If you’re heading away for Christmas, then you need to make sure you don’t come back to a burst pipe and an expensive bill.
While it may be tempting to turn off your heating completely, experts recommend you don’t do this, especially if temperatures outside are set to drop below freezing in your area.
Otherwise, you could return home to a rather nasty and expensive surprise.
Stephen Hankinson, energy expert at Electric Radiators Direct, said: “Burst pipes are typically caused by low temperatures that can lead to the water within your pipes freezing and then expanding.
“A burst water pipe is usually pretty obvious, with large amounts of water pouring out and potentially flooding your home. Naturally, it’s something you will really want to avoid.”
Rather than switching off the heating in your absence, you should schedule it.
Hankinson added: “Scheduling your heating is a big energy (and cost) saver in general, but it can really help you avoid the threat of burst pipes over Christmas.
“If you’re heading away over the festive period, and you can see that temperatures are set to drop to around or below freezing, then you do need some sort of ‘tick over’ heating schedule in place.
“In most homes with adequate insulation, two hours of heating is enough to avoid a major issue.
“It’s often considered best to schedule your heating to come on for one hour at around 7pm, and again at 7am.
“This should help avoid pipes freezing during the coldest times of day (usually overnight), while still minimising energy usage to keep your bills down.
“You also don’t need to be heating your home to 22 degrees if it’s empty. You can realistically drop the thermostat to 15 or 16 degrees.
“This may mean your boiler shuts off before the end of those two scheduled heating hours, saving you even more money. Even at 15 degrees, the water in your pipes should avoid freezing.
“Setting a schedule like this will typically cost you around £3.80 a day (not including standing charges), which is a massive difference to the potential £550 you could pay out if you have a burst pipe.”
