Switching off the boiler entirely

JohnHampshire

Boiler tips
Some boilers and controls are electrically on all the time even when not heating, mine were using 6 watts 24/7 which is the same as having a led light bulb on all the time.
If you can switch them off entirely for a while (on holiday, overnight, while at work) it's a saving as long as there is no risk of freezing weather. Leave them on in freezing weather as boilers sometimes fire up briefly automatically to prevent pipes freezing.

If you have a hot water cylinder even if it is covered with factory yellow foam, it is worth adding a second insulation jacket it will keep a lot more heat in. In summer it may well keep your house cooler too. The factory yellow foam varies, some goes off over time and it isn't deep enough by modern standards. Insulation jackets are about £10 at DIY stores.

Cooking tips
Soak pasta/rice well before cooking time it will reduce the time to cook. Also heat with gas if you can as its cheaper.

PIR Lights
These use a little power even in the daytime when not on, and sometimes false triggering can mean they're on without you knowing for some of the night, if you can do without them, without compromising safety it's worth switching them off.

Hope these help.

Vincero

You should note that for purposes of maintenance / reliability, you should run the heating system at least once a week to ensure that the pump doesn't get stuck - if your system is old and not running any traps / filters or has dirty water, it is quite easy for this to happen. Also, diverter valves can also get stuck.

In a similar vein of your post, if you can control the boiler separately from the other heating controls / timer, then you can turn the boiler 'off' and run the system / pump for a short period just to flow water through / force valves to switch position and keep it from seizing without the boiler firing up.
Otherwise, yes the boiler will also activate but a short period of use is cheaper than a plumber.

Those with combi boilers or who regularly use their system to heat hot water cylinder, etc., will make the system pump fire up that way so less of a concern.

Some modern boilers will actually do these steps automatically if not used for several days - although if turned off obviously can't, so you may have to switch them on from time to time just to let them cycle. 

oldagetraveller1

"You should note that for purposes of maintenance / reliability, you should run the heating system at least once a week to ensure that the pump doesn't get stuck - if your system is old and not running any traps / filters or has dirty water, it is quite easy for this to happen. Also, diverter valves can also get stuck."

I wouldn't expect the pump to "get stuck" with a "conventional" boiler and hot water cylinder. The pump in my system serves both H.W. and C.H. so is in use every day to heat the hot water.

Yes, the diverter v/v can stick, so I run the C.H. once a month to ensure that operates. It's also possible to move the diverter manually if preferable to not using the heating.

It's also wise to make sure TRVs don't seize during the warmer weather too, when they are not in use.

[Deleted User]

In my experience, electrical devices usually fail when they are first switched on. They are less prone to failures when left powered up. I just wonder how many hours of boiler off savings would be needed to pay for a new boiler PCB? 

Vincero

oldagetraveller1 said:

I wouldn't expect the pump to "get stuck" with a "conventional" boiler and hot water cylinder. The pump in my system serves both H.W. and C.H. so is in use every day to heat the hot water.

If we are talking about a complete shutdown and not using the system for any length of time, especially if older and filled with dirty / rusty water and no corrosion inhibitors, I would hope there aren't issues but wouldn't be surprised.

Plumber I knew actually mentioned this was usually when people left properties for a length of time when either selling or moving around. In most cases he could fix it with knock or a screwdriver to free the pump.

Usually the diverter valves have a override lever and problem solved, but a couple of times they would just stick again because of crap in system / weak solenoid.

Anyway, people should be aware - if they aren't maintaining the system / it's very old, not running it can have it's own risks.

Section62

[Deleted User] said:

In my experience, electrical devices usually fail when they are first switched on. They are less prone to failures when left powered up. I just wonder how many hours of boiler off savings would be needed to pay for a new boiler PCB? 

Completely agree.

Of all the things to consider switching off, a modern flaky boiler is one of the last things to power down - unless essential to carry out maintenance work on it.

Vincero

Section62 said:

[Deleted User] said:

In my experience, electrical devices usually fail when they are first switched on. They are less prone to failures when left powered up. I just wonder how many hours of boiler off savings would be needed to pay for a new boiler PCB? 

Completely agree.

Of all the things to consider switching off, a modern flaky boiler is one of the last things to power down - unless essential to carry out maintenance work on it.

I take a 50/50 view of that. If you have a known 'flaky' appliance, then yeah leaving it alone is best course of action. But it's days are numbered at that point anyway.

On the flip-side, assuming a perfectly working appliance, the bigger killer of electronics is heat related aging, poor power stability causing either voltage spikes or making power conversion need to work harder, etc. - those more shoddy/cheap the electronic design then the more likely all of the above will cause it problems.

Good old boilers which tended to work with just switches, relays, and thermocouples literally directly controlling things with no logic are usually still working now as there are no electronics to break - the challenge is just ensuring the ancillary parts keep working and the combustion chamber and airways remain safe for use.

Mister_G

Vincero said:

Section62 said:

[Deleted User] said:

In my experience, electrical devices usually fail when they are first switched on. They are less prone to failures when left powered up. I just wonder how many hours of boiler off savings would be needed to pay for a new boiler PCB? 

Completely agree.

Of all the things to consider switching off, a modern flaky boiler is one of the last things to power down - unless essential to carry out maintenance work on it.

I take a 50/50 view of that. If you have a known 'flaky' appliance, then yeah leaving it alone is best course of action. But it's days are numbered at that point anyway.

On the flip-side, assuming a perfectly working appliance, the bigger killer of electronics is heat related aging, poor power stability causing either voltage spikes or making power conversion need to work harder, etc. - those more shoddy/cheap the electronic design then the more likely all of the above will cause it problems.

Good old boilers which tended to work with just switches, relays, and thermocouples literally directly controlling things with no logic are usually still working now as there are no electronics to break - the challenge is just ensuring the ancillary parts keep working and the combustion chamber and airways remain safe for use.

Yes, I can certainly confirm that last point.

My 40 year old Baxi Bermuda Back Boiler running on LPG is still going stong.  It may only be 65% efficient but still not worth replacing.  Not a PCB in sight!

All it's had is a new gas valve and a new thermocouple - total cost £50.  It does get its regular annual service for £50.