Where you stay can impinge upon your central heating system
Where you stay can impinge upon your central heating system
There are countless products available in the market that you can add to your heating system to ensure that it runs properly, and there are several other products that can do work for you even in standalone mode. Irregardless of which you choose, you should take proper care of your central heating system, only then can it perform efficiently. 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. All of these are effective ways of saving energy which will not only help environmentally but also reduce many household energy bills. Are you paying the same attention to your central heating system? The heating system is also prone to reduced efficiency caused by corrosion, limescale formation and gunk buildup.
It usually happens in areas where hard water is present, you can go for water treatment to avoid these deposits.
Water treatment refers to several aspects of taking care of your central heating system. A wide assortment of water treatment products is easily available like gunk remover, scale reducer, anti-freeze, magnetic scale fighter, noise reducer, electronic scale inhibitor, and the like.
Your location in the UK caninfluence the extent of your water’s hardness or softness. Hard water exposes you to limescale — your kettle, shower head and taps being the most probable areas where you first notice limescale masses. 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. These are basically calcium deposits solidifying from the water. Although those living in soft water areas will not have to take as many provisions, if you are unsure you should still get professional advice.
A majority of water treatment methods alter the molecular structure of water and the associated particles, and thereby changes the way water behaves. These products can neutralize limescale, loosen and remove hard deposits or even maintain the residual salts in suspension form to be flushed out periodically.
You can find out the ph and chloride, iron and copper levels with chemical test kits, which will allow you to measure the likely corrosion rate in your system.
Your system must be installed by a professional, never connect brass or copper to aluminum as this can lead to corrosion through the interaction of these metals. The gas connections should be made only by a trades person, who is Gas Safe registered (with CORGI).
Always plan before getting the new system installed; for instance, you should know what water treatment method should be used. If you are revamping the old system, you should rinse out the whole system before adding the water treatment method.
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. They will help make detergents and soaps lather more readily but do not help in the fight to get your heating system working efficiently.
Corrosion, limescale and biological growth are the three things that you should be looking to limit or stop from occurring.
From the very instant your heating system is in place corrosion can begin. Your radiators can suffer from cold spots caused by restricted circulation as a result of sludge created in the system by corrosion. 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.
Limescale results from the presence of calcium and magnesium in water, hard water regions have these elements more than the rest of the country. The deposits thicken when the water is heated, this leads to formation of a hard crust over a period which eventually blocks pipes etc. Limescale can again make the gas central heating system noisy.
Biological growth is another thing that should be avoided at all costs. The growth enters the system through open tanks in certain types of heating system. After entering into the system, they starts breeding and produce slime and sludge. In addition to the tank, they grow into the pipes and block them; thereby the efficiency of the system is further reduced.
There is a lot of free advice on the internet. Take out time to go through a few pages of free advice. It is recommended that you begin with the producers of the various systems. You can find a list manufacturers and the popular items they carry in this site. Forums and Blogs are another good source of free advice and wholesome information; you can also use these to directly get in touch with the suppliers.
In order to ensure that your gas central heating system works efficiently and your home bills are also cut, find out the best water treatment method and apply the recommended treatments every year.