Tips to maintain your central heating system over the warmer summer months

Do you turn off your boiler or keep it on?

Turning off your boiler is a good way of saving money over the summer; however, if you do this then there will be no hot water for sinks, basins and baths. This could be an option if you have an electric shower and prefer this to baths over the summer, of course. Also, most dishwashers and washing machines take in cold water and do not rely on the hot water system – so they would still be effective if you were to turn off your boiler.

One other thing to check is if your has a summer mode switch – in which case you can use that to make your boiler as efficient as possible over the summer months.

Turning off your central heating radiators

If you have a combination boiler and still want hot water at your kitchen sink or bathroom basin, you could consider changing your boiler settings to only provide hot water and not heating. You could also leave your central heating on, but turn off each of your radiators individually.

If you use a timer thermostat it can be programmed so that the heating only comes on if the temperature in the room falls below the temperature set on the timer. Therefore, in the warmer months it is unlikely to come on.

Run your central heating for at least a few minutes each month

Whether you choose to switch off your boiler completely or just to switch to using hot water only, you should run your central heating for a few minutes once a month to keep the system in working order.

If you don’t do this, you could find that your central heating won’t come on when you come to use it in the autumn because the pump and diverter valve may have seized up.

Is summer a good time to get a boiler replaced?

Summer is a great time to get your boiler replaced as you are less likely to need it during the time it is being replaced! Also, at this time of year boiler fitters are less busy so a replacement can be done very quickly. Even if your boiler is still working it is worth considering replacing it if it is an old model as newer boilers are more reliable and cheaper to run.