Moving into a new place is exciting, until you realise you do not know how the house stays warm.
This new homeowner heating guide is a heating system checklist for homeowners in the UK, so you can get comfortable quickly and avoid nasty surprises.
Before you buy anything, identify the basics.
Boiler, heat pump, or something else
Check whether you have gas central heating, an electric boiler, a heat pump, storage heaters, or a mix. Photograph model numbers and note where the main shut off valves and consumer units are.
This is heating system basics that pays off later.
Controls and thermostats
Find the thermostat, programmer, and any smart app controls. Test that changing settings actually changes the temperature.
Service and safety checks
If there is a boiler, arrange a service and ask about flues and ventilation. Make sure you have a working carbon monoxide alarm. These steps belong in every heating setup guide for new houses.
Heat distribution and cold spots
On a colder day, walk the house and notice patterns. Are there rooms that never reach temperature, radiators that stay cool at the bottom, or obvious drafts? Bleeding radiators, balancing, and draft sealing often improve comfort fast. That is real heating planning for new homes.
Essential heaters for new home in UK
If one room is always chilly, a portable electric heater can help while you sort longer term fixes. For home workers, a small, efficient heater for the office can be a comfort upgrade. Treat these as home heating essentials, not a permanent crutch.
What heating equipment do new homeowners need
Most people do best with a small kit: radiator key, draft excluders, thicker curtains, and one reliable portable heater. Add a dehumidifier if you have condensation or damp. This kind of home comfort equipment is cheap compared to wasted energy.
Size, controls, and safety
Match the heater to the room size. Check wattage, thermostat control, timer settings, tip over cut off, and overheat protection. Think about how many hours a day you will run it, because running costs matter.
Quick wins before you buy more kit
Top up loft insulation if it is low, seal letterboxes and gaps, and keep radiators clear of sofas and curtains. Track one month of bills to see what “normal” looks like. This energy awareness helps you choose upgrades later, and keeps your residential heating setup sensible.
Analysis by UK consumer advocacy organisation Which? revealed that nearly half of UK households failed to turn their heating on when the weather was cold last winter — not because they didn’t want to be warm, but because they feared escalating energy bills and could not afford to heat their home. This was an extensive survey based on a representative sample of thousands of households across the UK, and was widely covered by UK news outlets.
Extracting some of the key stats from the Which? dataset:
UK‑based numbers based on the experiences of real households. If you don’t understand how your heating equipment works, get it ready before you need it, and run it efficiently, why? Because if households are afraid to run their heating or it doesn’t run efficiently, comfort and health can begin to degrade.
Source survey: “I was too scared to put the heating on” — Which? official summary (UK consumer organisation) – https://www.which.co.uk/policy-and-insight/article/how-uk-households-have-been-coping-with-the-energy-crisis-aS8uN3a3B7k2
You should treat moving into a new home as an opportunity to build good heating habits. By checking your heating equipment and home early, you can uncover issues that can be addressed before you’re relying on your heating during cold snaps, avoid surprise heating equipment failures during those cold snaps, and ensure your equipment heats your home efficiently and safely when you need it most.
Does your home have a gas boiler? Or a heat pump? Electric boiler? Storage heaters? Take pictures of any model numbers you see and note where you can find the controls, shut‑offs and your consumer unit. Having clear pictures and directions will help any future technicians who need to service your equipment, and helps you note these yourself down the line.
Yes! While nobody likes paying for servicing, getting your boiler or heat pump serviced in the fall means you can catch repair issues while service technicians are less busy. You also reduce the risk of surprise equipment failures during times when you really need your heating to work.
When the weather is cool but not cold, walk through every room of your home and note how well each area heats up. Do you notice cold spots? Are some radiators heating unevenly? Do you feel drafts coming from windows or doors? Your answers to these questions can help you prioritise areas to improve or note where you may need supplemental heaters.
Installing supplemental heaters in every room of your home is rarely necessary. If there are areas of your home that never feel warm, even with your central heating equipment running, a supplemental heater can help. Just make sure the heater you choose has a thermostat and timer function so you can safely control its use.
Match the wattage of the heater to the room size, check if the heater has features like tip‑over shut off and overheat protection, and look at running costs, not just purchase price. See our guide on selecting heating equipment for more info.
Yes! By sealing gaps around doors and windows, installing thicker curtains, and keeping furniture away from radiator vents, you can help your existing heating equipment operate more efficiently and keep its heat inside where you need it.
Along with sealing drafts, consider boosting your loft insulation where possible, keep furniture clear of radiators, and monitor your heating bills to understand how much energy you use before introducing new equipment into the equation.
Use this heating system checklist for homeowners to understand your setup, get servicing sorted, and buy only what improves comfort. After one season in the house, your next upgrade decisions will be obvious.
