How your local water system can trim your gas economy and injure your central heating
How your local water system can trim your gas economy and injure your central heating
Manufacturers have made multiple products and services that you can add to your gas central heating system to help it to perform efficiently for a longer period of time. Regardless, a central heating systems that’s given proper care will work for you smoothly. You must have heard those environmental and government agents asking us to switch off our Television, lights etc when not in use, the room thermostats and washing machine temperatures should also be turned down to cut energy use and carbon dioxide production. All these habits will result in lower household bills in addition to protecting the environment through energy saving. But what about getting your gas central heating system to work more efficiently? The build up of gunk and limescale deposits in your central heating system will cause it to run less efficiently.
To stop the build up of limescale and sludge in your system particularly in hard water areas, then you need to take a look at water treatment.
Water treatment is a term used to cover many different ways of looking after your system. A wide range of water treatment products including scale reducers and inhibitors, magnetic and electronic lime fighters, gunk removers, noise reducers and anti-freeze are available.
Living in the UK means that depending on whereabouts you are in the country, your water can range from hard to soft. If you find a build up of limescale in your kettle and on your shower head you probable live in a hard water area. These deposits decrease the efficiency of your system which in turn increases your household bills. The energy cost in a boiler cylinder with limescale lining can be 40 percent more than a clean boiler leading to more expensive gas bills. Limescale deposits are simply composed of calcium. Those who live in soft water areas need not take quite so many precautions but it is always wise to seek advice if you are unsure.
A majority of water treatment methods alter the molecular structure of water and the associated particles, and thereby changes the way water behaves. Some methods change one structure into another; a few others, remove the interfering structure; and the remaining, prevent the formation of limescale.
Chemical test kits are available that allow you to check the probability and speed of corrosion by gauging the levels of ph, chloride, iron and copper.
It is very important to make sure that your system is put in by someone who knows what they’re doing as they will be aware of things like not connecting aluminium to copper or brass, which can cause corrosion. The service technician fitting your gas connections should possess CORGI certification, this is now called Gas Safe and is a legal requirement.
If you plan ahead of time while having a new system assembled, you will be able to identify the water treatments you need and have some of them installed with your system. Before using a water treatment remedy on your present system, ensure that the entire heating system is completely flushed out.
The mains water supply provides water to the heating systems, one can fix various other systems with the mains supply in order to deal with the problem of hard water, however these systems that soften the water work only for your household, they don’t do much about the problems associated with the central heating system. You will be able to make lather with detergents and soaps more easily but your heating system will still have problems with efficiency.
Corrosion, limescale and biological growth are the three things that you should be looking to limit or stop from occurring.
Corrosion will begin as soon as the tank is filled with water. The residue from corrosive action causes clogging of the water flow and reduces uniform heat transfer through the radiators. Pinholes can appear in the radiators and if untreated the boiler can start making noises.
Hard water contains magnesium and calcium and these minerals deposit as limescale in the system. The deposits thicken when the water is heated, this leads to formation of a hard crust over a period which eventually blocks pipes etc. Again, the symptom of this can be a heating system that makes noise.
Biological growth inside the system is another hazard that must be prevented. This is usually introduced into the system through open tanks. Once in the system it breeds producing slime and gunk. This can also grow and cause blockages in the pipework thereby reducing the efficiency of the whole system.
Various forums and websites provide useful information on water treatment. Take some time to look through this. We recommend starting with the manufacturers themselves. Below is a list of manufacturers and some of the popular products they have available. You can also find a lot of really useful information and tips through forums as well as speaking to suppliers directly with any specific questions that you may have.
All the best with your treatment and let’s hope you can get your central heating systems working as efficiently as possible to save you some cash.
