.

Isn't that expensive?

southcoastrgi

mymedi wrote: »

I'm not entirely sure why everyone is in such agreement when this is actually trivial and entirely POSSIBLE. All you have to do is control the power supply, not the boiler! There are plenty of devices that turn things on/off with a phone text. See below:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GSM-REMOTE-CONTROL-SOCKET-POWER-SWITCH-PHONE-PLUG-/160638680570
The only difficulty that I see is that OP stated that the boiler is hardwired, which is strange for a boiler, btw - how would you isolate it for repairs?

That won't work it's only suitable for something that plugs in

it's not strange for a boiler to be hard wired they are normally wired to a switched fused spur, it more strange to have the boiler wired to a plug

plus if it's turned off on the on/off switch on the front of the boiler, then switching it back on manually is the only option

southcoastrgi

Homeagain wrote: »

Isn't that expensive?

not as expensive as coming back to frozen pipes & the damage that can cause

Mankysteve

here one option
https://www.inspirehomeautomation.co.uk/thermostat.php
http://www.sensibleheat.co.uk/honeywell-hometronic-manager.htm
http://www.amazon.co.uk/WiFi-Enabled-Touchscreen-Programmable-Thermostat/dp/B00649IWXI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1379358802&sr=8-1&keywords=heatmiser

i've not done any more research into reviews or such so that's up to you

Biggles

Homeagain wrote: »

Isn't that expensive?

No more expensive that what the OP was asking for, ie the heating to cut in for frost protection.

And much cheaper than the alternatives. And it always works.

aliasojo

Again, thanks to everyone for their replies. Looks like just leaving the boiler on is the way to go.

One last question...I usually switch the water off at the stopcock under the sink and drain the water out through the taps if I go away in winter. (As well as switching the boiler off.)

Am I right in assuming I can still do this even if I leave the boiler on? The boiler is a sealed system with no tanks so me turning the water off wont affect the boiler and heating will it?

mymedi

aliasojo wrote: »

I usually switch the water off at the stopcock under the sink and drain the water out through the taps if I go away in winter.

You're right that this won't affect the boiler or heating.
However, there is little point in draining the water from taps - it doesn't actually do it - water will still sit at all low points in piping that are below tap level.

aliasojo

mymedi wrote: »

You're right that this won't affect the boiler or heating.
However, there is little point in draining the water from taps - it doesn't actually do it - water will still sit at all low points in piping that are below tap level.

But if some of the water is drained out through the tap and the tap is left open and what's left in the pipework is not under pressure, then if it expands during a frost for instance, wont it be less likely to cause a burst pipe simply because it has room for expansion along the pipe rather than being under pressure and having nowhere to go therefore causing a burst?

Biggles

When I was away for an extended period (a couple of months), my plumber/heating engineer just recommended that I left the heating in frost protection mode and turn off the main stopcock (or at the water meter, which was easier to get at and probably better).

I've heard of people suggesting trying to drain the pipes if a house was left completely without power for months on end, but you are really only talking about holidays, aren't you?

The point of turning water off at the mains is so that, if a pipe should burst, you won't have water gushing out all over your house when it thaws. All you'll have is a pipe to repair, but no damage to furniture & furnishings.

mymedi

aliasojo wrote: »

But if some of the water is drained out through the tap and the tap is left open and what's left in the pipework is not under pressure, then if it expands during a frost for instance, wont it be less likely to cause a burst pipe simply because it has room for expansion along the pipe rather than being under pressure and having nowhere to go therefore causing a burst?

Theoretically, yes, but the difference is small enough to not be significant due to the fact that water freezes from outside in (first along the pipe wall, then within the pipes). If you put an open bottle of water in the freezer, it'll still break, so...
I'm not saying don't do it, just saying it doesn't reduce the freezing risk as much as you think.