My Central Heating Works But I Have No Hot Water

If your central heating is working but there’s no hot water coming from your taps, you’re not alone. This can be frustrating, especially on those cold winter days when you want to quickly wash up and get dressed in warm clothes as fast as possible! 

It’s important to note that this isn’t always an issue with the central heating system itself; it might just be an isolated problem in your home. Here are some reasons why you may have no hot water even if your central heating works properly.  

Follow these steps and your problem will be solved. If it doesn’t get solved still, then you will have to contact a  Gas Safe Engineer to get it examined.

Check Your Basic Utilities

Make sure your water service isn’t disconnected, or there aren’t leaks in your pipes. Have someone else verify that there is no hot water coming out of your faucets. Make sure you don’t have any open valves or closed valves with air in them, which can cause pressure to drop and result in no hot water.

Check fuses if you’re using electric heaters or space heaters as well. Talk to an Heating expert: Your heating system should be inspected every year by a professional who will check everything from gas pressure to filter replacement and general safety measures.

Check The Controls

It might sound obvious, but frequently, when the central heating works but the hot water doesn’t, then the hot water thermostat control has been turned down to zero. If you haven’t touched the controls for a while, it’s still worth checking that the thermostat is turned up properly. You might have knocked it accidentally. 

Check whether all your thermostat’s settings match those on your boiler control panel, as a change in them, may be causing your problem. You might also need to replace an old thermostat with one that comes with an added sensor for detecting when water is running through pipes.  

If there has been a power cut recently, then your boiler may have shut down and will need to be reset. Check that your boiler’s electricity supply is functioning – are the displays properly lit up, or are any bulbs in the boiler illuminated? 

You may need to adjust your timer if the electricity supply has been disrupted. You may also need to adjust your timer if the clocks have recently gone forwards or back. 

Low Flow Rates

In cold weather, combi boilers can experience low flow rates, which may lead you to think your combi boiler has no hot water.

The boiler will still be working perfectly; however, the flow of water between the heat exchange will be reduced. You simply must run the hot tap at a slower rate than you normally would.

Look For Frozen Pipes

Frozen pipes are a common reason for no hot water. Make sure all outdoor faucets and hose bibs have been turned off. Check outdoor pipes for ice build-up, which should melt after several hours of heat from your furnace or boiler.

Check For Error or Fault Codes

Plumbing and heating systems don’t break down for no reason; there’s always a problem somewhere. Typically, your furnace or water heater will alert you to a problem via an error code or fault code.

You should be able to find that information on a sticker near your thermostat, inside your service panel (if you have one), or in your manual. Start by tracking down these codes first and then make any necessary repairs.

Broken Diverter Valves

The most common reason for central heating working but no hot water is because of a broken diverter valve. It connects your boiler and hot water tank. It’s also one of those mysterious plumbing problems that are easy to fix but often difficult to locate without knowledge of how these valves work.

Diverter valves switch heat between the hot water and the central heating. When you turn your hot tap on, the diverter valve temporarily shuts off the water supply for your central heating, and when you turn the tap off, the valve reopens and feeds your radiators.

Over time, diverter valves can become degraded and faulty or can be stuck in the wrong position, cutting off your hot water supply. If this is the case, then you will need to arrange a boiler repair – you should not attempt to replace a diverter valve unless you can do so competently!

Turn it off and on again

If all else fails, then try turning the boiler off, waiting for a while, and turning it on again. If your diverter valve is on a separate circuit, then ensure you turn this off and on too.

If you have no hot water from your boiler then it may be worth considering a boiler service plan. 24|7 Home Rescue have a number of boiler and central heating plans that can give you peace of mind.

If you have boiler cover with 247 Home Rescue, then we will consider a loss of hot water as an emergency, and will aim to get an engineer to your property within four hours of the time you get in touch with us.

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Don’t attempt to touch any part of your boiler or central heating system if you’re unsure. Did you know? It’s illegal for anyone to use a gas appliance if they think it’s unsafe.

Call us on 0345 3192 247 and we can help. Our technical team will run through some simple troubleshooting to see if your problem can be resolved on the phone or they can book one of our friendly and knowledgeable Gas Safe Registered engineers to get you back up and running as soon as possible.

If you find that you regularly have no heating or hot water, read this guide to find out how to avoid boiler breakdowns in future.