Heating an unoccupied home

Hi Guys,

Would be extremely grateful for urgent advice. My two grown up kids are coming home for Christmas and leaving a ‘modern’ flat empty in Edinburgh. Temperatures are going to be grim over the next few days. Draining down systems, etc. is not an option.

The boiler is a
BAXI POTTERTON POWERMAX HE 85 115 150
CONDENSING BOILER WITH INTEGRATED HOT WATER STORAGE

1. I have told them to leave the central heating permanently on at 20 which hopefully will kick in at some point and keep the water moving around the system.

2. The big questions are:

a) Is it okay to turn the water supply off at the stop cock? (The idea being that if the worst comes to the worst and there is a burst then the damage should be limited to loss of water in the pipes and from the internal 85 litre storage tank.)

b) If they turn off the stop cock does this have any implications at all for the central heating system?

They are leaving the flat mid afternoon so any quick replies would be so appreciated.

Many thanks in hope.

Turn off the mains stopcock and leave the heating on.

That's all you have you to.

Andy

Provided that they have checked the system pressure is at least 1 bar then it is OK to turn of the incoming mains water.

Merry Xmas
spraggo

as its a condensing, what if that freezes?

Then the boiler won't work.

Very many thanks everyone. I am going to leave the heating on and turn off the stop cock. Please get to me quickly if I have read your very kind advice incorrectly.

Thanks again.

as you are not living in the house, you can save money by turning the room stat down low. I set mine to 12C when I am away, but with the timer on "constant." This keeps the house dry and the pipes will be warm if the weather turns cold. Puting the boiler stat low as well means that the pipes will keep warm for longer, which can be useful if they run in unheated areas like under a ground floor or in a loft. Enough heat will leak through the ceiling to stop the loft getting fully cold. But you are wise to turn off the stop cock, and I also run the bathroom tap to drain the loft tank.

I have told them to leave the central heating permanently on at 20 which hopefully will kick in at some point and keep the water moving around the system.

Click to expand...

Read what JohnD said. They probably don't have the heating on at a constant 20C 24/7 when they're actually in the flat so no need to do it when they aren't there. Hard to say just what the right number is without knowing all their pipework, interior and exterior, etc, but John's advice is pretty sound. For example, in a flat with no exterior pipework and no loft, they would be pretty safe just on a frost setting. If the condensate runs into interior plumbing, as it may well in a flat, then that is safe too.

Remember when you turn the stopcock off, drain the pipes or you've achieved nothing

House insurers will cover claims in empty houses provided the temp is maintained at or above 10c so I'd say John is on the money with 12c. 20 is just wasteful i dont even have my place at that when im in it!