Do I need to leave central heating on when you away in Dec?

macman

evoke wrote: »

Just leave the thermostat at 14-16 degrees Celsius.

Why? That's complete overkill for frost protection. 5-10C should do it.
At 14-16C it will be firing up every time we get a cold night.

a&akay

If you've got any water filled pipework in the roof space I'd leave the CH on permanently at 10 degrees and open up the loft access hatch and all house doors. OK so you'd spend on heating bills, but you wouldn't come home to a trashed house as happened to our friends after that bad winter a few years ago.

diywhynot

Biggles wrote: »

Well, to be exact, they both say they don't cover loss/damage caused by water escape when the home is unoccupied unless the heating is maintained at a minimum of 10º or the water is shut off.

Shutting the water off was recommended above in any event.

So, in other words, check your buildings insurance policy.;)

jonesjw

Depends if you have water pipes in the loft, how well they are insulated etc.

My loft has 4 layers of loft insulation. So the temperature can drop to freezing even if the house is at 20°C. I've measured min temps in the loft.

I have water pipes in the loft and a lot of insulaton to protect them.
I leave the heating at almost normal temperatures, but turn down the rad stats in the rooms at the opposite end of the house from the water pipe.

Ideally I would re-route the water so it does not run through the loft, then turn the heating down to about 6°C when away.