When should you turn your heating off for Spring?
With our unpredictable weather and intermittent sunshine, it can be difficult to know when is the best time to turn off your central heating for the Spring/Summer season.
Typically, when the clocks go forward - which each year is the last Sunday in March - the weather has usually started to improve enough to be a good time to turn your central heating off - either stopping the auto-timer or manually off altogether.
There will still be cold periods though, so having a boost function on your time clock is a good feature to have to be able to top up the temperature up with the +1 hour.
An efficient, modern boiler will heat up more quickly and so this boost will not only keep your house comfortable but also not add to those ever-increasing bills any more than necessary.
Upgrading your time clock and room thermostat to a modern version or to one that uses internet controls can help massively too. A 1 degree increase in the room temperature can be enough to make the difference between feeling warm or cold. By the time a room thermostat registers 1 degree and turns off the boiler, all the radiators should be hot and will keep delivering more heat for a period of time without the system having to be on all day.
Making sure your radiators are bled and clean is very important. A dirty central heating system can decrease the efficiency as it takes longer to heat up.
How well your home is insulated can also affect when you would want to turn your heating off. If it is poorly insulated any heat within the property will escape quickly increasing the likelihood that you'll need to turn the boiler back on. The heat in a property is not only acquired from a heating system, but things like cooking, showering, lighting and the number of occupants also contribute to the internal temperature. So, insulating your property will make a real difference by retaining heat and allowing you to keep the boiler off for longer.
In summary:
- Turn your heating off around the last week of March.
- Use the boost function when needed.
- Upgrade time and thermostat controls for more accurate modern controls.
- Ensure your heating system is clean and free of air.
- Insulate roof, floor and cavity walls to hold the heat in for longer.
Published: 10 May 2022
