Emergency Heating Engineer

It depends on what has failed:

If you smell gas, do not use switches or flames. Open the windows, leave the building and call the National Gas Emergency number on 0800 111 999. If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone out into fresh air, call 0800 111 999, and get medical help if anyone feels unwell.

If you rent your home, contact your landlord or letting agent first: landlords are normally responsible for keeping the heating and hot water in repair.

1. 1

   Power: is the boiler display on? Check the switch or fused spur next to the boiler, and the consumer unit.

2. 2

   Controls: is the thermostat turned up above room temperature, and does it have working batteries? After a power cut, the programmer clock may need resetting.

3. 3

   Pressure: on a sealed system, check the gauge on the boiler against its manual. Low pressure stops many boilers from firing.

4. 4

   Gas: does the cooker hob light? If you have a prepayment meter, check it has credit.

5. 5

   Radiator valves: check they are open, especially after decorating.

6. 6

   Hot water: if you still have hot water but no heating, the pump or a motorised valve is the likely cause, and that is a job for us.

If the thermostat or programmer is the problem, our thermostat and control maintenance and repair service can help.

In freezing weather, a condensing boiler can stop with a fault code and a gurgling noise because the plastic condensate pipe outside has frozen. Pour warm water, not boiling, slowly along the outside section of the pipe, or hold a hot water bottle against it, then reset the boiler as its manual describes. Do not try to take the boiler apart. Our emergency boiler services page gives the full steps, and explains how a condensate pipe can be rerouted or insulated so it is less likely to freeze again.

• Pump failure: A seized, humming or very hot pump means no hot water reaches the radiators. Pumps often stick after a summer unused.
• Stuck motorised valve: Heating without hot water, or the reverse, usually means a valve or its actuator head has failed.
• Heating leaks: A leaking radiator valve, joint or pipe makes the pressure drop until the boiler locks out. Turn both valves on a leaking radiator clockwise to isolate it, and put a container underneath.
• Frozen heating pipes: Pipes in lofts, garages and outside walls, and a feed and expansion tank in a cold loft, can freeze. Thaw them gently with warm cloths or a hairdryer on a low setting, never a flame.
• Underfloor heating failure: A failed manifold pump, mixing valve or wiring centre can stop every zone at once. Partial faults are covered by our underfloor heating maintenance and repair service.
• Control and wiring centre failures: A failed relay or wiring centre can stop the system calling for heat at all.

While you wait for a repair, keep the most vulnerable people warm first:

• Heat one room and keep everyone in it, with the door and curtains closed.
• Wear layers, use blankets, and have hot drinks and hot food.
• Use only safe temporary heaters: An electric heater in good condition, plugged directly into a wall socket, not an extension reel, and kept well clear of curtains, bedding and furniture.
• Never use gas or paraffin heaters meant for outdoors, a barbecue, or the cooker to heat a room. They can produce carbon monoxide.
• Check on neighbours who are older or live alone.

If someone becomes unwell from the cold, call NHS 111, or 999 in an emergency. Ask your energy supplier about its Priority Services Register, which offers extra support to people who are older, disabled, unwell or have young children.

1. 1

   Make safe: isolate any leak and check for electrical or gas risks.

2. 2

   Find the fault: we test the pump, valves, controls and pressure to find the cause, not just the symptom.

3. 3

   Repair: we replace the failed part where we can. If a part needs ordering, we explain the options and any temporary measures to get some heat back.

4. 4

   Restore: we refill and re-pressurise the system, bleed the radiators and check every room heats.

5. 5

   Report: a written note of the cause and the repair, and anything that should be done to stop it happening again.

Any work on the boiler or gas is carried out by Gas Safe registered engineers, as the law requires. If sludge or an ageing system caused the failure, we may recommend central heating system maintenance or power flushing afterwards.