What can you insert in your water system to help your central heating system

Manufacturers have made multiple products and services that you can add to your gas central heating system to help it to perform efficiently for a longer period of time. Any household system, be it a refrigerator or television set or electrical wiring, will function better and more economically if it is well serviced. 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. By doing all this, you not only cut down on the electricity bill, but also protect the environment. 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.

If you live in a region where hard water is being supplied, then you should look for water treatment methods to prevent gunk and limescale from damaging your central heating system.

The term ‘water treatment’ is one that is used to describe various methods of taking care of your system. A wide range of water treatment products including scale reducers and inhibitors, magnetic and electronic lime fighters, sludge removers, noise reducers and anti-freeze are available.

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 cost-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 gas bills. Basically, limescale is just the build up of calcium deposits. Soft water which contains less calcium salts is less prone to this scale formation, however it is advisable to test the water and take precautions.

The way that most water treatments work is by changing the molecular structure of the water’s particles which, in turn alters the way it behaves. Some methods change one structure into another; a few others, remove the interfering structure; and the remaining, prevent the formation of limescale.

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. The gas connections should be made only by a trades person, who is Gas Safe registered (with CORGI).

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. If you are updating your existing system you would be looking at flushing the whole system before adding any water treatment solutions.

Heating systems get their supply of water from the main water source of your household and many mechanisms can be connected to the main source to solve water issues, yet, you should keep in mind that water softening systems installed for your home are only meant to serve your household needs and will not help with the hard water problem affecting your central heating system. They do not alter the efficiency of your system, they only allow soaps and detergents to produce more lather when washing clothes.

With regards to heating systems, you have to prevent three important things viz,limescale, corrosion and biological growth.

The first problem that you may have to face is corrosion, it can start as soon as the system is installed and filled with water. Corrosion produces sludge and this prevents free circulation, this can eventually lead to formation of cold spots on radiators. Pinholes can appear in the radiators and if untreated the boiler can start making noises.

Limescale is caused by calcium and magnesium which is present in the water hard water areas having far more of these minerals than other parts of the country. The deposits thicken when the water is heated, this leads to formation of a hard crust over a period which eventually blocks pipes etc. Again, the symptom of this can be a heating system that makes noise.

Biological growth in the system is another one to avoid. They gets into the heating system through open tanks. After entering into the system, they starts breeding and produce slime and gunk. This can also grow and cause blockages in the pipework thereby reducing the efficiency of the whole system.

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. Lets first have a look at the manufacturers. You can find a list manufacturers and the popular items they carry in this site. 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.

Now you should be able to choose and install an effective central heating system which is enjoyable, healthy and economical on both kinds of green!.

Posted in Heating