HEAT & ENERGY BRIEFING
CASPIAN | FAN CONVECTOR Caspian® -
providing heating comfort for your built environment
Manufactured in the UK
Compatible with heat pumps
Five year warranty
quality parameters, agreement between the manufacturers is required. Cleaning and flushing are also critical. Sensitive equipment with small-bore pipework, valves or UV screens may need to be looped out during cleaning to prevent blockage or damage. Heat transfer surfaces should be checked for scale and debris, while representative water samples should be taken during the cleaning process.
Following disinfection and the final flush, bacteriological sampling is recommended where appropriate. Samples should not be taken immediately after disinfection, as this can produce misleading results; instead, sampling approximately one week afterwards provides a better indication of system water quality.
Treat water quality as a system component
Perhaps the most useful message for facilities managers and maintenance teams is that water quality should be treated in exactly the same way as any other component of a commercial hot water installation. It requires selection, commissioning, monitoring and maintenance. It is recommended that storage systems are inspected three months after initial use to assess scale deposits and, where fitted, the condition of sacrificial anodes. The findings should then be used to establish an appropriate maintenance regime, carried out at least annually. For circulating and instantaneous systems, checking the heat exchanger after three months can provide an early indication of scale. Comparing the temperature differential across the heat exchanger with the original commissioning figures, or measuring flow rate where possible, can highlight deterioration. A higher ∆T or reduced flow rate may indicate scale build-up. Monitoring should continue throughout the life of the system. Cold water supplies should be periodically sampled, treatment effectiveness assessed and heat transfer surfaces inspected where possible. Any fundamental change to the system should trigger further monitoring.
Record it, train for it and review it
Good water treatment is ultimately about competent people following a controlled process. Systems subject to water treatment should have a Water Treatment Log Book, either paper or electronic. This should contain asset and treatment information, details of competent personnel, commissioning cleaning records, sample results, maintenance procedures, specified chemicals, pass/failure criteria and inspection and laboratory reports. Operators also need appropriate training, tailored to the equipment and responsibilities involved.
For commercial heating engineers, the message is clear. Water treatment should not be
regarded as an optional extra or a remedial exercise when equipment starts to underperform. It is part of good engineering practice. By understanding the incoming water, assessing the system, following manufacturers’
requirements, commissioning correctly and maintaining an appropriate monitoring regime, commercial hot water systems can operate more reliably and efficiently, while reducing the risk of premature equipment failure. In a commercial hot water system, getting the chemistry right is fundamental to getting the engineering right.
The new ICOM guide ‘Water Quality Consideration of Domestic Hot Water Systems for Commercial Applications – Edition 2’ can be downloaded at:
https://www.icom.org.uk/ media/b52f8876ddd245a3d773bd364cd513a6/2026-Treatment-Conditioning-of-Commercial- Hot-Water-Systems-Guide26.pdf
Read the latest at:
www.bsee.co.uk Smiths EP hp BSEE
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FOR MORE INFORMATION
A single heating solution for a variety of applications - high, low or ceiling mounted installation
- Compatible with most types of wet central heating systems, functioning equally efficiently with conventional boilers, biomass technology or heat pumps
- EC only fans for improved efficiency
- Available with Smart control to further improve efficiency and flexibility, with remote monitoring and control via an app
- New 750mm version available
01245 324900 |
sales@smithsep.co.uk |
SmithsEP.co.uk
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04/08/2026 09:02 4/8/26 11:27 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER SEPTEMBER 2026 11
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