Why is my central heating not working?

Have you noticed your home feels colder in the morning, or do you think your central heating might be broken? If so, there are a few things you can check to make sure it’s working efficiently.

1. Central heating settings
2. Temperature control
3. Thermostat settings
4. Fuse box switches
5. Boiler pressure
6. Faulty or unbalanced radiators

If your central heating is down and you don’t know why, then it’s best to contact your home cover provider or get in touch with a Gas Safe engineer. You can also watch our short video on what to do when there’s a problem with your heating.

1. Central heating settings

The first thing to check is whether the central heating is switched on properly. Make sure the thermostat is turned up and the timers are set. If you’ve recently had a power cut then your boiler might’ve reset itself. This means you’ll need to readjust the settings. Your timer might also need readjusting if the clocks have changed recently, or if something has knocked the control panel.

2. Temperature control

A boiler usually has 2 dials on the control panel – one for water temperature and one for central heating. Make sure the central heating dial is turned up to full. 

Once you’ve checked the timer settings and dials, set the heating to come on in 15 to 20 minutes to make sure it’s registering the timings correctly.

3. Thermostat settings

You might need to set your thermostat at a higher level to trigger the boiler and help it fire up. Try setting it around 21℃ and keeping it there for a while to see if it switches on.

4. Fuse box switches

Carefully check whether any of the switches in your fuse box are off, in case the electricity supply has been interrupted. Turning any “off” switches back on might recover your central heating.

5. Boiler pressure

Your boiler pressure can drop if there’s a leak in the system or if you’ve recently bled your radiators. The good news is, it’s fairly easy to fix. The pressure gauge on your boiler should read between 1 and 1.5.

If the gauge has dropped below 1, then your boiler will need repressurising. Carefully adjust the valve until it reaches a normal level. Watch our step by step guide on how to repressurise your boiler.

6. Faulty or unbalanced radiators

If your radiators aren’t giving out heat, there might be a fault with one of them. First, you’ll need to check if there’s a bigger issue with your boiler. If any of the radiators feel slightly warm, then it’s a good sign that the boiler is fine. Instead, you might need to bleed, balance, or clean your radiators.

How to bleed a radiator

Cold patches on a radiator are often a sign of trapped air inside the system. This makes it difficult for the heat to flow freely through the radiator. You’ll need to release the trapped air to get the radiator working again. You can watch our step by step guide on how to bleed your radiators here.

How to balance your radiators

If some radiators are working better than others, then the colder ones might need balancing. This involves carefully adjusting the valves on each radiator until they all heat up at the same speed. Take a look at our guide on how to balance your radiators here.

When to clean your radiators

If you’ve noticed the radiators are warm at the top but cold at the bottom or on the sides, then there might be a build up of sludge. If this happens, contact your home care provider or a professional plumber to book a power flush. This’ll remove any sludge or debris from your central heating system.

Contact a Gas Safe engineer

If none of the checks have helped, or you can’t find the cause of the problem, then it’s best to get a professional involved. Call your home care provider or book a Gas Safe engineer to come and inspect your system. We recommend getting your boiler serviced every year to help it run smoothly. With OVO boiler cover, you’ll get an annual service along with unlimited call outs for any of our reliable engineers.