Going away for long winter holiday - what to do with water and heating

Goldiegirl

On the 8th February we are going away for a 5 week holiday, and we are thinking about what to do with the central heating and water.


With the central heating, we are thinking of either


a) keeping things normal by having the heating come on and turn off two times a day


or


b) Keeping the heating on 24/7 at a low setting


But we are not sure whether to turn the water off or not.


Obviously, turning the water off would minimise the risk of water leaks. But we are in a modern, well insulated house, which will continue to be heated, so the risk of a burst pipe is quite low.


But we wonder if it's ok to turn the water off at the mains while the central heating is still running?

We've searched on the web, and some people say yes it's ok, and other people say that the water should be left on


So I wondered if any of the good people on MSE could give me their thoughts and guidance?


Thanks in advance


PS - if it helps we have a Worchester Greenstar Ri Condensing Boiler and, as far as I can see it's not a combi boiler

missbiggles1

It may depend whereabouts in the country you live. We used to go away in December/January for 4 to 6 weeks every year and left the water on and the central heating off. We lived on the IOW - it might be different if you lived in the Scottish Highlands.

macman

If the boiler or programmer has a frost stat, that should trigger if the CH flow circuit temp becomes very low (typical default is 5C). If not, set it manually to 5 or 8C. It would be better for the heating to come on overnight, when the outside temp will be at it's lowest.
Your CH system only requires main water to top up the header tank, so as long as that's full, switching off the water for a limited time should be OK. This assumes you have a conventional vented system, not an unvented cylinder connected to the mains.
You'll know if its a combi boiler because there is no stored hot water with a combi.

Goldiegirl

We have a conventional system with a header tanker.

We live in Kent so it's a relatively mild area of the country, and I have a friend coming in once a week to check the house.

However, we don't want to risk a flood, so we are moving towards turning the water off at the mains.

jbainbridge

Unless you drain the system turning the water off will achieve little. I would have the heating come on twice a day for a couple of hours perhaps with the thermostat turned down.

Sea_Shell

Check with your insurers, as they usually will impose additional terms, or exclusions, when unoccupied for more than 28/30 days.

Goldiegirl

jbainbridge wrote: »

Unless you drain the system turning the water off will achieve little. I would have the heating come on twice a day for a couple of hours perhaps with the thermostat turned down.

But surely if you turn the water off at the mains, if there is a problem, only the water in the system would leak, rather than leaving the water on and having gallons pouring out for the period we are away?

Sea_Shell wrote: »

Check with your insurers, as they usually will impose additional terms, or exclusions, when unoccupied for more than 28/30 days.

Our un-occupied clause is 60 days, so that part of it is not a problem

Biggles

When I was away for six weeks in mid-winter, I took advice from my CH engineer and turned the water off at the mains.

My CH programmer has a 'Holiday' setting, which sets the temperature at 12C during the day and 10C at night. In a mild winter, it won't come on at all. In a hard winter, it can come on for a couple of hours a day.

Gloomendoom

With regard to the heating, you do what we have done and fit a Hive controller.

https://www.hivehome.com/

You can monitor and control your heating remotely. In our case, while away, we set it to be off unless the interior temp drops below 7 degrees. We turn it back on again a before we return so we arrive back to a nice warm house.

dominoman

I'd switch the water off at the mains just for peace of mind.

For the heating I'd set it to the very lowest setting on the thermometer and have it come on twice a day for 30 mins. Your pipes shouldn't freeze unless it is well below freezing outside, and if the water is moving a couple of times a day then it would need to be really really cold for them to risk freezing.

dominoman

Think of all the gas money you're saving while you're on holiday. :-)