diff --git a/app/config.py b/app/config.py
index 0072e2f3b..e666e8f42 100644
--- a/app/config.py
+++ b/app/config.py
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ class Config(object):
 
     # URL of redis instance
     REDIS_URL = os.getenv('REDIS_URL')
-    REDIS_ENABLED = False
+    REDIS_ENABLED = os.getenv('REDIS_ENABLED') == '1'
     EXPIRE_CACHE_TEN_MINUTES = 600
     EXPIRE_CACHE_EIGHT_DAYS = 8 * 24 * 60 * 60