Coming into the colder months, you may find that you want to start using your heating system in your home. If you've never used it before or you've never lived by yourself, you may be unsure of how to use it/ know what to do if it starts to act up. If you find yourself not being able to work your heating system, have a look at this quick guide to try and help you. 

 

First, it is important to discover what sort of central heating system your home has. The most common kinds of central heating are gas combi boiler systems However, you may also find that you have electric heaters.

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Combi boilers provide both central heating and hot water on demand.

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Before turning on your boiler after a summer of not using it, it may be a good idea to bleed your radiators to make sure that when you get the heating on, your radiators will actually heat up. We have a guide on this already if you refer to our “how to” guide page. You may also need to top up your boiler pressure which can also be found in our “how to” section.  

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To turn on your heating:

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You can turn your central heating by:

 

- On the boiler: check the boiler is switched to provide heating. There is usually a dial indicated with a small radiator or flame icon. Turn this dial until you reach the desired combi boiler heating temperature setting. If there are no actual temperature numbers, having it set to around two-thirds of the way is normally the best temperature to set it at. Or set it to E if there is this setting there. If you don’t have any dials to turn, then you may have buttons. You simply need to press the buttons up or down to set the temperature you want.

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- Thermostat / Programmers: there are several types of thermostats / programmer (each have individual instructions which can usually be found online). Most commonly thermostats have a preferred temperature setting, where you can set the desired temperature of the property. Be sure when first turning on the heating that the thermostat is not on 'summer mode' or 'holiday mode' as the heating will not come on. You may also find that your thermostat can be programmed to set selected temperatures at set times (e.g. 21c at 8am and 18c at 10pm). Manufacturers instructions can be found online to help you set you preferred program. 

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-Timer: some boilers have a circular dial on the front of the boiler. The dial will also have an on ('I') and off ('O') switch and this should be set to ‘On’. The dial on the front of the box will show the hours of the day, like a clock. You can turn the dials to show when you want the boiler to come on and off.  

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