Safe, warm and supported - this winter and always Troubleshooting issues

When the temperature drops, the common cause of central heating not working as it should is a frozen condensate pipe. This is a white pipe that leads from your boiler and runs on the outside of your home. This freezes and blocks the boiler from working as it should. 

How to fix:

• Pour warm (not boiling) water over the frozen section
• Reset your boiler

You can find an instructional video on how to do this here

If your boiler suddenly switches off, stops working as it should, or you can see the pressure gauge is in the red area, it could mean that your pressure gauge needs resetting, which can be done quickly and easily. 

How to fix:

• Check the pressure gauge if it's below 1 or above 3 it will need resetting
• Turn the power off from the boiler
• Remove the bottom tray of the boiler and find a white filling key
• Insert the key into the bottom of the boiler and turn
• Then turn the white plastic nut anti-clockwise until you start to hear water filling up the boiler
• Check the pressure gauge, you should start to see this fill up. Don't overfill, and once back in the green turn the nut clockwise to stop the water. 
• Turn the key and remove. A couple of drops of water coming out of the bottom is normal. But if this continues, ensure the nut is fully tightened. 

You can watch an instructional video on how to do this here

If you notice your heating doesn't come on at the right time, or not at all, it could be down to an issue with your thermostat or timer settings. 

How to fix:

• Make sure the thermostat is set higher than the current room temperature. 
• Check timer/clocks sometimes powercuts can reset them. Check your heating systems instruction manual for information on how to do this. 
• Replace your thermostat batteries. Your thermostat sends the signal to your boiler in order for it to heat up your home. If the batteries have died, you'll need to replace them to get it working again. 

If your boiler has turned completely off, and there's no power getting to it, there could be a couple of quick fixes which could help you get on your way. 

How to fix: 

• Check your main fuse bow in case the system has tripped. 
• Make sure the boiler’s own fused spur switch is on
  A fused spur switch is a small electrical switch, usually a white box, mounted on the wall near your boiler. It looks similar to a light switch but includes a built-in fuse. Check that this switch is in the ON position.

If you notice that your radiators are cold or are partially warm, it could indicate that you have air in your heating system, which can easily be solved. 

How to fix:

• Bleed your radiators to release the trapped air
• Turn the heating system off, and give it time to cool down.
• Grab yourself a radiator bleed key (you can pick these up from your local DIY store)
• Put the key into the radiator and twist the key until you can hear a hissing sound
• Keep that key open until water starts to come out
• Turn the key in the opposite direction once all the hissing has stops to secure your radiator

Find a full tutorial on how to do this here

If your heater stays cold in the morning, this could mean that it didn't store any heat overnight. 

How to fix:

• Off peak power: For storage heaters that only charge when your off-peak tariff is active, check that your fuse board for any tripped switches especially any labelled off-peak heater or E7. 
• Wall switch: Make sure the main switch to the heater is ON - many heaters have two switches, one for overnight charge and one for daytime boost. 
• Timer: If your heater is fitted with a timer, ensure it's correctly set and hasn't reset after a powercut. 
• Try a hard re-set: Switch the heater off and on again at the wall, then wait for the next off-peak period. It won't heat immediately as it needs a full charge cycle. 

If your heater starts warm in the morning, but feels cold by mid-afternoon there are a couple of things you can check to optimise your heaters settings. 

How to fix:

• Input control adjusts how much electricity the heater uses overnight to store heat for the next day. In cold weather, set the input higher, so it can store more heat
• Output control adjusts how quickly the heater releases the heat it has stored. Keep this low in the morning so it doesn't release the heat too quickly. Turn up later in the day when you need it. 

Watch a quick video to learn how to set these settings here

If your storage heater stays cold, even after waiting for off-peak hours it could mean that there's an issue with power getting to your heater, or that there's an issue with your thermostat. 

How to fix:

• Main fuse board: look for any tripped switches relating to heaters/off-peak/E7. Reset these if safe to do so. 
• Wall switches: ensure both the overnight charge switch and daytime/boost switch (if present) are on. 
• Thermostat: if you have a built-in thermostat, turn the dial up. 

If you've tried all of the above and there's no heat during your next off-peak period, get in touch as it may need to be repaired. 

If the temperature suddenly drops, storage heaters don't freeze like boilers, but cold spells can still affect them by making rooms lose heat faster, requiring higher input settings and shortening how long stored heat lasts. 

How to fix: 

• Turn the input up higher during very cold periods so the heater stores more overnight. 

Some storage heaters, have a second element that's used during the day. You may notice that the overnight heat works fine, but the additional daytime boost does nothing. 

How to fix:

• Separate fuse/circuit: Daytime boost often uses a different fuse from the overnight supply, check the fuse board for any tripped switches. 
• Boost switch: Make sure the daytime switch is on. 
• Timer: If your heater has one, ensure it's set for the correct time and hasn't reset with a power cut.