Heating controls and wiring faults
When the boiler is fine but the heating still isn't doing what it should, the cause is usually in the controls. These are the faults I'm most often called in to trace.
Multi-zone heating and hard-to-trace faults
Many larger houses round here have three or four heating zones, and systems that have grown over the years. When one part stops working, the cause is often in the controls or wiring rather than the boiler. Tracing those faults methodically is the work I know best.
- One zone won't heat, or won't switch off
- Hot water but no heating, or the other way round
- Boiler firing up when nothing's calling for heat
- Faults in zone valves, wiring centres and thermostats
- S-plan, Y-plan and complex multi-zone systems
- New controls fitted to an old multi-zone system
How I work on a controls fault
Every multi-zone system is a little different, especially once it has been extended or had parts replaced over the years. I start by understanding how your system is meant to work, then test each part of the circuit in turn: thermostats, programmer, zone valves, wiring centre and boiler. That way the fix is aimed at the actual cause rather than at whichever part is easiest to replace.
If you have any paperwork or wiring diagrams for your system, have them to hand. A photo of the wiring centre or the boiler's data plate sent with your booking request also helps.
Recent controls work
Tracing a controls fault at the boiler's wiring terminals
When a boiler won't respond to its controls, the answer is often in the wiring between the thermostat, zone valves and boiler. That means checking each connection methodically rather than replacing parts on a guess.
Unvented cylinder maintenance in a tight loft space
Not every cylinder sits in a roomy airing cupboard. Routine maintenance on an unvented hot water cylinder, squeezed in under the eaves.
Book a fault visit
Tell me what's wrong and I'll get back to you, usually the same day. If you smell gas, call the National Gas emergency line on 0800 111 999 first.