Live in a soft water supply region and get smaller gas charges
Live in a soft water supply region and get smaller gas charges
Nowadays a typical household is fitted with dozens of automatic appliances and systems to provide householders with a convenient life. Either way, a well looked after heating system will run more efficiently for you. Our Government and environmental activists have been telling us to switch off lights, turn televisions completely off instead of leaving them on standby, and lower the temperature of our washing machines as well us the thermostats of our rooms. These energy saving tips are not only good for the environment, but also great for keeping your bills down at times of high energy costs. But what about getting your central heating system to work more efficiently? The build up of gunk and limescale deposits in your central heating system will cause it to run less efficiently.
If you live in a region where hard water is being supplied, then you should look for water treatment methods to prevent sludge and limescale from damaging your central heating system.
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.
You can either get hard or soft water in UK, depending on the area you live in. If you are living in hard water region, then you will be more susceptible to limescale attacks; you can notice deposits in your kettle, tap and shower head. Heating bills grow as a result of efficiency reduction caused by limescale. The energy cost in a boiler cylinder with limescale lining can be 40 percent more than a clean boiler leading to more expensive gas bills. Basically, limescale is just the build up of calcium deposits. These problems are not seen in areas that get soft water, however in case of any doubt one should always seek advice.
Many water treatments produce the desired effect by changing how water molecules and the particles inside act through modifications of their structure. 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.
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.
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. By law, only CORGI registered tradespeople can deal with gas connections, this scheme is now known as Gas Safe.
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. Before using a water treatment remedy on your present system, ensure that the entire heating system is completely flushed out.
The mains water supply provides water to the heating systems, one can fix various other systems with the mains supply in order to deal with the problem of hard water, however these systems that soften the water work only for your household, they don’t do much about the problems associated with the central heating system. They will not have any effect on how efficiently your system works, but they will make detergents and soaps lather up more easily.
Corrosion, limescale and biological growth are the three prominent things you need to stop.
Right from the time the system is installed and commissioned, internal conditions can cause corrosion to set in. Corrosion causes sludge in the system which can restrict the circulation causing cold spots on your radiators. Pinholes can appear in the radiators and if untreated the boiler can start making noises.
In hard water areas the calcium and magnesium in the water causes limescale. The deposits thicken when the water is heated, this leads to formation of a hard crust over a period of time which eventually blocks pipes etc. This can also make the system noisy and uneconomical, you will be paying for energy that does not heat your home.
The next problem to deal with is the biological growth. This tends to get into the system by open tanks. After managing to enter the system, it spreads by creating slime and gunk. It can also cover the inside of the pipework resulting in clogs and negatively affecting the operation of the whole system.
A lot of free advice is available on the internet on how to get rid of biological growth. Take out time to go through a few pages of free advice. Lets first have a look at the manufacturers. You can see below a list of some of the most popular products and their manufacturers. You can also gain additional information and seek advice through different blogs or forums, some may be run by the manufacturers.
All the best with your treatment and let’s hope you can get your central heating systems working as efficiently as possible to save you some cash.