Heating stops at 25. — Scope | Disability forum
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Heating stops at 25.

Misscleo
Misscleo Community member Posts: 647 Pioneering
edited October 2018 in PIP, DLA, and AA
My aunts has had a new boiler fitted. It wont go higher than 25.
She is 95 and after 6pm her home is getting too cold.
Family have phoned the company. They wont answer any of us.
Anyone know what we can do to get sorted before the winter comes ? 
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Comments

  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,343 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi,

    Do you mean the room thermostat won't go any higher than 25 degrees? They usually go much higher than this.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • atlas46
    atlas46 Community member Posts: 826 Pioneering
    Hi

    They should have left an instruction booklet for the boiler.

    Modern boilers have programmable temperature controls, so you need to check which program has been set.

    I would keep calling the outfit who fitted it.

    Let us know how you get on.


  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,343 Disability Gamechanger
    I have found that modern boilers don't have temperature controls, at least mine didn't. My heating temperature was always controlled by the room thermostat and the radiator thermostat. Either way, you should still be able to have it higher than 25 especially if it's a new boiler. I agree to the advice to call the person/company that fitted it.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • atlas46
    atlas46 Community member Posts: 826 Pioneering
    Hi

    I am on about a Programm Unit, that replaces the room thermostat.  You can program that for numerous times of day and for several days.

    If it was a simple room thermostat, you would just turn up dail, to the temp you want.
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    Having anything above 22 is ridiculous regardless of age. The problem lies with the home not the thermostat. 
    I agree. We had a new boiler fitted last year to replace a 10 year old one (10 years is about the limit of a boiler before it starts to lose efficiency). Anyhow the boiler temp is always set at max (whatever that means but the thermostat is set at 20. It is never increased above this as the rooms get far too hot.

    If the poster wants it to run at over 25 then as you say I would be looking at problems with the home and whether it needs insulating both in the walls and rook. Also the windows and doors should all be double glazed as a minimum - some may need to be triple glazed depending where you live.
  • Misscleo
    Misscleo Community member Posts: 647 Pioneering
    Natually she has been phoning the company since july. They havnt answered her calls or emails.
    It wont go above 25. But when i came home i put mine on 25 and felt like a baked spud in a microwave.
    I said all of the above to her but had to check wuth others cos i feel cold all the time so i wanted to be fair to her.
    She in a appartment thats only a few years old. Has double glazing new radiators and boiler. in my option its warm enough. So i think its HER thats cold not her home. 
    I dont like the fact that she has no choice cos it could go really cold in jan/feb. 
    I have mine on 18 in the day and 22 in the evening when iv sat. I think the company should  answe enails and calls if only to tell her its HER not the thermostat. And i wanted to know if other peoples are stuck at 25. this a new thing to stop people from wasting energy.
    Must admitted it sounds a good idea to me.
    Many thanks to everyone for their input.
    Now i have to tell my aunt.......
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    The company should answer her calls and emails.  Can you try contacting them?  If they won't respond to you either, I suggest you contact trading standards.  Or Age UK might have some info or advice.

    I'd have thought the heating should be settable above 25.
  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 53,343 Disability Gamechanger
    Maybe she can buy a blanket or something to wrap herself in when she's sat watching TV? This will also save on her energy bills by just wrapping up. The weather at the moment is extremely mild for the time of year and i find the cold badly. Being cold makes my pain worse but i have hardly put my heating on, when i do i never put my thermostat anymore than 20 degrees. If i did then my bills would be even worse than they already are. Scary thing energy bills these days!
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
  • Tardis
    Tardis Community member Posts: 214 Pioneering
    Are you sure the heating is actually on?  Are there any radiator thermostats which might be set too low?  If the room is actually heated to 25c (have you checked with a thermometer?) then that will be the same temperature no matter what month of the year it is.  You don't need to turn up the room temperature as the outside temperature drops!
  • Geoark
    Geoark Community member Posts: 1,463 Disability Gamechanger
    @Misscleo you mention that your aunt lives in apartment, so is this part of a block or complex? If so she is either a leaseholder/shared owner or a tenant.

    If a tenant she should speak to her landlord and ask if someone can come in and check the settings.

    If a leaseholder/shared owner she would either have a landlord or managing agent who is managing the block. Under this type of tenancy they are responsible for inside their homes, but given her age I would hope they would send someone round to check the settings for her.

    If this was a new build then the company had a contract with the developer and and any warranty would have been with them and passed on to who ever the new owner of the block or managing the block for the deveoper. As such they have no obligations towards your aunt, though I would have expected them to at least email her back and ask her to go through the appropriate organisation/company.

    As mentioned above it should feel the same, as you mentioned you were comfortable in your aunt's home but roasting in yours it does sound as if there is another setting somewhere else restricting the heat your aunt is looking for.

    As an individual I stood alone.
    As a member of a group I did things.
    As part of a community I helped to create change!

  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    I know it may well be a stupid comment, but has the lady made sure that the radiators are all turned on, the radiator thermostatic valves are open and the system has been bled?
     
  • exdvr
    exdvr Community member Posts: 331 Pioneering

    Misscleo and@Yadnad…...not a stupid comment at all, in fact very well made points.  I have 2 programmable controllers along with radiator thermostats and it really is a "set it and forget it" system.     Could there be a problem with for example single glazing, draughts, and generally poor insulation?  25 degrees is a ridiculously high setting and she could be paying good money to heat up the street rather than her house.  Has she checked her meter readings to find out exactly how much fuel she's using and at what cost?      Lots of questions that should be easily answered by any proficient heating engineer.  

    Best wishes.                

    Best wishes.

    DLTBGYD

  • Misscleo
    Misscleo Community member Posts: 647 Pioneering
    Yes thats true but i think its been set so she CANT put it higher cos she will expect family to pay bill. And as already said it dosent need to over 20. .ine iznt Many thanks
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    I doubt it. I have just had a look at my digital thermostat and it too will not go above 25. My old one, an analogue one that I changed along with the radiators and thermostatic valves (just over 10 years old so due for a change) goes up to 30.

    I have never ever had my wall thermostat above 20, It clicks on in the winter and doesn't come on in the summer. Even at 20 the whole house is hot and even now with the bedroom radiator off we need a fan to cool the room down at bedtime.

    Goodness knows what it would be like at 25 - we would be cooking!!
  • Gfp1975
    Gfp1975 Community member Posts: 1 Listener
    My mother has an extremely warm, well-insulated house, with double glazing etc, but because she has MS and is not at all mobile and spends a lot of time sitting, she gets extremely cold (her body temperature) and therefore turns the heating up to a much higher temperature than we would normally tolerate. When I remind her how warm it is, she reminds me how cold she actually feels. I can imagine that your mother might feel the same - not that this solves your thermostat problem! Good luck. 
  • Matilda
    Matilda Community member Posts: 2,593 Disability Gamechanger
    I don't have central heating but in a friend's house the mobile control is set for a max of 30c but the house decides for itself when it's warm enough so the actual temp usually is lower.
  • sue66
    sue66 Community member Posts: 124 Pioneering
    Misscleo said:
    My aunts has had a new boiler fitted. It wont go higher than 25.
    She is 95 and after 6pm her home is getting too cold.
    Family have phoned the company. They wont answer any of us.
    Anyone know what we can do to get sorted before the winter comes ? 
    Sounds like it could been set to go off at 6pm which is far to early for the winter months. Ours  goes up to 30 max but 22  to 23 is normally only needed in snow weather.  Does she wake up to it warm enough? If so then must be set to maybe go off to early in evenings?
  • Misscleo
    Misscleo Community member Posts: 647 Pioneering
    Many thanks for that. Ill ask if its going off at say 6pm.

    I think the main problem is the company wont answer any calls or emails. And its been 4 months.
    Iv been there in the summer and thouhht her home is hot then. 

    We cant just get anyone to alter things cos that would invalidate her guarantee.

    Iv told her to go to cab or a councilor.

    Shes not ill so i dont tbink she needs heating above 18 in the day and 20 at night.
    I have said that throws and thick cutains would help. But i think the company should be talking to her. 

  • Pippa_Alumni
    Pippa_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,793 Disability Gamechanger
    Welcome to the community, @Gfp1975!

    That's appalling that you haven't had any response from the company, @Misscleo. If you feel it's worth escalating, there may be a number on some of their previous letters about what to do if you're not happy with a response you've received- or in your case, not receiving a response at all! There's some advice about scaling up a complaint on the Which website.
  • Yadnad
    Yadnad Posts: 2,856 Disability Gamechanger
    edited October 2018
    Misscleo said:
    We cant just get anyone to alter things cos that would invalidate her guarantee.

    Iv told her to go to cab or a councilor.

    Shes not ill so i dont tbink she needs heating above 18 in the day and 20 at night.

    I don't understand what you are expecting of the company. If they have installed the equipment properly and the boiler takes the water to the correct temperature (as per the temp control at the boiler which should always be set at max) then there is nothing wrong with it. The radiators when hot should be too hot to hold or even touch. If all of that is OK then the problem is either with the thermostat on the wall or the controls on the radiators or has been said it is going on and off at the wrong times. 
    We have our heating set as to max at the boiler and running 24/7. The only control we use is the wall thermostat which controls when the heating should come on and go off depending on how hot you want the home. It is less efficient to have it on a timer as you are telling the boiler to work hard to get it back up to temperature and shut off so it cools down. 

    I have no idea what a councillor could do for you other than give the same advice - by the way I am a town councillor.

Brightness

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