You central heating may like you to live someplace else
You central heating 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. In either case, your system will be well-prepared to work efficiently if you take the time to maintain it. You must have heard those environmental and government agents asking us to switch off our Television, 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. By doing all this, you not only cut down on the electricity account, but also protect the environment. 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.
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. sludge extractors, limescale inhibitors, electronic and magnetic lime reducers, anti-freeze compounds and noise reducing agents are some of the extensive water treatment products sold in the market today.
If you are living in UK, you should first ascertain the hardness of the water you are getting. Hard water exposes you to limescale — your kettle, shower head and taps being the most probable areas where you first notice limescale masses. Any collection of limescale will make your system run less economically and therefore increase your heating bill. You may be surprised to hear that you bills can increase by as much as forty percent with just a thin layer of limescale in your hot water cylinder. Limescale deposits are simply composed of calcium. These problems are not seen in areas that get soft water, however in case of any doubt one should always seek advice.
The water treatment options work by changing water’s molecular structure, it changes the way water behaves. 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 different types of chemical test kits available that can help you to ascertain the corrosion potential of water by measuring the pH, chloride, iron and copper levels.
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. The service technician fitting your gas connections should possess CORGI certification, this is now called Gas Safe and is a legal requirement.
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. It would be a good idea to completely flush your whole system before adding any water treatments.
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. You will be able to make lather with detergents and soaps more easily but your heating system will still have problems with efficiency.
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 gunk created in the system by corrosion. Pinholes can also appear in the radiator and if the problem is not sorted out in good time your boiler could start to make noises.
In hard water areas the calcium and magnesium in the water causes limescale. Deposits of these minerals leave hard crusts in the system when the water is heated. This can also make the system noisy and inefficient, you will be paying for gas that does not heat your home.
Biological growth inside the system is another hazard that must be prevented. This is usually introduced into the system through open tanks. After the biological matter gets into the tank it begins to breed and produces sludge and slime. 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. These resources cover product details as well as user feedback. It is recommended that you begin with the producers of the various systems. 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.
In order to ensure that your 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.