The importance of good system water quality

Air and dirt: the enemies of any HVAC system

When you tap system water from a plant, you can see and smell some of the dirt, but you're far from seeing everything. What dirt particles are in the pipes and what metals and microbiology? Spirotech believes it is important to make clear the importance of clean system water and what you can do to achieve this.

When you fill a system with water, you introduce gases into it. Small leaks and improper or faulty expansion systems can also allow air in. This causes the biggest problems within a heating system: poor flow, rust, corrosion, bacterial growth, a PH increase and other contaminants, resulting in malfunctions and less efficient operation. But blockages or leaks can also occur.

Simply venting the system once is not the solution. Air is often dissolved in the installation fluid or consists of micro-bubbles, so quick deaerators do not work well enough. Deaerators do get these small amounts of air out of the water; for low-temperature systems, an active deaerator can provide the solution.

Saving energy

Another common problem within system water is magnetite, dirt consisting of magnetic iron particles. Modern circulating pumps are often magnetic, so they attract magnetite. Also in combination with lime, magnetite adheres to nasty places, such as valves and faucets. Reduced system performance and heat transfer are the result. A pump consumes 10 to 20% more energy due to dirty system water. Dirt separators with a magnet remove even microscopic dirt and magnetite and provide energy savings of up to 13%.

No matter how big or small an installation is, iron is always present. With old radiators, of course you have to deal with iron, but this type of contamination also occurs with underfloor heating with hoses. Ruud Brunst, key account manager at Spirotech, explains: "Even with underfloor heating, for example, you have an expansion tank and there are always a few pipes made of iron. In an installation with little iron, the part where the iron is located is the first to be affected. This is precisely where the pipes break down very quickly. With a dirt separator, this is easily prevented."

Own laboratory

Spirotech is an expert in the field of system water in closed HVAC systems. It was the first company to develop air and dirt separators for use in heating and cooling systems. System water analyses are also among its capabilities. "We have our own laboratory in Tessenderloo, Belgium, where the water is tested for 33 parameters with reliable equipment. There it is determined exactly what the contamination consists of, how much corrosion, bacterial growth and dissolved metals are in it and what the pH value is. When you know exactly what is going on, you also know what the solutions are. Spirotech demonstrates this and performs it for its customers," Brunst says.

Introduction to water analysis

Installers, building owners and building managers within non-residential construction can now get acquainted with Spirotech's analyses in a low-threshold manner. They can request some trial analyses for larger installations through the account manager. The samples are taken by Spirotech, the water is measured and analyzed, the results are discussed and solutions are offered. Says Brunst, "What we ask for in return is that if commissioned, the installer will perform the work with Spirotech products." It is a simple way not only to uncover problems, but also to prevent them. "Subsequent measurement when there are already problems is of course a possibility, but then the costs to be incurred are often high. You can also do it preventively. We have solutions for expansion, air and dirt. If you control those three issues, you get and keep the water quality right. As a result, you have lower energy and operating costs," Brunst said.