Summer heat: This is how you adjust the heating

Heating in summer temperatures? What sounds nonsensical happens in many households - often unnoticed. With outside temperatures increasingly summery, consumers should check the setting of their heating. "Hot water only" instead of "summer mode" reduces energy consumption in summer.

Many modern heating systems with smart control automatically switch to the so-called "summer mode". However, this does not mean that the heating is completely switched off. Instead, it starts when the temperature falls below a certain level. Many models use an outdoor temperature sensor for this purpose.

The problem: Switching to "summer mode" can lead to heating systems starting up in summer, sometimes unnoticed - and thus consuming energy unnecessarily. In cooler nights or when temperatures drop sharply for a short time during a summer thunderstorm, the outdoor temperature sensor activates the heating system. Switching to "hot water only", on the other hand, means that no more heating water is treated, but only hot water for the kitchen and bathroom. The optimum time for switching to "hot water only" depends on the weather - but should be at the latest at the beginning of the warm season.

After switching the heating to "hot water only", the radiator thermostats should be turned up fully - i.e. to level 5. The reason: this relaxes the mechanism that regulates the water inflow into the radiators. "This prevents the valves from blocking in the summer and getting stuck at the beginning of the next heating season - and then, in the worst case, having to be replaced," says Markus Lau, technical expert at the German Liquefied Gas Association.

The problem of excessive energy consumption in summer does not only concern every single property owner, but is widely discussed on different levels. Very sunny, hot days and warm nights affect the well-being of many city dwellers. To protect the population from heat stress, adaptation measures such as shading or unsealing with subsequent greening in urban neighbourhoods are urgently needed.

(Photo: © Cocoparisienne, Pixabay)