Save Money and Turn Off Your Pilot Light for the Summer

Your pilot light is probably the most forgettable thing in your house, contested only by your air filter and the fact that it’s now summer and you still haven’t done your “spring cleaning.” It’s out of the way, you can’t see it unless you look for it, and you probably don’t spend time near your fireplace since it is, again, now summer. Nevertheless, you’ll certainly remember that little pilot light when your bills are higher than they should be.

Save Money On Your Bills

Pilot lights, in case you don’t know, are a small, perpetually burning flame in the back corner of your fireplace that’s used to ignite the rest of your fire when you flick the switch. This flame is, obviously, a gas-lit flame, and is thus constantly pulling gas through the pipes and making your bill go up little by little. If you leave your pilot light on when you’re not using your fireplace, you’ll be paying for months of a service you’re not even using.

Additionally, well, it’s fire. And fire, well, creates heat. And, I say this again for emphasis, it’s summer now. So it’s hot outside. Your air conditioner is working itself crazy to keep your house cool, which it has to work harder to do with your pilot light doing its best Benedict Arnold. So in addition to your gas bill going up, your electric bill will be going up, as well.

Protect Your Fireplace

Meanwhile, the constant heat and gas could be damaging your fireplace. If your fireplace has glass panels, leaving your pilot light on for long periods of time (such as, say, over the summer) can cause sulfur buildup and permanently damage the glass. Additionally, an active pilot light can create moisture, which may collect inside the pipes and cause corrosion.
Turning off your pilot light is a simple process that will save you both energy and money. All you have to do is open the front of your fireplace, turn the Pilot knob to “off,” and then turn your gas shutoff valve to the “off” position as well. So stay cool, stay frugal, and stay tuned here at Fireside Home Solutions for all your fireplace needs.