Troubleshoot Boiler Temperature Sensors

Learn how to troubleshoot malfunctioning boiler temperature sensors, check live data in The Things Stack, and verify gateway connectivity via Remote.it.

July 24, 2026 By Csaba Jakab

This guide explains how to troubleshoot a malfunctioning temperature sensor on a boiler control panel using the Lighthouse IoT dashboard. By following these steps, you can identify whether a sensor is disconnected, misconfigured, or experiencing network gateway issues.

This procedure is designed for commissioning engineers and technical support teams. Use this workflow when a site reports heating irregularities or when dashboard graphs indicate a temperature sensor has stopped transmitting data.

Investigate Sensor Data in Lighthouse

Step #1: Click Dashboards in the left navigation menu. — Click **Dashboards** in the left navigation menu.

Click the search bar and type the brand or company name.

Step #3: Select the appropriate dashboard from the search results. — Select the appropriate dashboard from the search results.

Step #4: Click the target site in the site list to view its dashboard. — Click the target site in the site list to view its dashboard.

Step #5: Locate the Boiler - CH & DHW widget and double-click the line graph to enlarge the view. — Locate the **Boiler - CH & DHW** widget and double-click the line graph to enlarge the view.

Step #6: Enlarge the Boiler Controls menu by clicking the button on the dashboard — Enlarge the Boiler Controls menu by clicking the button on the dashboard

Step #7: Review the plotted temperature data for your room temperature sensors. — Review the plotted temperature data for your room temperature sensors.

Sensors typically track in tandem as the building warms and cools. If one sensor flatlines while the other fluctuates, it has likely stopped communicating (e.g., dead battery, physical damage). If both flatline, expect a broader network or gateway issue.

Verify Device Connectivity in The Things Stack (TTI)

If a sensor has stopped communicating, check its connection and attributes in The Things Stack.

Step #8: Navigate to The Things Stack (TTI) and open the boiler-control application. — Navigate to The Things Stack (TTI) and open the **boiler-control** application.

Step #9: Search for your site number in the End devices list. — Search for your site number in the **End devices** list.

Step #10: Click the disconnected temperature sensor (e.g., gk-6746-tempsensor-1) to view its details.You can also see the latest timestamp in the Last Activity column on the right.This should be within the last hour if everything is working as it should - red flag if its over 60 minutes. — Click the disconnected temperature sensor (e.g., `gk-6746-tempsensor-1`) to view its details.
You can also see the latest timestamp in the Last Activity column on the right.
This should be within the last hour if everything is working as it should - red flag if its over 60 minutes.

Step #11: Click the Live data tab to verify if the device is transmitting. — Click the **Live data** tab to verify if the device is transmitting.

Step #12: In the Live Data tab you won't always see a payload if it happened a while ago, but you'll see the latest 3's timestamps and status. — In the Live Data tab you won't always see a payload if it happened a while ago, but you'll see the latest 3's timestamps and status.

Step #13: If however you do see a recent payload with data, you can click into it and find the decoded_payload attribute.This will show a temperature and humidity pair. — If however you do see a recent payload with data, you can click into it and find the decoded_payload attribute.
This will show a temperature and humidity pair.

Sensors are typically configured to send data every 10, 20, or 60 minutes. An hourly configuration will often send six batches of data in a single transmission.

Step #14: Click Settings to check the device configuration. — Click **Settings** to check the device configuration.

Step #15: Scroll to the Attributes section and verify the linked-output-num value. — Scroll to the **Attributes** section and verify the `linked-output-num` value.

The linked-output-num links the sensor to the boiler control panel's central heating zone. Ensure the configured value correctly corresponds to the intended heating zone:

`linked-output-num` Value	Corresponding Heating Zone
2	Heating Zone 1
3	Heating Zone 2

Troubleshoot the Gateway via Remote.it

If multiple sensors drop off simultaneously, the LoRaWAN network or gateway is likely offline.

Step #16: Open Remote.it to search for the affected site. — Open Remote.it to search for the affected site.

Step #17: Click Devices in the left navigation sidebar. — Click **Devices** in the left navigation sidebar.

Step #18: Search for the site number to locate the connected network devices. — Search for the site number to locate the connected network devices.

Step #19: Click on the site's LoRaWAN gateway (e.g., gk-6746-lwgateway). — Click on the site's LoRaWAN gateway (e.g., `gk-6746-lwgateway`).

Once connected, you can SSH into the gateway to verify storage capacity or perform a reboot to resolve erratic connectivity.

Q: Why are the temperature lines on the dashboard flatlining?

A: A flatline indicates the sensor has stopped communicating. If one sensor flatlines, it may have lost power, disconnected, or lost configuration. If all sensors flatline simultaneously, there is likely a broader LoRaWAN network or gateway failure on site.

Q: How often should temperature sensors send data to the dashboard?

A: Temperature sensors are usually configured to transmit data every 10, 20, or 60 minutes. An hourly configuration typically sends a batch of six readings in one transmission.

Q: What causes a mismatch between the attribute output number and the heating zone number?

A: Boiler control panels use proprietary software configurations that must account for other functions, such as hot water controls and global boiler enablement. This shifts the input/output numbering so they do not map 1:1 with the heating zone numbers.

Term	Definition
Lighthouse	The central IoT platform and dashboard interface used to monitor site performance and device metrics.
The Things Stack (TTI)	An enterprise LoRaWAN network server used to manage connected end devices, check live data payloads, and configure sensor attributes.
LoRaWAN	A low-power, wide-area networking protocol used by the temperature sensors to communicate over long distances.
Remote.it	A network management tool used to remotely access and troubleshoot onsite hardware, such as network gateways.
SSH	Secure Shell, a network protocol used to securely log into the remote gateway to run commands, check storage, or execute reboots.

Troubleshoot Boiler Temperature Sensors

Learn how to troubleshoot malfunctioning boiler temperature sensors, check live data in The Things Stack, and verify gateway connectivity via Remote.it.

July 24, 2026 By Csaba Jakab

Investigate Sensor Data in Lighthouse

Click the search bar and type the brand or company name.

Verify Device Connectivity in The Things Stack (TTI)

If a sensor has stopped communicating, check its connection and attributes in The Things Stack.

Sensors are typically configured to send data every 10, 20, or 60 minutes. An hourly configuration will often send six batches of data in a single transmission.

The linked-output-num links the sensor to the boiler control panel's central heating zone. Ensure the configured value correctly corresponds to the intended heating zone:

`linked-output-num` Value	Corresponding Heating Zone
2	Heating Zone 1
3	Heating Zone 2

Troubleshoot the Gateway via Remote.it

If multiple sensors drop off simultaneously, the LoRaWAN network or gateway is likely offline.

Once connected, you can SSH into the gateway to verify storage capacity or perform a reboot to resolve erratic connectivity.

Q: Why are the temperature lines on the dashboard flatlining?

Q: How often should temperature sensors send data to the dashboard?

A: Temperature sensors are usually configured to transmit data every 10, 20, or 60 minutes. An hourly configuration typically sends a batch of six readings in one transmission.

Q: What causes a mismatch between the attribute output number and the heating zone number?

Term	Definition
Lighthouse	The central IoT platform and dashboard interface used to monitor site performance and device metrics.
The Things Stack (TTI)	An enterprise LoRaWAN network server used to manage connected end devices, check live data payloads, and configure sensor attributes.
LoRaWAN	A low-power, wide-area networking protocol used by the temperature sensors to communicate over long distances.
Remote.it	A network management tool used to remotely access and troubleshoot onsite hardware, such as network gateways.
SSH	Secure Shell, a network protocol used to securely log into the remote gateway to run commands, check storage, or execute reboots.