You central heating boiler may like you to live someplace else
You central heating boiler may like you to live someplace else
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 central heating system, only then can it perform efficiently. 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. All of these are effective ways of saving energy which will not only help environmentally but also reduce many household energy bills. So how to make your central heating system run efficiently and reduce carbon dioxide? Your gas central heating’s efficacy decreases when limescale deposits and gunk accumulate in it.
It usually happens in areas where hard water is present, you can go for water treatment to avoid these deposits.
Water treatment looks after your system in more than one way. Magnetic/electronic lime fighters, scale reducers/inhibitors, sludge reducers, noise reducers and anti-freeze are examples of the type of water treatment products that are available to you.
You can either get hard or soft water in UK, depending on the area you live in. If you find a build up of limescale in your kettle and on your shower head you probable live in a hard water area. Central Heating bills grow as a result of efficiency reduction caused by limescale. Your fuel bills can increase by 40% even with small deposits of limescale in your cylinder. Limescale deposits are simply composed of calcium. Those who live in soft water areas need not take quite so many precautions but it is always wise to seek advice if you are unsure.
Water treatment products act by modifying the water borne salts and preventing harmful reactions. It can do this in different ways for example, by changing one structure for another, by taking away a structure or by inhibiting the structure from becoming solid.
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.
First, you must ensure that your system has been installed by a competent person just knowing that you must never directly connect aluminium to copper or brass because simply by connecting different metals can start a reaction which causes corrosion. All gas connections must be made by a CORGI registered tradesperson.
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.
Heating systems take water from the mains water supply and there are various systems that you can attach to your mains supply to deal with hard water problems, however, it is worth noting that systems that are put in to soften water in your home are only for household use and will do nothing for your central heating system problems. These solutions can make detergent and soaps to lather effortlessly, but they will not be able to help the heating system to work efficiently.
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. Your radiators can suffer from cold spots caused by restricted circulation as a result of sludge created in the system by corrosion. It can cause pinholes in the radiators and if left can cause the boiler to become noisy.
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 gas central heating system noisy.
Fungal and bacterial growth is another menace to vented heating systems. They gets into the heating system through open tanks. The biological growth advances rapidly in the form of a slimy lining. In addition to the tank, they grow into the pipes and block them; thereby the efficiency of the system is further reduced.
A lot of free advice is available on the internet on how to get rid of biological growth. Please spare some time and go through this or read the other informative articles in this website. It is recommended that you begin with the producers of the various systems. Some well known manufacturers and their popular products are listed in this site, such as Sentinel or Fernox. 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.
So wish you all the best for your water treatment, make sure you chose the one that is effective and at the same time shrinks your household costs by helping you maintain an efficient central heating system.