Plumber in Oakgrove
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Some newer Milton Keynes developments do not give each home a boiler. Instead, heat is generated centrally and piped to each property, where a heat interface unit takes it and provides your heating and hot water.
If that describes your home, a lot of standard plumbing advice does not apply to you, and the question of what you are responsible for is genuinely different.
Based in Two Mile Ash, around twenty minutes across the city. Gas Safe registered, registration number 981362.
- Gas Safe registered 981362
- Around twenty minutes across the city
- We work downstream of the HIU, not on the network
- Booked work Monday to Saturday, 8am to 8pm
Last updated
If you have a heat interface unit
A heat interface unit, usually called an HIU, is a wall-mounted box that looks vaguely like a boiler and is not one. It does not burn anything. It takes heat from the network and transfers it to your heating circuit and your hot water.
What follows from that:
- There is no flue and no gas supply to your property, so the flue and gas constraints that dominate boiler work simply do not apply.
- Your heating and hot water depend on the network, not on your appliance. If neither is working and your HIU appears fine, the fault may not be in your home at all. Check whether neighbours are affected before assuming it is yours.
- The HIU itself is usually your responsibility, and the network is the operator’s. That line is set by your contract with the heat supplier rather than by any general rule, so it is worth reading rather than assuming.
- HIUs need servicing. They have filters, valves and plate heat exchangers, and they do not last forever without attention. In this water the plate heat exchanger scales exactly as a combi’s would, producing hot water that runs hot then cool then hot while the heating is fine.
- Heat network pricing works differently from a gas bill. If your standing charges or unit rates look wrong, that is a question for the operator and the Energy Ombudsman rather than for a plumber.
What we do and do not cover here
We do
- Everything downstream of the HIU
- Radiators, pipework and cylinders where fitted
- Bathrooms, kitchens, taps and showers
- Leaks and drainage
We do not
- Work on the network itself
- Plant rooms and communal infrastructure
- Anything that is the operator’s responsibility
Whether your HIU is covered by a service contract with the heat supplier or the developer
Because if it is, that is the number to call before ours.
The rest of the housing
Oakgrove is modern development on the eastern side of the city, and where properties do have their own systems the profile is what you would expect: mains pressure throughout, unvented cylinders in some, and underfloor heating on ground floors in parts of the estate. Faults concentrate in controls, actuators and manifolds rather than in pipework. See underfloor heating and unvented cylinders.
Hard water
Same Anglian Water supply as the rest of Milton Keynes, around 300 mg/l of calcium carbonate against a UK average of 207. New home, same water, and the plate heat exchanger in an HIU scales the same way a combi’s does. See our hard water guide.
Getting to Oakgrove
Around twenty minutes from Two Mile Ash. Fine for booked work and out of hours.
Frequently asked questions
I have no boiler, just a box on the wall. What is it?
Probably a heat interface unit, which takes heat from a network rather than generating it. It has no flue and no gas supply.
My heating and hot water have both stopped. Is that my unit?
Possibly not. Check whether neighbours are affected, because on a heat network the fault may be upstream of your home entirely.
Does an HIU need servicing?
Yes. Filters, valves and the plate heat exchanger all need attention, and in this water the exchanger scales. Check whether you have a service contract before booking anyone.
Who is responsible for what?
Broadly, the unit in your home is yours and the network is the operator’s, but that line is set by your heat supply contract. Worth reading it.
Do you cover Middleton and Broughton?
Yes, along with Monkston, Brooklands, Kents Hill and Milton Keynes Village.
What we do in Oakgrove
Where we cover in Oakgrove
- Oakgrove
- Middleton
- Monkston
- Brooklands
- Broughton
- Kents Hill
- Milton Keynes Village
Get in touch
Call 07514 312117 or send a WhatsApp with a photo of the unit. Gas Safe registered 981362, CIPHE member, fully insured.