Affordable Heating Circulation Heating Engineers in Glasgow

A Heating Circulator Pump is the heart of the central heating system. Its job is to pump water around the entire central heating circuit, using an impeller, without the pump the heating cannot work. A good quality pump comes with a hydronic balancing function which keeps the home energy efficient.

Most important is to choose a pump with a flow rate suitable to your home (the number of radiators, how many rooms, floors, type and age of boiler). This will ensure that you get the maximum output from the central heating system. Check the size of the pipework where the pump is to be connected, most domestic systems are a standard pipework of 22mm. A handy feature to look out for is a fixed speed, this works with TRVs on the system, when they start closing from reaching temperature, the pump remains a fixed pressure avoiding noisy TRVs.

Heating Pipe connects the radiators together on a circuit also joining to and flowing through the boiler, usually relying on a pump to circulate the water through the entire system. Pipework can be a single pipe system or feed and return pipework. It can also be different sized from the various microbore sizes (6mm, 8mm, 10mm, 12mm) or standard 15mm.

Heating Pipes are available in 2x different material – copper (more robust but prone to more noise from the expansion and contraction) or plastic (cheaper to install). Decide on the size pipework with most common being 15mm diameter to ensure that flow with heat, will reach the furthest radiator on the system. Finally ensure all pipes vent to the radiators to avoid airlocks causing the system to shut down.

A radiator is a single or double panel conductor of heat made from metal. Radiators emit heat to a room via a boiler heating up water. The hot water or sometimes steam, travel through pipework to all of the radiators in the house, heating the exterior radiator fins over time. These fins in turn heat up the air in the room, resulting in a warm room.

The main priority in choosing a radiator needs to be whether the size and heat output will be suitable for the size of the room to provide warmth. Once you have worked this out (there are many handy calculators online to assist you with these workings), then next is to decide on which style radiator best suits your room. Radiators range from standard horizontal to vertical or column radiators and old school cast iron radiators as well as heated towel rails for bathrooms.

Underfloor Heating is available as electric coils or water with the same heating principle as a typical central heating system. Instead of radiators being heated by the water, it will be coils of the underfloor heating. As heat rises, this makes underfloor heating effective and a great choice to heat homes with minimal effort required from the boiler.

The installation costs involved with underfloor heating are higher than adding radiators to a room, which makes it best to incorporate on to a new build or when work is scheduled for the flooring. Electric underfloor heating has cheaper installation as easier to install the thinner wires than the thicker water pipes but the running costs are higher than a water / gas underfloor heating system. Take note of your flooring as different types of underfloor heating work best heating different surfaces.

Central heating filters contain a magnet which attracts the iron corrosive debris (also known as sludge) inside the central heating circuit. The magnet filter will catch the debris to stop it travelling through the system causing damage to boiler parts and blockages in pies and radiators. Filters are usually installed on the pipework near the boiler.

Filters are available in either plastic or brass – plastic being the cheaper option and brass being more reliable with less chance of any leaks as it does not expand and contract as much. Choose a filter that has an easy access to clean the magnet. Some magnets have access from below and some from above the filter – above, making it less likely for leaks when cleaning. Choose a filter with an option for both vertical or horizonal pipework, results in an easier installation.

Water Treatment is maintaining the water quality in the central heating system for optimal circulation which will enhance the life span of the boilers as well as keep energy costs as low as possible as the boiler won’t have to work overtime pushing sludge water through the system.

The Water Treatment needed depends on the purpose, if it is for a current circulation or noise issue within the central heating system or if it is just for regular maintaining of the system. Corrosive Inhibitors are great for yearly top up’s into the system for protecting the system, slowing down the speed it may corrode. Cleaning chemicals are used if there is blockage or cold spots of sludge debris in the system and for noise, once a system has been cleaned from debris, a Noise Silencer may quieten down a banging central heating system.

A Powerflush is a chemical clean of the water flowing through the radiators and pipework of the central heating system. A Powerflush consists of a machine fitted with a powerful pump, chemicals, agitating radiators (whether from the outside with a hammer head drill or mallet or from inside the pipes, forcing the flow of water in a back and forth motion or both methods combined), and a large powerful magnet filter to trap and contain iron oxide aka sludge / debris.

Choosing a Powerflusb service will depend on the expertise of the engineer. Always best to go with an engineer who has been referred. Preferably someone who does it more often than hiring machinery once in a while because although can be easy, when there is a challenging system you do want an experienced engineer to avoid leaks or blockages not being able to be cleared through the system.