How your localised water can cut your gas efficiency and injure your central heating
How your localised water can cut your gas efficiency and injure your central heating
There are many optional products that are available to add to your heating system to keep it running on a regular basis, and there are others that you can install and let them do the work for you day by day. Irregardless of which you choose, you should take proper care of your heating system, only then can it perform efficiently. 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. But, how will you make sure that your central heating system works efficiently? As the layers of sludge and limescale starts piling up, the efficiency of the system starts dwindling increasing your energy costs.
You should be thinking about water treatment to stop this accumulation of sludge and limescale, especially if you live in a hard water area.
The term ‘water treatment’ is one that is used to describe various methods of taking care of your system. Many types of water treatment products such as scale reducers and inhibitors, magnetic and electronic anti-lime mechanisms, gunk destroyers, noise reducers and anti-freeze can be used for water treatment.
If you are living in UK, you should first ascertain the hardness of the water you are getting. 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 efficiency of your system which in turn increases your household bills. The energy cost in a boiler cylinder with limescale lining can be 40 percent more than a clean boiler leading to more expensive energy bills. Limescale deposits are simply composed of calcium. Soft water area residents should not worry too much, but it doesn’t hurt to ask for help if you are not so sure.
A majority of water treatment methods alter the molecular structure of water and the associated particles, and thereby changes the way water behaves. One way of modification is to convert a structure completely to another, another is to take out the mischievous component, and yet another way is to prevent the structure from becoming solid, thus leaving its normal process unrealized.
If you want to determine the corrosion rate inside your heating system, you can do so by using these chemical kits which measure the chloride, copper and iron levels and measure the pH.
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 service technician fitting your gas connections should possess CORGI certification, this is now called Gas Safe and is a legal requirement.
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 upgrading your current system, you must cleanse your whole system before any water treatment chemicals are added.
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 will not have any effect on how efficiently your system works, but they will make detergents and soaps lather up more easily.
The three main things that you need to prevent are corrosion, limescale and biological growth.
Right from the time the system is installed and commissioned, internal conditions can cause corrosion to set in. The residue from corrosive action causes clogging of the water flow and reduces uniform heat transfer through the radiators. Pinholes can develop in the radiators which can make the boiler noisy when heating up.
The calcium and magnesium present in hard water is responsible for limescale deposits. When the water is heated, these minerals deposit, forming a hard crust that grows with time and blocks the pipes. Limescale can again make the gas central heating system noisy.
You should also be wary of 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 sludge. It can also cover the inside of the pipework resulting in clogs and negatively affecting the operation of the whole system.
You can learn more about these problems on the internet. Take a look at this for a few minutes to improve your awareness. Kick-start with the manufacturers and their web sites. This site contains a list of manufacturers, and the products that they produce and sell to help maintain your central heating. Besides inquiring for information with company sources, you should also read opinions on specialised blogs.
In order to ensure that your gas central heating system works efficiently and your home bills are also reduced, find out the best water treatment method and apply the recommended treatments annually.