Turn off the pilot flame of your gas furnace in the summer

Most gas furnaces in operation today still have a continuous pilot flame. Turning off the pilot flame in the summer is easy to do and well worth the effort, but very few people do it, mostly because they don't know how and aren't aware that they should.

Materials required: None
Time required: about 2 minutes per year
Savings: $30-$60 per year (depending on your furnace, your location, and gas prices)
GHG reduction: about 0.15 to 0.30 tons per year

I live in a moderate climate (Vancouver, BC, Canada) and only require artificial heat about 7 months of the year (from mid October to mid May). For the other 5 months of the year I turn my furnace off completely, including the pilot flame. There are occasionally some cold days during that period but we usually just wear extra clothing and leave the furnace off. Throughout much of the US the heating season is shorter and potential savings are even higher.

To turn off your furnace completely, look for a valve in the gas line to the furnace. Simply turn the valve handle so it is angled 90 degrees to the pipe. If you like, you can check your furnace to ensure the pilot flame goes out.

To turn your furnace back on, turn the valve handle parallel to the pipe and re-light your pilot flame following the furnace manufacturer's instructions (if you don't have the manual for your furnace you can probably look it up online, or just wing it... they're mostly the same). As a reader has noted, there is no danger if someone turns the gas valve back on but forgets relight the pilot flame. There is a thermocouple that prevents gas flow unless a flame is present. You typically have to hold a button down to get the gas to flow when re-lighting the pilot flame, and keep holding it down until the thermocouple warms up.

That's all there is to it. For more ways you can reduce your impact and save money doing it, see my website, www.IWillTry.org.

Comments

[emiller17]

When I first read this I was afraid that turning off my gas furnaces would cause problems for my hot water. I am glad there are separate valves. I am going to have to try this out next summer. Thanks for the great instructions.

[Lokisgodhi]

The is isn't a good idea if your hot water is heated with gas.

[iwilltry]

Your furnace and your hot water tank will usually each have their own shutoff valves. You can turn off your furnace without turning off your hot water.

[maxpower49]

actually there are some set ups where there is one boiler that heats the house and hot water and stores it in a secondary tank i know because that is whats in my house

[diamondeddy]

Furnace repairman told me not to do this. as I had a nest of spiders build in the burner area and it wouldnt relight in the fall. Others since have told me the same.

[WILL62]

I have an old gas stove, the kind with the griddle between the 4 burners in the kitchen. that is 3 pilot lights going 24/7 not to mention the oven pilot. So I turned them off and now I light the burners with a match, no problem and it works great..left the pilot in the oven on, nice place to rise my bread at 100 degrees. 

[adsen]

I did this for my folks when I was a kid at home. I would save them lots of money. The repair man said as he gave my parents the bill that moisture can build up in the gas valve destroying the unit. DO NOT DO THIS!

[alexander.m]

There is another problem with turning off your pilot light. I have experienced this problem with my natural gas pool heater. The heater I got did not have a pilot light and after the fall, winter, and spring, hundreds spiders got in attracted to some natural gas residue, and it was hard to remove all of the dead spiders, another problem is that ice formed and broke some small metal pipes. I had to hire a plumber to fix the pipes and to add a pilot light. after that I will never turn off the pilot light which can melt the ice around the heater and stop spiders from coming. turning the pilot light off will save money but I recommend the you never apply this to an out door natural gas system.

[fieldman]

I think this can be a bad idea for the following reason. The pilot flame can heat the metal above it to the point that it will tend to oxidize once it is out of the reducing flame. When the boiler gets a leak its almost always above the pilot. YMMV.

[LinuxH4x0r]

My furnace has an electric sparker. I never need to turn anything off.

[psychic wombat]

Sorry about the SHOUTING. Wuz on the phone with a gas customer.Got distracted.

[psychic wombat]

Iffen ya turn off the pilot light, the thermocouple (gas-on sensor) tends to rust out. They cost about $5 & ARE EASY TO REPLACE THOUGH.wHEN YA TURN THE GAS ON AGAIN,A COLD THERMOCOUPLE TELLS THE CONTROL VALVE NOT TO OPEN THE GAS LINE. THIS PREVENTS ANY EXPLOSIONS.yEP,TURNING IT OFF IS PROLLY CHEAPER.

[technodude92]

BTW... don't forget to re light your pilot light... the results could "destroy" any savings. wink wink