What to do if the Hub Controller won’t turn the heating on?

UpdatedNovember 14, 2022

There are a number of things that can go wrong in a heating system and it can be difficult to source the fault. There might be an issue with your boiler, water pump, motorised valves, radiators or simply thermostat. Fortunately, there are some simple checks you can make, some of which you can tackle yourself, but for the most part you’ll need to hire a registered engineer.

Go through the steps below to eliminate potential HubController related issues.

If the HubController is showing Hub ON, Heating OFF, the heating is off most likely because the set or desired temperature is lower than the room temperature. The set needs to be higher than the room temperature for the boiler to fire. The first thing to try is to increase the set temperature and turn on the heating to see if the boiler will fire.

Increase the set temperature

Check if the HubController (on the wall) is clicking

The quickest way to find out if there is something wrong with the HubController is to listen for an audible click when you switch the HubController from ‘OFF‘ to ‘ON‘. Press the circle to turn ON/OFF the Hub and listen for an audible click.

Is there an audible click?

Good news! There is nothing wrong with your HubController!

Hearing the click means the HubController is working fine. It means the issue is somewhere else in your heating system. There are a few more things you can try to eliminate some simple issues with the heating system. See below.

Check fuel supply

If you have a gas boiler, check other gas appliances around your home, such as the stove, to see if they’re working. If not, then there might be an issue with the gas supply to your home. If you have an oil boiler, check if you have enough oil in the tank.

Gas boiler: Check the Prepay meter

For any homes with a prepayment meter, it’s worth checking that it has enough credit for the central heating to work. If not, simply topping it up should get your boiler to ignite.

Bleed the radiators

If one of the (or a few) radiators isn’t heating up, the most common reason for this is trapped air. If you’ve just turned the heating back on after the summer, air can become trapped in your radiators, causing them to be warm at the bottom but cold at the top. If this is the case, you may need to bleed your radiators.

Use your radiator key to unscrew the bleed screw a little, just until you hear a hissing sound. Once the hissing dies away and water starts coming from your radiator, be ready to close the bleed screw.

Check the boiler pressure

You might need to adjust the water pressure on your gas boiler (if you have a pressurised, rather than a low-pressure system).

First, find the pressure gauge, usually, it’s on the front of your boiler, or on the pipe work near your boiler. If it reads less than 0.5 bar and your heating isn’t turning on, use the valve to slowly increase it to between 1 and 1.5 bar, being careful not to go over 1.5 bar.

Reset your boiler

Find the reset button or dial at the front of your boiler. Older boilers may have a pilot light instead of a reset function. If yours does, check if it’s on. If not, follow the steps in your boiler manual to relight it.

If you need to reset your boiler more than once, it’s safer to have it checked by a registered gas installer.

Heating still not working?

If you’re still unsure as to what’s causing your radiators not to heat up, the best thing you can do is call a professional heating engineer. Whatever the issue may be, they’ll be able to properly diagnose and fix the problem.