A twenty minute check in September saves a no-heat emergency in December. Do these before the first cold snap.
One: run the heating for an hour while it's still mild. Faults are far easier to book in during September than during the first hard frost when every engineer in Sussex is flat out.
Two: bleed your radiators, top the pressure back to around 1.2 bar cold, and check each rad heats evenly.
Three: exercise the valves. Turn every thermostatic valve fully open and closed a few times, pins seize over the summer and that's a very common cause of one cold radiator.
Four: check the boiler's condensate pipe. If it runs outside in plastic, lag it. A frozen condensate is the single biggest cause of winter boiler lockouts.
Five: book your annual service. It keeps the manufacturer warranty valid, catches worn parts early, and takes under an hour.
