Radio Teleswitch Shutdown: Why Your Storage Heaters Have Stopped Working
If your storage heaters stopped warming up overnight in late June or early July 2026, you are not alone. Thousands of properties across Greater Manchester — particularly sheltered accommodation, retirement housing and older residential blocks — have been affected by the shutdown of the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS) on 30 June 2026.
This is not a fault with your heaters. It is not a power cut. The national radio signal that told your heating system when to switch on and off has been permanently turned off — and without a replacement, your storage heaters will never charge overnight again.
This guide explains what has happened, why it affects your building, and what you need to do to restore heating for your residents.
Quick answer: The BBC longwave radio signal that switched storage heaters onto the cheap overnight tariff was permanently turned off on 30 June 2026. Any property still using a radio teleswitch — including most NORWEB-era installations across Greater Manchester — now needs the teleswitch replaced with a programmable time clock. The fix costs £150–£300 per flat (or £300–£800 for a communal system), takes 1–2 hours, and restores overnight charging the same day.
What Was the Radio Teleswitch Service?
The Radio Teleswitch Service was a BBC Radio 4 longwave signal that remotely controlled when off-peak electricity meters and storage heaters switched between peak and off-peak tariffs. Installed from the 1980s onwards, teleswitches were fitted in millions of UK properties to automate the changeover to cheap overnight electricity — typically Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariffs.
The teleswitch received a radio signal broadcast from the Droitwich transmitter. At the designated time each evening (usually around 11:00 PM or midnight), the signal told the teleswitch to activate the off-peak circuit. This switched on storage heaters, immersion heaters and other high-consumption appliances during the cheap overnight rate. In the morning, the signal switched the circuit back to peak rate.
For decades, this worked invisibly. Property managers and residents never needed to think about it — the heating simply charged overnight and released warmth during the day.
In the North West, most of this equipment was installed under NORWEB — the North Western Electricity Board — during the 1980s and 1990s. Many properties across Greater Manchester, particularly sheltered accommodation schemes in Tameside, Oldham, Salford, Stockport and Rochdale, still have the original NORWEB-era teleswitch on the meter board today. If your meter cupboard contains an old grey or cream box marked "Radio Teleswitch", NORWEB, Landis & Gyr or Sangamo, your building is affected.
What Happened on 30 June 2026
How the teleswitch chain worked — and where it now fails
The Radio Teleswitch Service was permanently decommissioned on 30 June 2026. The BBC Radio 4 longwave signal that carried the switching commands was turned off as part of the planned closure of the service, which had been announced several years earlier.
From 1 July 2026, teleswitches no longer receive any signal. Without that signal, they cannot switch circuits between peak and off-peak. The result is immediate and serious:
Storage heaters do not charge overnight. The off-peak circuit never activates, so heaters receive no power during the cheap overnight period. They remain cold.
Immersion heaters do not heat water overnight. Properties relying on off-peak immersion heating have no hot water in the morning.
Electricity billing may be affected. Without proper switching, consumption may be recorded entirely at the peak rate, significantly increasing costs even if residents find workarounds.
Who Is Affected?
The properties most affected are those that were fitted with teleswitch-controlled heating systems in the 1980s and 1990s and have never been upgraded. In Greater Manchester, this particularly includes:
Sheltered accommodation and retirement housing — A large proportion of sheltered housing schemes built or refurbished in the 1980s and 1990s used storage heaters with teleswitch control. Many housing associations and local authorities installed these systems across their sheltered stock as a cost-effective heating solution for older residents.
Council-built residential blocks — Many local authority properties across Manchester, Salford, Tameside, Oldham and Rochdale were fitted with storage heater systems controlled by teleswitches.
Warden-controlled flats — Properties with communal heating controls managed by a single teleswitch serving multiple dwellings.
Older private housing — Some private properties on Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariffs still have original teleswitch installations from the 1980s.
Why This Is Urgent for Sheltered Housing
For sheltered accommodation managers, this is not simply an inconvenience — it is a safeguarding issue. The residents most affected by the teleswitch shutdown are often:
- Elderly and vulnerable to cold
- Less likely to understand why their heating has stopped
- Unable to manage manual workarounds
- At risk of health complications from cold living conditions
- Dependent on the building management to resolve the issue
Housing associations, local authorities and property managers have a duty of care to ensure residents have adequate heating. The teleswitch shutdown does not remove this obligation — it creates an urgent requirement to install replacement controls.
The Solution: Replacing Teleswitches with Time Clocks
The redundant teleswitch is swapped for a programmable time clock in 1–2 hours
The fix is straightforward. The teleswitch — which relied on an external radio signal — is replaced with an autonomous time clock that switches circuits based on a pre-programmed schedule. No external signal is needed. The time clock operates independently and reliably.
How Time Clock Replacement Works
A qualified electrician removes the old teleswitch unit and installs a programmable time clock in its place. The time clock is set to activate the off-peak circuit at the same times the teleswitch previously did — typically switching to off-peak at 11:00 PM or midnight and back to peak at 7:00 AM.
The work is relatively simple for an experienced electrician:
- Duration: 1 to 2 hours per property (individual units); half a day for communal systems
- Disruption: Minimal — brief power interruption during changeover
- Testing: Full functional test to confirm heaters charge correctly overnight
- Certification: Minor electrical works certificate issued on completion
What Gets Installed
The replacement time clock is a DIN-rail mounted programmable switch, typically installed within the existing consumer unit or distribution board. Modern time clocks offer:
- 7-day programming with different schedules for weekdays and weekends
- Battery backup to maintain the clock during power cuts
- Multiple switching events per day (useful for Economy 10 tariffs with afternoon boost periods)
- Easy adjustment for BST/GMT changeover
- No reliance on any external signal or network connection
Communal Systems
In sheltered accommodation where a single teleswitch controls the off-peak switching for multiple flats, the replacement is installed at the communal distribution point. One time clock can serve the entire block, maintaining the same centralised control that the teleswitch provided.
For larger schemes with multiple distribution boards or phased supplies, multiple time clocks may be needed — but the principle is the same.
Cost of Teleswitch Replacement
The cost of replacing a teleswitch with a time clock is modest relative to the consequence of leaving residents without heating:
Individual property: £150 to £300 per unit (including time clock, installation, testing and certification)
Communal system (sheltered block): £300 to £800 depending on the complexity of the existing installation and the number of circuits controlled
Large sheltered scheme (multiple blocks): Volume pricing typically available — contact us for a tailored quotation
These costs are significantly lower than emergency heating solutions, temporary heaters, or the reputational and legal consequences of leaving vulnerable residents without adequate heating.
What You Should Do Now
If you manage sheltered accommodation, retirement housing or any property with storage heaters that have stopped working since late June 2026:
1. Confirm the cause. Check whether the property has a teleswitch installed. It is typically a small grey or cream box mounted near the consumer unit or electricity meter, often labelled "Radio Teleswitch" or bearing the manufacturer name (commonly Landis & Gyr or Sangamo).
2. Contact your electrician immediately. The longer you wait, the larger the backlog of affected properties grows. Electricians experienced with teleswitch replacements are already seeing high demand across Manchester.
3. Communicate with residents. Explain that the issue is known, that it affects many buildings nationally, and that a fix is being arranged. Provide temporary heating guidance if needed.
4. Arrange replacement. Book the time clock installation as soon as possible. For sheltered schemes, a single visit can often resolve the entire block.
5. Test and verify. After installation, confirm that storage heaters charge overnight and that the time clock schedule matches the off-peak tariff times with your electricity supplier.
Manchester Compliance Can Help
We are carrying out teleswitch replacement work across Greater Manchester for housing associations, sheltered housing providers, local authorities and private landlords. Our electricians are experienced with these systems and can typically attend within the same week.
Call 0161 706 1360 to arrange your teleswitch replacement, or email hello@manchestercompliance.co.uk. Emergency appointments available for vulnerable residents without heating.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why have my storage heaters stopped working since the end of June 2026?
The Radio Teleswitch Service — the BBC longwave signal that told your off-peak circuit when to switch on — was permanently shut down on 30 June 2026. Without the signal, the teleswitch in your building can no longer activate the overnight circuit, so storage heaters receive no power and stay cold. The heaters themselves are not broken.
What is a radio teleswitch and how do I know if my building has one?
A radio teleswitch is a small grey or cream box mounted near the electricity meter, installed mainly in the 1980s and 1990s (under NORWEB in the North West). It may be labelled "Radio Teleswitch", RTS, Landis & Gyr, Sangamo or Horstmann. If your property is on an Economy 7 or Economy 10 tariff with storage heaters and was never upgraded to a smart meter, it very likely has one.
What is the fix and how much does it cost?
The teleswitch is replaced with a programmable time clock that switches the off-peak circuit on a fixed schedule — no radio signal needed. A qualified electrician completes the swap in 1 to 2 hours. Typical costs in Greater Manchester are £150 to £300 for an individual flat and £300 to £800 for a communal system serving a whole block.
Do I need to replace the storage heaters as well?
No. The storage heaters are almost always fine — they simply are not receiving power. Once a time clock is fitted and programmed with the correct off-peak times, the existing heaters charge overnight exactly as they did before.
Who is responsible for fixing it in rented or sheltered housing?
The landlord, housing association or building owner. Heating installations must be kept in proper working order under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and the teleswitch shutdown does not remove that obligation — it makes the repair urgent.
Can the teleswitch just be bypassed instead?
No. Bypassing the switching equipment leaves heaters either permanently on (running up peak-rate bills) or permanently off, and DIY interference with meter-board equipment is dangerous and may breach your supply agreement. A programmable time clock fitted by a qualified electrician is the safe, permanent fix.