Get quotes to replace a heating digital programmer

HaMuch is Excellent
By Emily Rivers
Last updated 18th July 2022

A central heating digital programmer is a more advanced timer and thermostat that allows you to decide when to set your heating to come on and off every day and what temperature to reach. Programmers allow you to preset heating schedules around when you are usually home and keep the heating off when you are likely to not be home.

Programmers for your boiler and central heating come as a single channel and a dual channel. The single channel option is for a combi boiler, as a combi boiler has instant hot water and just requires the programmer for when to turn the heat on.

The dual channel, also known as two-channel system, is for a boiler where one set of switches control the hot water cylinder and a separate set for the heating. These can also be used to control a second heating zone. 

How much will it cost to replace a programmer?

Replacing a faulty digital programmer or upgrading an old timer to a modern programmer (e.g.; the Danfoss TPOne™) does not require too many hours of labour from the heating engineer so the simplicity in the job helps to keep the cost down. A battery powered programmer like the Danfoss TPOne™ costs about £60 and a mains powered Danfoss TPOne™ costs about £80. These will only require your heating engineer to do a couple of hours labour to get the programmer installed and ready for use. 

How much labour costs to fit a programmer

Per

Average cost

Replacing a faulty programmer

Per hour 

£90

Upgrading an old timer with a new programmer

Per hour 

£160 

Upgrading to a smart programmer

Per hour 

£160

Cost to replace a heating digital programmer

Do I need a programmer for my boiler?

A boiler will need a thermostat to instruct the boiler when to heat the house. Depending on temperature rather than a specific time during the day. If your home is left empty for days, weeks, months in winter, it is important that the home stays above 5 degrees (best to set it to not fall between 8-12 degrees celsius) to avoid any frost damage. This stops water from expanding as the water freezes, and resulting in a burst pipe or no flow of water to the boiler. Most thermostats nowadays are programmable thermostats meaning you can do timed settings through-out the day for heating to come on, making the central heating system more energy efficient.

Some combi boilers have a built in timer, with notches that you push outwards to represent times to come on and inwards to represent times switched off during the day. A boiler will operate without a programmer as long as there is a thermostat and timer built-in.

Is a programmer the same as a thermostat?

A thermostat will control the temperature of the boiler. Whatever the temperature is set to, when the thermometer / thermostat reaches temperature, it will instruct the boiler to switch off, or when the room falls below the desired temperature, a thermostat tells the boiler to turn on and start pushing hot water around the pipework to heat radiators, towel rails and underfloor heating.

A programmer does this as well as allows different time schedules to be set for temperature settings at different times during the day. E.g.; a programmer can set the heating to come on for an hour when you wake and get ready for work and then switch off as you leave for work, and have the boiler turn back just before you are due home to start heating the house for your arrival.

Is a programmer the same as a timer?

A timer has a limited option of allowing you to set the heating to come on at the same time throughout the week. A programmer is more advanced with better features of allowing you to set different timed options for different days of the week, e.g.; having the heating come on later or for longer over the weekend when you are having a lie-in and staying in for the day. A 7 day programmer (the most advanced) allows you to have a different schedule for the heating every day, so 7 unique days. A 5/2 programmer means that the weekend can have different settings from the weekdays. Having a Smart thermostat means the App on your smartphone acts as the programmer and you can have a different heating schedule for every day of the week.

Do I need a programmer with a Smart thermostat?

The Smart thermostat makes the programmer redundant. You can either remove it from the wall of the house or leave it in situ, in case you move home and take your Smart controls with you but the programmer will no longer be talking to the boiler as the schedules of times and temperatures will all be controlled via the App on your smartphone.


Estimates for common heating engineer jobs;

Rates for other trades

Replace a heating programmer cost in the UK
Replace a heating programmer cost in the UK (excluding VAT or callout charges)
Location in UKReplace a heating programmer cost
Replace a heating programmer near Aberdeen£119
Replace a heating programmer near Amber Valley£120
Replace a heating programmer near Angus£116
Replace a heating programmer near Arun£126
Replace a heating programmer near Ashfield£118
Replace a heating programmer near Aylesbury Vale£131
Replace a heating programmer near Barnsley£118
Replace a heating programmer near Basildon£127
Replace a heating programmer near Basingstoke & Deane£138
Replace a heating programmer near Bassetlaw£116
Replace a heating programmer near Bath & North East Somerset£121
Replace a heating programmer near Bedford£128
Replace a heating programmer near Belfast£114
Replace a heating programmer near Birmingham£120
Replace a heating programmer near Blackburn£117
Replace a heating programmer near Blackpool£117
Replace a heating programmer near Bolton£120
Replace a heating programmer near Bournemouth£124
Replace a heating programmer near Bracknell Forest£137
Replace a heating programmer near Bradford£117
Replace a heating programmer near Braintree£126
Replace a heating programmer near Breckland£116
Replace a heating programmer near Bridgend£116
Replace a heating programmer near Brighton£128
Replace a heating programmer near Bristol£119
Replace a heating programmer near Broadland£124
Replace a heating programmer near Broxtowe£119
Replace a heating programmer near Bury£120
Replace a heating programmer near Caerphilly£114
Replace a heating programmer near Calderdale£116
Replace a heating programmer near Cambridge£126
Replace a heating programmer near Canterbury£125
Replace a heating programmer near Cardiff£115
Replace a heating programmer near Carmarthenshire£108
Replace a heating programmer near Charnwood£120
Replace a heating programmer near Chelmsford£126
Replace a heating programmer near Cheltenham£124
Replace a heating programmer near Cherwell£127
Replace a heating programmer near Chester£119
Replace a heating programmer near Colchester£125
Replace a heating programmer near Conway£112
Replace a heating programmer near Coventry£120
Replace a heating programmer near Crewe & Nantwich£118
Replace a heating programmer near Dacorum£133
Replace a heating programmer near Derby£118
Replace a heating programmer near Doncaster£118
Replace a heating programmer near Dover£125
Replace a heating programmer near Dudley£121
Replace a heating programmer near Dumfries & Galloway£115
Replace a heating programmer near Dundee£121
Replace a heating programmer near East Ayrshire£117
Replace a heating programmer near East Devon£115
Replace a heating programmer near East Dunbartonshire£122
Replace a heating programmer near East Hampshire£125
Replace a heating programmer near East Hertfordshire£130
Replace a heating programmer near East Lindsey£114
Replace a heating programmer near East Riding£115
Replace a heating programmer near Eastleigh£125
Replace a heating programmer near Edinburgh£122
Replace a heating programmer near Elmbridge£138
Replace a heating programmer near Epping Forest£136
Replace a heating programmer near Erewash£119
Replace a heating programmer near Exeter£117
Replace a heating programmer near Falkirk£122
Replace a heating programmer near Fife£120
Replace a heating programmer near Flintshire£117
Replace a heating programmer near Gateshead£122
Replace a heating programmer near Gedling£119
Replace a heating programmer near Glasgow£122
Replace a heating programmer near Gloucester£146
Replace a heating programmer near Guildford£136
Replace a heating programmer near Gwynedd£109
Replace a heating programmer near Halton£120
Replace a heating programmer near Harrogate£116
Replace a heating programmer near Havant & Waterloo£123
Replace a heating programmer near Highland£120
Replace a heating programmer near Horsham£133
Replace a heating programmer near Huntingdonshire£123
Replace a heating programmer near Ipswich£145
Replace a heating programmer near Isle of Wight£122
Replace a heating programmer near Kings Lynn & West Norfolk£119
Replace a heating programmer near Kingston-upon-Hull£115
Replace a heating programmer near Kirklees£117
Replace a heating programmer near Knowsley£120
Replace a heating programmer near Lancaster£118
Replace a heating programmer near Leeds£117
Replace a heating programmer near Leicester£120
Replace a heating programmer near Lisburn£113
Replace a heating programmer near Liverpool£120
Replace a heating programmer near London£137
Replace a heating programmer near Luton£132
Replace a heating programmer near Macclesfield£118
Replace a heating programmer near Maidstone£126
Replace a heating programmer near Manchester£120
Replace a heating programmer near Mid Bedfordshire£130
Replace a heating programmer near Mid Sussex£132
Replace a heating programmer near Middlesbrough£120
Replace a heating programmer near Milton Keynes£130
Replace a heating programmer near Neath Port Talbot£118
Replace a heating programmer near New Forest£124
Replace a heating programmer near Newbury£138
Replace a heating programmer near Newcastle-under-Lyme£117
Replace a heating programmer near Newcastle-upon-Tyne£122
Replace a heating programmer near Newport£115
Replace a heating programmer near North Ayrshire£118
Replace a heating programmer near North East Lincolnshire£116
Replace a heating programmer near North Hertfordshire£131
Replace a heating programmer near North Lanarkshire£122
Replace a heating programmer near North Lincolnshire£116
Replace a heating programmer near North Somerset£119
Replace a heating programmer near North Tyneside£122
Replace a heating programmer near North Wiltshire£129
Replace a heating programmer near Northampton£126
Replace a heating programmer near Norwich£123
Replace a heating programmer near Nottingham£119
Replace a heating programmer near Nuneaton & Bedworth£120
Replace a heating programmer near Oldham£119
Replace a heating programmer near Oxford£128
Replace a heating programmer near Pembrokeshire£107
Replace a heating programmer near Perth & Kinross£118
Replace a heating programmer near Peterborough£122
Replace a heating programmer near Plymouth£114
Replace a heating programmer near Poole£124
Replace a heating programmer near Portsmouth£123
Replace a heating programmer near Powys£124
Replace a heating programmer near Preston£117
Replace a heating programmer near Reading£138
Replace a heating programmer near Redcar & Cleveland£121
Replace a heating programmer near Reigate & Banstead£139
Replace a heating programmer near Renfrewshire£120
Replace a heating programmer near Rhondda, Cynon, Taff£116
Replace a heating programmer near Rochdale£119
Replace a heating programmer near Rochester-upon-Medway£125
Replace a heating programmer near Rotherham£117
Replace a heating programmer near Salford£120
Replace a heating programmer near Salisbury£124
Replace a heating programmer near Sandwell£121
Replace a heating programmer near Scarborough£117
Replace a heating programmer near Scottish Borders£126
Replace a heating programmer near Sefton£119
Replace a heating programmer near Sevenoaks£132
Replace a heating programmer near Sheffield£117
Replace a heating programmer near Slough£135
Replace a heating programmer near Solihull£120
Replace a heating programmer near South Ayrshire£118
Replace a heating programmer near South Bedfordshire£128
Replace a heating programmer near South Cambridgeshire£126
Replace a heating programmer near South Gloucestershire£120
Replace a heating programmer near South Kesteven£121
Replace a heating programmer near South Lanarkshire£119
Replace a heating programmer near South Oxfordshire£132
Replace a heating programmer near South Somerset£113
Replace a heating programmer near South Tyneside£122
Replace a heating programmer near Southampton£124
Replace a heating programmer near Southend-on-Sea£125
Replace a heating programmer near St Albans£134
Replace a heating programmer near St Helens£120
Replace a heating programmer near Stafford£119
Replace a heating programmer near Stockport£120
Replace a heating programmer near Stockton-on-Tees£120
Replace a heating programmer near Stoke-on-Trent£117
Replace a heating programmer near Stratford-on-Avon£124
Replace a heating programmer near Stroud£121
Replace a heating programmer near Suffolk Coastal£151
Replace a heating programmer near Sunderland£122
Replace a heating programmer near Swale£125
Replace a heating programmer near Swansea£115
Replace a heating programmer near Tameside£120
Replace a heating programmer near Teignbridge£118
Replace a heating programmer near Tendring£137
Replace a heating programmer near Test Valley£123
Replace a heating programmer near Thamesdown£128
Replace a heating programmer near Thanet£124
Replace a heating programmer near The Wrekin£121
Replace a heating programmer near Thurrock£128
Replace a heating programmer near Torbay£118
Replace a heating programmer near Trafford£121
Replace a heating programmer near Vale of Glamorgan£118
Replace a heating programmer near Vale of White Horse£126
Replace a heating programmer near Vale Royal£117
Replace a heating programmer near Wakefield£117
Replace a heating programmer near Walsall£120
Replace a heating programmer near Warrington£121
Replace a heating programmer near Warwick£121
Replace a heating programmer near Waveney£122
Replace a heating programmer near Waverley£134
Replace a heating programmer near Wealden£128
Replace a heating programmer near West Lancashire£120
Replace a heating programmer near West Lothian£125
Replace a heating programmer near West Wiltshire£129
Replace a heating programmer near Wigan£120
Replace a heating programmer near Windsor & Maidenhead£135
Replace a heating programmer near Wirral£119
Replace a heating programmer near Wokingham£138
Replace a heating programmer near Wolverhampton£121
Replace a heating programmer near Wrexham Maelor£121
Replace a heating programmer near Wychavon£122
Replace a heating programmer near Wycombe£137
Replace a heating programmer near York£116