Processing the area water system to help your central heating

Manufacturers have made multiple products and services that you can add to your central heating system to help it to perform efficiently for a longer period of time. Irregardless of which you choose, you should take proper care of your heating system, only then can it perform efficiently. The Government and environmental agencies repeatedly tell us about the ways to conserve energy like switching off the lights and appliances when not in use, re-adjusting the temperature of the room and washing machine according to the needs, and not leaving any electrical device in the standby mode. 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 sludge accumulate in it.

Whether your water is hard or soft can play a crucial role in the life of your central heating system and water treatment can help here – to extend the healthy working of your system with products such as Fernox.

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. Limescale not only reduces the efficiency of your system, but also increases your heating bills. 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. These are basically calcium deposits solidifying from the water. 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.

A majority of water treatment methods alter the molecular structure of water and the associated particles, and thereby changes the way water behaves. These products can neutralize limescale, loosen and remove hard deposits or even maintain the residual salts in suspension form to be flushed out periodically.

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.

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.

You should decide about the water treatment well in advance, especially when you are installing a new heating system. If you are revamping the old system, you should rinse out the whole system before adding the water treatment method.

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.

The three main things that you need to prevent are corrosion, limescale and biological growth.

Corrosion can begin immediately after the water starts to fill up the system from the main source after installation. The residue from corrosive action causes clogging of the water flow and reduces uniform heat transfer through the radiators. 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.

Limescale results from the presence of calcium and magnesium in water, hard water regions have these elements more than the rest of the country. The high temperature of the water causes these elements to become hard and crusty, leaving deposits behind that clog pipes etc. Limescale can again make the gas central heating system noisy.

You should also be wary of biological growth. Minute organisms can enter through the vents and storage tanks of the boiler. Once in the system it breeds producing slime and sludge. This gunk stagnates in the plumbing and slows down the flow of hot water.

You can find a lot of information and advice on how to deal with these problems on the internet and in this site. These resources cover product details as well as user feedback. We recommend starting with the manufacturers themselves. This site contains a list of manufacturers, and the products that they produce and sell to help maintain your central heating. 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.

Posted in Safety