Similar to Rene, we have hot water baseboard heat, but I shut off the city water and have our SIL or daughter turn it on and then off again when they check the house every week. We have added a temperature and a fire sensor to our alarm system. This saved problems a couple of years ago when the furnace broke down, our daughter got the call from our monitoring company and she was able to have the furnace company come and quickly repair the sensor, with no damage done.
Check with your insurance provider to find out their requirements. Ours requires the house be checked once a week, the driveway and walks shovelled, and generally have a lived in appearance. We shut off, unplug any appliance that might draw electricity while away that is not necessary, TV, cable box, wifi, hot tap, etc. We also place our phone, internet and cable on seasonal suspension. The phone company can do that while allowing our alarm company number to work.
Since we travel for long periods, we have placed most bills on automatic debit, and virtually all bills on internet billing.
Enjoy your first extended trip, we sure did.
Ed