Lower your energy accounts with softer water supply for your heating boiler
Lower your energy accounts with softer water supply for your heating boiler
Nowadays a typical home is fitted with dozens of automatic appliances and systems to provide householders with a convenient life. The point being that if you look after your system it will look after you. You must have heard those environmental and government agents asking us to switch off our TV, 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. By doing all this, you not only cut down on the electricity bill, but also protect the environment. But how about making your central heating system operate more effectively? The accumulation of sludge and limescale deposits in your central heating system will reduce its efficiency.
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 refers to several aspects of taking care of your central heating system. Magnetic/electronic lime fighters, scale reducers/inhibitors, sludge reducers, noise reducers and anti-freeze are examples of the type of water treatment products that are available to you.
The UK has water types ranging from hard to soft based on the region where you live. Living in a hard water area means that you are prone to limescale your kettle probably being the first place that you will notice limescale deposits as well as on your showerhead and taps. Limescale not only reduces the efficiency of your system, but also increases your heating bills. A tiny layer of scale inside the cylinder of your hot water can augment your fuel cost by up to 40%. Limescale is nothing, but calcium deposits in your central heating system. Soft water which contains less calcium salts is less prone to this scale formation, however it is advisable to test the water and take precautions.
Water treatment products act by modifying the water borne salts and preventing harmful reactions. These products can neutralize limescale, loosen and remove hard deposits or even maintain the residual salts in suspension form to be flushed out periodically.
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.
Remember that when two different metals are connected (for example- aluminium and brass), an anode and cathode polarity is created thus starting the process of corrosion; this is something that a competent technician should watch out for when installing your system. Every gas connection should be carried out by a CORGI, Gas Safe, registered professional.
Don’t rush in to making a decision, always carefully consider what type of water treatment you need with your particular system. If you are updating your existing system you would be looking at flushing the whole system before adding any water treatment solutions.
Heating systems get their supply of water from the main water source of your household and many mechanisms can be connected to the main source to solve water issues, yet, you should keep in mind that water softening systems installed for your home are only meant to serve your household needs and will not help with the hard water problem affecting your central heating system. These water softening chemicals can produce better lather and are good for your skin, but they cannot reverse the choking and pitting inside the heating system.
With regards to heating systems, you have to prevent three important things viz,limescale, corrosion and biological growth.
Corrosion will begin as soon as the tank is filled with water. One of the symptoms of corrosion is cold spots in your radiators because sludge in the system prevents the water circulating properly. Pinholes can also appear in the radiator and if the problem is not sorted out in good time your boiler could start to make noises.
Hard water contains magnesium and calcium and these minerals deposit as limescale in the system. Heat causes these minerals to precipitate and gradually encrust the inner lining of pipes, leading to obstruction. Again, the symptom of this can be a heating system that makes noise.
Fungal and bacterial growth is another menace to vented heating systems. This problem occurs when tanks are open as they are in certain types of central heating system. The biological growth advances rapidly in the form of a slimy lining. This can also grow and cause blockages in the pipework thereby reducing the efficiency of the whole system.
You can find a lot of information and advice on how to deal with these problems on the internet and in this site. Take a look at this for a few minutes to improve your awareness. Producers of water treatment products provide detailed data and user references on their websites. Some well known manufacturers and their popular products are listed in this site, such as Sentinel or Fernox. Blogs are another great source of free advice and information or contact a supplier with any queries that you may have.
In order to ensure that your gas central heating system works efficiently and your household bills are also cut, find out the best water treatment method and apply the recommended treatments annually.