Heating is on but the home is still cold | Homecode

What is known — and what is not

What it may mean

The same cold-home complaint may be consistent with controls calling at the wrong time, heat not reaching rooms evenly, an appliance problem, or the home losing heat quickly. More than one explanation can apply, so diagnosis should come before replacement or retrofit. [1][6]

What you can safely observe

• Record the thermostat setpoint and a separate room-temperature reading at fixed times. [1]
• Record the intact thermostat display, externally visible boiler status or fault code, and which rooms receive heat without opening a cover or touching a hot surface. [1]
• Compare billed gas kWh, reading status, billing days, unit rate and standing charge rather than comparing pounds alone. [3][4]
• Note weather, occupied hours, hot-water use and recent changes to normal user schedules.

When to stop observing

This review covers only the stated non-emergency observations. Stop if a fault or safety warning appears, equipment is damaged, wet, leaking or abnormally hot, or the check cannot stay on a normal room floor without opening, detaching, resetting or adjusting anything outside documented occupant controls; the new fact needs its own H3 route. [1]

Who to contact next

• Use an appropriately qualified Gas Safe registered boiler engineer when heat demand is unmet, a fault appears or appliance and integrated-control performance are in question. [2]
• Use an independent domestic energy assessor, retrofit assessor or building surveyor when heat delivery has been checked but the home remains difficult to warm. [6]
• Ask the energy supplier to reconcile the bill when readings, meter details or account calculations do not match. [5]

Cost and bill evidence

A symptom cannot support a contractor price or payback claim. Ask for diagnostic findings and remedial work to be itemised separately, and require any saving estimate to state its kWh, tariff, weather and occupancy assumptions. [3]

Effect on a sale or letting

An unresolved cold-home complaint may lead to buyer, survey or tenant questions, but it does not quantify a sale-price or rent effect and a bill is not an EPC rating. Keep the current EPC, temperature log, Gas Safe findings, invoices and any fabric assessment; tenants should report inadequate heating promptly because GOV.UK places relevant heating and hot-water repairs with the landlord. [6][7][8]

If you smell gas or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds

• If you smell gas or suspect a leak, stop this page. HSE says to call 0800 111 999 immediately, open all the doors and windows, and shut off the gas supply at the meter control valve if you know where it is. [2]
• National Gas says not to smoke or light matches, and not to turn electrical switches on or off. Do not enter a cellar to reach a meter. The National Gas Emergency Service on 0800 111 999 is free and open 24 hours a day in Great Britain. [9]
• If a carbon monoxide alarm sounds or you suspect carbon monoxide, NHS says to stop using the suspected appliance if you can, go outside, and get medical advice before going back in. Call NHS 111 if you have symptoms. Call 999 if anyone is finding it hard to breathe, has suddenly become confused, has lost consciousness, feels weak, or has chest or muscle pain. [10]
• If you think a gas appliance is leaking carbon monoxide, NHS says to call the National Gas Helpline on 0800 111 999. That number is for Great Britain. HSENI publishes 0800 002 001 for the Northern Ireland Gas Emergency Service. [10][11]
• Do not restart or work on a gas appliance, flue or pipework. HSE says anyone employed to work on gas appliances in domestic premises must be a Gas Safe registered engineer. [2]