Why you should turn your boiler on over summer

Yes, you did read that correctly! You may automatically assume that once the weather warms up, your boiler can be turned off until you next need to heat your home.

But this is where you're wrong.

Although you are unlikely to need to turn on the heating over the summer months* it is always recommended that if you are planning on turning off your boiler for an extended period, you should turn it on every so often in order to prevent the internal workings from seizing through lack of use.

You only need to turn it on for a short burst every few weeks. It doesn't take a lot of effort but it is likely to save you a lot of stress and money when considering the alternative – a boiler that breaks the first time you go to use it in the autumn.

The answer to this question depends on the type of boiler you have. If you own an older boiler with a pilot light, it would probably be a good idea to turn it off completely as the pilot light will otherwise continue to burn gas. However, newer, more efficient boilers tend to use barely any energy when put on 'standby'. Unless you have a poorly insulated cylinder, there's not much point in turning your boiler off.

Some combi boilers have a summer and winter mode so all it takes is the switch of a button. However, other central heating systems have no thermostat so they need to be turned off in the summer or the house becomes too hot. During the hotter months, it's simple to set it to heat the water a couple of times a day.

It also depends on the appliances you use. During the summer months, your boiler will need to heat up water for showers, baths and washing dishes. However, if you have an electric shower and a dishwasher and don't mind doing a little washing up with cold water, you could easily save yourself money by turning off your boiler completely. A dishwasher usually heats the water directly from the mains, whilst an electric shower can heat water in its own unit.

We usually recommend that you arrange for your annual service to take place in August or September to ensure that your boiler is ready for the winter. It may sound early but just imagine how busy gas engineers are in the autumn – boilers across the country being turned on for the first time in months and promptly conking out.

Even if you are fairly confident that your boiler will withstand the pressures of the colder seasons, a full service will help it run as efficiently as possible, saving on your annual heating costs. Plus any small issues will be picked up so they can be dealt with before any major damage occurs.

If you are a landlord, please be aware that you are legally required to have a qualified Gas Safe engineer carry out an annual gas safety inspection on any rental properties you may have in order to obtain the necessary certificate. If you own your own home, you don't have to have an annual service, but do you really want to take the chance?

*Yes, we too ended up turning on the heating this month during the wet, miserable and quite frankly, cold weather. It may be summer but we do live in the UK after all! We like to think that the recent rain has actually done us a favour – we didn't need to be reminded! Yes, we realise it's a stretch to turn this into a positive...