How your topical water supply can contract your energy economy and damage your central heating boiler
How your topical water supply can contract your energy economy and damage your central heating boiler
Manufacturers have made multiple products and services that you can add to your central heating system to help it to perform efficiently for a longer period of time. Any household system, be it a refrigerator or television set or electrical wiring, will function better and more economically if it is well serviced. Environmental agencies and local authorities constantly advise us to economise our carbon footprint by switching off unneeded lights and electric devices and by setting our thermostats at lower temperatures. All the above enlisted ways effectively save energy, protect the environment and bring down the electricity bill. So how to make your central heating system run efficiently and reduce carbon dioxide? Your gas central heating’s efficacy decreases when limescale deposits and gunk accumulate in it.
To prevent a mass of sludge and limescale from building up in your system, especially where the water is hard, you must try 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, sludge 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 spot limescale formation inside your kettle or bath taps, there is probably hard water running in your taps. Limescale reduces efficiency and adds to heating bills. Your fuel bills can increase by forty percent even with small deposits of limescale in your cylinder. Basically, limescale is just the build up of calcium deposits. 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.
The way that most water treatments work is by changing the molecular structure of the water’s particles which, in turn alters the way it behaves. Some will change one structure for another, others remove the offending structure and another will stop them from being able to make a solid leaving them in suspension.
There are different types of chemical test kits available that can help you to ascertain the corrosion potential of water by measuring the pH, chloride, iron and copper levels.
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. The gas connections should be made only by a trades person, who is Gas Safe registered (with CORGI).
It is a good idea to plan ahead, if you are having a new system installed, think which water treatment you will require as some can be fitted to your 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 take water from the mains water supply and there are various systems that you can attach to your mains supply to deal with hard water problems, however, it is worth noting that systems that are put in to soften water in your home are only for household use and will do nothing for your central heating system problems. They do not alter the efficiency of your system, they only allow soaps and detergents to produce more lather when washing clothes.
With regards to heating systems, you have to prevent three important things viz,limescale, corrosion and biological growth.
From the very instant your heating system is in place corrosion can begin. One of the symptoms of corrosion is cold spots in your radiators because gunk in the system prevents the water circulating properly. Gradual pitting can perforate the metal piping, causing the boiler or radiators to rattle.
In hard water areas the calcium and magnesium in the water causes limescale. Deposits of these minerals leave hard crusts in the system when the water is heated. Limescale can again make the gas central heating system noisy.
Biological growth is another thing that should be avoided at all costs. They gets into the heating system through open tanks. After entering into the system, they starts breeding and produce slime and sludge. This gunk stagnates in the plumbing and slows down the flow of hot water.
Various forums and websites provide useful information on water treatment. These resources cover product details as well as user feedback. We recommend starting with the manufacturers themselves. You can find a list manufacturers and the popular items they carry in this site. Blogs also offer ample source of free help and information or you can contact the companies with any questions.
Good luck with your water treatment heres to energy cost-efficient central heating and hot water with lower household bills of course.