Your boiler cost-efficiency is impacted by where you live
Your boiler cost-efficiency is impacted by where you live
There are countless products available in the market that you can add to your central heating system to ensure that it runs properly, and there are several other products that can do work for you even in standalone mode. The point being that if you look after your system it will look after you. Our Government and environmental activists have been telling us to switch off lights, turn TVs 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 environmentally conscious steps not only save the greenery on our planet, but also save the pound notes in our wallet. What is the best way to get your central heating system to work more economically? With the accumulation of the likes of limescale and gunk in your system will make it less efficient.
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 is a term used to cover many different ways of looking after your 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.
Your location in the UK caninfluence the extent of your water’s hardness or softness. 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 efficiency of your system which in turn increases your household bills. A tiny layer of scale inside the cylinder of your hot water can augment your fuel cost by up to 40%. These are basically calcium deposits solidifying from the water. Although those living in soft water areas will not have to take as many provisions, if you are unsure you should still get professional advice.
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.
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.
If you anticipate hard water problems, you can fit out your new central heating system with a suitable water treatment attachment. Before using a water treatment remedy on your present system, ensure that the entire heating system is completely flushed out.
Products added to the mains supply can soften hard water and improve the quality of water for domestic use, but they do not prevent or remedy deterioration of 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 start from the moment the system is set up and filled with water from the mains supply. The residue from corrosive action causes clogging of the water flow and reduces uniform heat transfer through the radiators. Pinholes can develop in the radiators which can make the boiler noisy when heating up.
In hard water areas the calcium and magnesium in the water causes limescale. When the water is heated, these minerals deposit, forming a hard crust that grows with time and blocks the pipes. This again can manifest itself with a noisy heating system.
Biological growth is another thing that should be avoided at all costs. The growth enters the system through open tanks in certain types of heating system. After entering into the system, they starts breeding and produce slime and sludge. This can also grow and cause blockages in the pipework thereby reducing the efficiency of the whole system.
Plenty of free help is available on the net. Take out time to go through a few pages of free advice. Kick-start with the manufacturers and their web sites. You can see below a list of some of the most popular products and their manufacturers. Blogs also offer ample source of free help and information or you can contact the companies with any questions.
All the best with your treatment and let’s hope you can get your central heating systems working as expeditiously as possible to save you some hard cash.