No Power to Boiler? Here’s What You Need To Do Next

Got no power to your boiler, timer, or thermostat? No problem — if your boiler won’t turn on, we can help. This 5-minute guide will help to determine what the problem is, so you can get your boiler working again.

Dead Boiler? Call Heatable

No power, and no patience for your rotten old boiler? You can get a fixed price online (no personal details needed) from Heatable. They offer awesome deals on Worcester Bosch boiler installations and you can use their boiler price calculator to get your fixed price in less than 90 seconds. Low interest rates, long financing, zero down, with a price match guarantee is the Heatable way — you’ll never go back.

No Power to a Boiler — Typical Causes

Below are the most common causes behind lost power supply to boilers.

#1 – Boiler Fuse is Blown

To prevent surge-related damage to electrical components in your boiler, manufacturers fit them with a fuse.

If there’s a surge of power, the boiler fuse has likely blown, and this will cause your boiler to have no power. Your boiler won’t turn on without a functioning fuse.

Call your boiler cover helpline or a Gas Safe engineer to change the boiler fuse (don’t attempt this yourself), and you should get power back to your boiler.

#2 – RCD Has Tripped

Head over to your RCD (aka fuse board) and check to see whether all the switches are in the same position.

It’s likely that the fuse board has tripped. Sometimes, this will affect the entire property. But, a lot of properties are “zoned”, meaning sections of the house are served by different circuits.

There’s a good chance that the section of your house the boiler is in has tripped.

It’s particularly common for a fuse board to trip (cutting power to a boiler) after a power cut, or in extremely bad weather.

Now, if the trip switch won’t stay up, you’ll have to use the process of elimination to determine which appliance is causing the problem. Disconnect all the appliances on the circuit, reset the switch, and plug them back in one-by-one; if the switch trips now, you’ll know which appliance is to blame.

#3 – Electric Meter Not Topped Up

Are you on a pay-as-you-go electric meter? Do you have credit? If you do, there’s a chance there’s a fault with the meter.

As most electric meters are now digital, utility companies can resolve issues over the phone.

#4 – PCB (Printed Circuit Board) Failure

Getting no power to your boiler, timer, or the boiler control panel is not working?

If you’ve tried everything listed above and the boiler is not turning on, the PCB on your boiler could have failed; it’s a common boiler problem.

The PCB communicates with other parts of your boiler (pump, valves, thermostat, timer etc) to keep your boiler operational.

A boiler engineer will be able to run a basic electrical test to see if the whole boiler has no power, or the fault is limited to the PCB.

A boiler repair company may be able to either fix the existing PCB, or fit a new one. That could cost up to £500. If you’d prefer to invest that money in a new boiler with a long warranty, we’d suggest getting on screen prices from Heatable, who are extremely competitive on price.

#5 – Power Light Failure

Luckily, not all faults relating to a boiler with no power are fatal. Sometimes, it looks like a boiler has no power, but it’s a simple LED failure.

It’s a small probability, but there’s a chance the power light on your boiler has broken.

Again, a simple electrical test can determine what the problem is.

#6 – Fused Spur Is Broken

Most big electrical appliances will be segregated from an electrical circuit (a cooker for instance) by a fuse spur. A fused spur is a socket with a little red window in it, typically next to your boiler, or an in airing cupboard.

If your boiler is plugged into a spur and has no power, this could be the problem. A boiler won’t turn on without an active fuse in the spur.

Before spending big cash on repairs (or investing in a replacement boiler), check to see whether the fuse in the spur is blown.

What to Do After Restoring Power to Your Boiler

Once you’ve fixed the issue behind the boiler’s lack of power, you’ll need to reset your boiler.

New boilers will have a reset button on the display board; this is located on the front of the boiler.

If your boiler doesn’t have a reset button visible, check your owner’s manual. Many older boilers have a reset procedure that’s not as simple as just pressing a button.

Boiler Not Turning On? Troubleshooting Guides for Worcester, Vaillant, Ideal, and More

Are you still getting no power to your boiler? We’ve put together in-depth troubleshooting guides for the most popular boiler brands. You can find them here:

• Worcester Boiler Problems
• Vaillant Boiler Problems
• Common Ideal Boiler Faults
• Viessmann Boiler Problems
• Alpha Boiler Problems
• Baxi Boiler Problems 
• Potterton Boiler Problems

Just remember, these troubleshooting guides are there for your information only. In most cases, you should call a Gas Safe heating engineer to help you fix your boiler and central heating system. Their expertise is particularly important when the issue relates to a boiler’s internal components.

Still Not Getting Power to Your Boiler?

Still struggling to get power to your boiler? If the appliance is old and breaking down often, it may be time to consider a replacement.

You can head to Heatable and get a range of fixed-price installation quotes on new boiler models from brands like Worcester Bosch, Viessmann, Ideal, and Alpha. All you need to do is supply some information about your central heating system setup, and Heatable will recommend the most suitable boilers for your property.

Or, you can read our boiler problems article to investigate your problem further.

What’s Next?

Is there anything we’ve missed? If you have any questions, please leave a comment below and we’ll reply as soon as we can.