Underfloor Heating Problems

It's that time of year again when people are switching on their underfloor heating for the first time in the autumn. With most systems it is simply a matter of turning the thermostat back on and it will start working again as it did in the spring from the programs saved in its memory.

Occasionally though things don't run so smoothly and the underfloor heating system doesn't kick into action straight away. From the calls that we receive each autumn we can see there are a number of regular problems that are easy to sort out as follows:

• Often the thermostat is switched on again but doesn't appear to power up. The most common reason for this is that the thermostat is on a switched fused spur (a separate power supply with its own on/off switch) and someone has turned off the power supply to the thermostat during the summer. Additionally the same problem can occur when the fuse has blown or the RCD for the supply has tripped during the year, however if this is the case it is always important to try and find out what caused the initial problem before powering the system back up.
• Another common issue is that the underfloor heating appears to be working fine, however it is not getting as warm as it used to. All underfloor heating systems use a floor temperature sensor and this prevents the underfloor heating from making the floor too hot. If during the summer a rug or mat has been placed over the section where the floor sensor is located this will trap the heat causing the floor sensor to think the floor is hotter than it is, turning off the heating. If you are not sure where your floor sensor is located it will normally be between 0.5 and 1.2m straight out into the room from the base of the wall beneath the thermostat, and if there is now a rug or mat there simply moving it should solve the problem.
• Although it is not a major issue, one of the common calls we get is for assistance in programming our older style CPS thermostats as it may have been six or seven months since someone last used them. Our Technical Team in the office (01444 247020) is very happy to guide anyone through programming their thermostat, however our new NGT thermostat which has been around for a couple of years now is incredibly simple to set up and operate and is a straight swap for older thermostats including the CPS. You can replace the CPS with an NGT and it will use the same floor sensor ensuring it is a simple swap over, and our NGT thermostat can normally be used to replace other manufacturers thermostats as well. For more information about upgrading to our latest thermostat please give us a ring and we will guide you through the process.