There are a number of reasons why your heating might only be working upstairs. Before calling an engineer for help, we recommend:

General

• Turning on radiator / thermostatic valves radiator valves to maximum. Have you recently decorated and needed to isolate /remove the radiator?
• Do the upstairs radiators generally work when the downstairs radiators do? If not they may be on a different control circuit, in which case you should check programmer / time clock is set to 'on' and that the room thermostat control is at the right setting - typically 20°C (70°F). Temporarily turn it to maximum.
• Although unlikely to affect all radiators, try bleeding the radiator(s) - see first question on the top. Ensure the system is switched off when bleeding and never remove the bleed screw completely.

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Next steps

System Boilers (Non-Combination Boilers)

If your heating has not been used for a long period of time e.g. you've just switched it on for the heating season, your circulator (pump) may have become stuck whilst not being used. Unless the pump has a means of manually freeing it an engineer visit will be required.

If you're not quite sure how to carry out any of these checks, it's always a good idea to have a look at the appliance / radiator manufacturer's guidelines for help. And if you try all of the above and the problem persists, we recommend booking an engineer.

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