Gosforth Nursery Limited is a charitably run business; a children’s nursery in Gosforth. We have an air-source heat pump based heating system. Downstairs is wet-under floor while upstairs it is convection heating. The system is less than 15 years old. It appears only to be the boiler controls which are faulty – but we are not familiar with this technology. We experienced significant boiler malfunctions throughout Winter 2022. The heating was uncontrolled; the thermostatic shutdown failed and the heating would only turn off manually. The heat was unbearable and we were left wondering how we could sustainably manage the situation; we had to turn most of the heating off and it also resulted in a significant increase in our running costs. Trying to manage the welfare of our children and staff was challenging and resulted in a daily review of the situation. We have sought some support but been unable to resolve the issue; there are very few companies in the area with the expertise to manage this issue and they were unable to fix it. We believe the issue relates to the control system but local support has been unable to resolve this. We perceive our best/worst cases are as follows – but welcome professional support in these areas: Best case – fix / replace the control system Worst case – replace the boiler and control system. As a charity we have limited resources to resolve this issue. If someone is able to support us, it would significantly support our care in the community.
