Feature
The effects of not treating water
Prevention is better than cure
On the back of last month’s HVAC section, Russ Walliss, Service Manager for Hamworthy Heating, argues that water treatment
should be commonplace in maintaining any heating system. To meet the Government’s target of an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, and the increased demand for retrofit faced by the industry – namely 24 million buildings that are expected to be in use by 2050 – it is no surprise we are consistently seeing modern condensing or high efficiency boilers installed on older heating systems. With that in mind, considerations need to be taken into account when embarking on the refurbishment of plant rooms and heating systems, particularly the quality of the water within the system. This is not limited to old systems and water treatment should become a habitual part of any heating and hot water project.
issue, only to discover that there has been no water treatment or measures put in place to protect the system. We recommend that water treatment and subsequent analysis is carried out on every system prior to installation and regularly thereafter, as any debris in the system could end up counteracting the increased efficiency of the newly installed equipment. Regular analysis will also help identify if system treatment has been diluted by auto-system make-up, where a leak may have gone unnoticed. Plus, preventative measures are much less costly than rectifying a system that has failed as a result of poor water quality.
All too often, we visit a site for commissioning or to investigate an
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Safeguard investment Boilers can count towards a significant
proportion of the capital investment of a project and the debris and oxides found in old heating systems can have serious adverse effects on new products. When metals meet with the oxides found in certain waters, they cause a chemical reaction that can result in corrosion – the pH level of the water and the material used in the manufacture of the heat exchanger dictates the rate at which this corrosion will occur. A build up of sludge (from corrosion) and hydrogen gases can also take place in the heating system itself, such as in the radiators which, if left to accumulate, will increase system resistance and impact the flow of water, raise the noise level of the heating system and even result in burst radiators causing damage to the building.
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