If your boiler lost power, then you probably have no heating or hot water in your home, this can be so frustrating, especially if you’re the type of person who likes to shower in the morning before work!
As always, WarmZilla is here to help you get your boiler back on track. In this blog, we’ll be listing the causes of having no power to your boiler and helping you get your boiler fixed to provide heating and hot water.
No power to a boiler - key causes
1. The boiler fuse has blown
First, you’ll need to know what a fuse is and what does it do.
Fuses and circuit breakers protect electrical circuits and appliances i.e. your boiler.
To understand how the fuse works in greater depth, (because none of us were paying attention in science class!), the key point is that; “The fuse breaks the circuit if a fault in an appliance causes too much current to flow. This protects the wiring and the appliance if something goes wrong. The fuse contains a piece of wire that melts easily. If the current going through the fuse is too great, the wire heats up until it melts and breaks the circuit.”
Put simply, the reason manufacturers fit a fuse in your boiler is to stop damage to the electrical component of the boiler.
Sometimes, this ‘little’ fuse can blow for many reasons. The most common reason for a blown fuse is a surge in power. When that happens, there will be no power to run your boiler, that’s why it won’t turn on.
How to fix a blown boiler fuse?
Have a look at the fuse in your house fuse box, which is usually located under the stairs in most houses (see the below picture). This is also sometimes called a consumer unit. You’ll need to should check if the circuit is off (the switch is pointing down) or if it’s on (the switch is pointing up).
If there’s no power to your boiler and the problem is a blown fuse, you should notice that one of the switches is pointing down.
Now that you know what caused it, you’ll need to flick the switch back up into its “on” position and close the fuse box. That should do the trick and your boiler should have power again.
2. RCD tripped a switch
Another fuse-related issue is a tripped RCD, it can stop your boiler from turning on.
A residual current device (RCD), or simply the fuse board, will trip when a fault has been detected in an electrical circuit. When an RCD trips it can either affect the whole house or just the “zones” in your home like your bedrooms, for example.
Because your boiler requires a fair bit of power, it might have its own switch, or, in some cases, share a zone with a couple of appliances.
If you’ve recently experienced a power cut, it’s possible that the zone of your home where your boiler is has tripped. Power cuts are not the only reason for an RCD tripped switch, this can also happen because of a leak near an electric component or a power surge.
How to fix an RCD tripped switch?
Simple, just like how you’d fix a blown boiler fuse. All you’ll need to do is flick the boiler switch back up to turn the circuit “on”. Once you’ve done that, reset your boiler and you should be good to go. At the end of this blog, you’ll learn how to reset your boiler, so keep reading.
3. Electric meter
If you’ve got a pre-paid meter where you pay as you go you could have one of these problems; either a fault in the meter or you’ve run out of credit.
How to fix a problem with the electric meter?
Luckily, both issues can be resolved without any effort (or maybe minimal effort!)
Nowadays, most electric meters are digital, which can help you solve the problem by calling the utility company. They should be able to tell you if you’ll have to top up your credit or if the meter needs to be examined and fixed.
4. Printed Circuit Board (PCB) failure
A Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is a vital part of your boiler. Think of it as the motherboard of a computer, in simple terms, the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) is the backbone that ties the boiler’s electrical components (such as the pump, thermostat, timer etc.) together at one spot and let them talk to each other.
If your boiler has a PCB error, it could lose power, completely switch off, or lockout and display error codes that are relevant to a PCB fault which we will cover later in this blog.
PCB failure is not an uncommon issue when it comes to boilers not switching on.
How to fix a Printed Circuit Board (PCB) failure?
Unluckily, PCB failure is not a thing your can fix by yourself, it is a complicated issue that requires the knowledge and expertise of a Gas Safe engineer.
A gas safe engineer will examine your PCB by running an electrical test. If the engineer finds a fault with the PCB, they may be able to fix it or they may need to replace it. Depending on the supplier and quality of the PCB, this could cost anywhere up to £500, plus installation costs.
At this point, you should weigh your option, do you want to spend this huge chunk of money or would you rather invest in a new boiler with a better efficiency rate, which can save you money on your heating bills, and a longer warranty.
If you’re still not sure if you should repair or replace your boiler, read our guide.
5. Boiler power light failure
A failure in LED power light might get you thinking the boiler isn’t working when it actually is. It’s not a common problem but it happens sometimes.
How to fix a boiler’s power light failure?
This problem may sound so simple, but you’ll still need to call a heating engineer to fix it. A heating engineer will run a simple electrical test to spot the problem and replace the broken light (if needed).
The good news is, the issue is not expensive to fix and it can be resolved quickly.
6. Broken fused spur
Most large electrical appliances that consume a lot of electricity i.e. boilers and cookers have their own internal fuse (or fuses) to separate them from the main electrical circuit. This usually looks like a regular socket with a little red window.
How to fix a broken fused spur?
While this is not a common issue, a fused spur could stop your boiler from getting the power it needs from the mains.
If your boiler’s fused spur has blown, which can happen due to age or a power surge, it will result in no power to your boiler.
Luckily, fixing this problem is cheap, quick and easy. A Gas Safe Engineer will be able to check the fused spur, replace it if needed, re-test your system to ensure nothing underlying causes the fuses to blow again.
What to do next? Reset your boiler
Once the issue which was causing the boiler’s power problem has been fixed (by you, or the heating engineer – with your help making a brew!!), you’ll need to reset your boiler.
If your boiler is a relatively newer model, a reset button will be found on the display board; this is typically located on the front of the boiler. If you can’t find the reset button, we’d advise you to refer to your boiler manual.
Once you find the reset button, push and hold the button for 5 seconds to reset it.
For older models, we’d advise you to check the manual or look at the manufacturer’s website for instructions, as resetting older boiler models might not be as simple as newer ones.
No luck with boiler power? Troubleshooting Guides for all your boiler brands
If you’re still trying to fix your boiler and have no heating and hot water, and you’re getting nowhere, we’ve put together some boiler error codes/ fault codes blogs (only if it was displaying any codes ofc!), that could help you stretch the boiler’s lifespan.
Warning– Always follow the boiler manual instructions and even if you know what the fault code means, make sure that the repair is carried out by a Gas Safe Registered engineer.
Is it time for a new boiler?
If your boiler keeps breaking down, leaving you with no heating or hot water, it may be cheaper, in the long run, to cut your losses and get a new one, just come to us at WarmZilla and we’ll sort you out!
When shopping around for a new boiler, we’d advise using the WarmZilla boiler comparison tool. Just select up to 3 boilers you want to compare and you’ll be able to compare key stats side by side to see which boiler is best for your home.
You can also take the WarmZilla survey. By answering a few simple questions about your home, we will be able to recommend suitable boilers for your heating and hot water requirements. You can get a quote on a new boiler in just a few minutes without adding any personal details!
Here at WarmZilla, our mission is to give you all the help and support you’ll need to find the best boiler for your home at the best price, that’s why we’ve written blogs about the best combi boilers, best system boilers and best conventional boilers in 2022. So make sure to check them out!
