Your central heating boiler cost-efficiency is impacted by where you live
Your central heating boiler cost-efficiency is impacted by where you live
You can find a number of products that can be added to your central heating system to help it run smoother as well as some products that can take care of themselves. Either way, a well looked after central heating system will run more efficiently for 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. All of these are effective ways of saving energy which will not only help environmentally but also reduce many household energy bills. But what about getting your central heating system to work more efficiently? The build up of sludge and limescale deposits in your central heating system will cause it to run less efficiently.
To stop the build up of limescale and gunk in your system particularly in hard water areas, then you need to take a look at water treatment.
The lifeblood of your heating system is the water that runs through it – Water Treatment maintains that water at an optimal quality to prevent damage and breakdown of the heating 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.
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. Your fuel bills can increase by 40% even with small deposits of limescale in your cylinder. 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.
Many water treatments produce the desired effect by changing how water molecules and the particles inside act through modifications of their structure. These products can neutralize limescale, loosen and remove hard deposits or even maintain the residual salts in suspension form to be flushed out periodically.
The outlook for possible corrosion can be determined by monitoring pH and salt levels as well as ionic conditions, using standard chemical testing kits.
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. All gas connections must be made by a CORGI registered tradesperson.
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. However in case you are just updating your existing one, you can start with flushing the system and then think of any water treatment, there are chemicals you can add to your central heating system to reduce corrosion and sludge build up.
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 prominent things you need to stop.
The first problem that you may have to face is corrosion, it can start as soon as the system is installed and filled with water. Your radiators can suffer from cold spots caused by restricted circulation as a result of sludge created in the system by corrosion. 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. Once the water is heated it leaves deposits of these minerals which form a hard crust, building up over time and blocking pipes etc. Limescale can again make the central heating system noisy.
Biological growth in the system is another one to avoid. This is usually introduced into the system through open tanks. After entering into the system, they starts breeding and produce slime and gunk. If the growth occurs in pipework, it can decrease the efficacy of the entire system.
Plenty of free help is available on the internet. These resources cover product details as well as user feedback. Lets first have a look at the manufacturers. You can see below a list of some of the most popular products and their manufacturers. Besides inquiring for information with company sources, you should also read opinions on specialised blogs.
Good luck with your water treatment heres to energy efficient heating and hot water with lower household bills of course.