Why does my boiler keep turning on by itself?

My combi boiler seems to fire up on its own at random points through the day even when no hot water or heating is running. Is this a fault or is it normal?

Asked by Pete on 28th Apr 2026
Expert Trade Answers
"It’s a fault most likely your controller is faulty change the batteries if you have a wireless thermostat and reset make sure the green lite is on"
Answered on 28th Apr 2026 - Member since Mar 2024 - report
"Pre heat is likely turned on meaning the boiler is firing once or twice an hour to preheat the hot water. Turn eco mode on to stop this."
Answered on 28th Apr 2026 - Member since Apr 2026 - report
"Do you have the preheat function on for hotwater if its a combi ? That can make it do this look in your boiler book or check onle to see how to check that"
Answered on 6th May 2026 - Member since Jan 2024 - report
"Hi Peter

It should be not turning on/off it self also, without diagnostic the boiler I cant say what's wrong with boiler.
Regards
Dav"
Answered on 29th Apr 2026 - Member since Sep 2019 - report
"it most likely has a PRE Heat setting that you can turn on and off.
They pre heat a bit of hot water so the run off time to your taps will no take as long and it will be hotter quciker"
Answered on 13th May 2026 - Member since May 2026 - report
"Hi Peter, with Combi boilers there is a function called preheat that can be selected on or off and will be found in the users instructions of the manual.
Typically this function would be selected to be on where there is a hot drawer off point on the system it’s of a long distance from the boiler.
So the boiler is coming on periodically during the day to heat up a small amount of hot water so that it is ready to be drawn off making waiting times at the Tap sooner to arrive.
Personally, I would see this as a waste of energy and turn this function off if you can allow the time for it to get to that tap or us a different tap closer to the boiler for hot water.
It is also possible that there would be a shorter route to this Tap from the Boiler.
Hope this is helpful.
Kindest regards, Daniel Frost at Frost Heating and Plumbing."
Answered on 28th Apr 2026 - Member since Jul 2024 - report
"It's probably a pre heat function, most combi boilers have, it reduces the wait time for hot water to reach your taps you'll probably notice it more in the summer months as your heating won't be on. On most models of boilers it can be turned off and is usually nothing to worry about"
Answered on 28th Apr 2026 - Member since Jan 2026 - report
"This can actually be normal in many cases, especially with modern combi boilers, as they may fire up on their own due to features like the pre-heat function (to keep hot water ready), frost protection, system checks, or pump overrun."
Answered on 28th Apr 2026 - Member since Apr 2026 - report
"you possibly have comfort mode activated on the hot water so it keeps the boiler warm this is possibly why.."
Answered on 3rd May 2026 - Member since Apr 2020 - report
"With most combi boilers they have a pre heat setting as well as eco for your domestic hot water, if you set your boiler to eco instead of pre heat this should rectify your issue"
Answered on 22nd May 2026 - Member since May 2026 - report
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