You central heating system may want you to live somewhere else
You central heating system may want you to live somewhere else
Nowadays a typical home is fitted with dozens of automatic appliances and systems to provide homeowners with a convenient life. Either way, a well looked after heating system will run more efficiently for you. It is now well known, thanks to advice given by governments and environmental organisations, that we should save energy wherever possible by turning off lights, washing clothes at lower temperatures, switching TVs off and turning down thermostats. These environmentally conscious steps not only save the greenery on our planet, but also save the pound notes in our wallet. 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.
The term water treatment encompasses many different remedies for the protection of your system. Many types of water treatment products such as scale reducers and inhibitors, magnetic and electronic anti-lime mechanisms, sludge destroyers, noise reducers and anti-freeze can be used for water treatment.
You can either get hard or soft water in UK, depending on the area you live in. 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. These deposits decrease the cost-efficiency of your system which in turn increases your household bills. A tiny layer of scale inside the cylinder of your hot water can augment your fuel cost by up to forty percent. Basically, limescale is just the build up of calcium deposits. 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.
There are chemical test kits which will measure the ph and chloride levels and also the iron and copper levels so that you can measure the probable corrosion potential and rate.
The first thing that you need to do is to determine whether your system has been installed by a competent person or not; if different metals like aluminum and copper or brass are connected together, corrosion will set in immediately. You must get your gas connections done by a person registered with CORGI as the law requires this.
If you anticipate hard water problems, you can fit out your new central heating system with a suitable water treatment attachment. If you are revamping the old system, you should rinse out the whole system before adding the water treatment method.
It is worth noting that mains water supplies heating systems, but that any system you use to soften water will not help with any central heating problems that you may be having. They do not alter the efficiency of your system, they only allow soaps and detergents to produce more lather when washing clothes.
Corrosion, limescale and biological growth are the three prominent things you need to stop.
From the very instant your heating system is in place corrosion can begin. Corrosion produces sludge and this prevents free circulation, this can eventually lead to formation of cold spots on radiators. Gradual pitting can perforate the metal piping, causing the boiler or radiators to rattle.
The calcium and magnesium present in hard water is responsible for limescale deposits. Deposits of these minerals leave hard crusts in the system when the water is heated. This again can manifest itself with a noisy heating system.
The next problem to deal with is the biological growth. This problem occurs when tanks are open as they are in certain types of central heating system. Once in the system it breeds producing slime and gunk. This sludge stagnates in the plumbing and slows down the flow of hot water.
Various forums and websites provide useful information on water treatment. Take some time to look through this. I would start with the manufacturers themselves. Browse through some of the reputed water treatment companies and their acclaimed products on this page. Besides inquiring for information with company sources, you should also read opinions on specialised blogs.
All the best with your water treatment, let energy conserving central heating and hot water with lower home bills rule.