Maintenance of heating systems

Heat source maintenance

Important! Working with a gas boiler (especially with burners and gas supply regulation) is the competence of individual specialists. No service company is authorized to carry out full service, repair or replacement of consumables without special permission.

Alter Air only services Viessmann gas boilers: we have permission to change all components in this equipment.

If you need to service a gas boiler of another brand, we recommend that you contact a company with a permit for service and repair work of this particular manufacturer.

Electric boiler

Boiler service includes:

• check of the circulation pump, replacement – if a breakdown is detected;

• checking and cleaning the tubular electric heater from boiler scale, and in case of damage – its replacement;

• inspection and testing of electronics.

Gas boiler

Standard gas boiler service, which does not require separate certification, includes:

• checking the pressure in the system;

• checking the operation of automation, adjustment – if necessary;

• checking the state of the combustion chamber, cleaning – if necessary;

• checking the ignition system;

• cleaning or replacing mud filters and fuel injectors.

Other work and manipulations with the gas boiler can only be carried out by certified specialists authorized by the manufacturer.

Heat pump 

The heat pump consists of an indoor unit and an outdoor unit, both of which are subject to inspection.

Maintenance of the indoor unit includes:

• inspection of all elements of connection and automation;

• assessment of the operation of the circulation pump and its replacement - if a malfunction is detected;

• check of distribution elements;

• checking the operation of the triple valve.

If the heat pump is working properly, it is not recommended to touch the heat exchanger.

It is important to note that problems with the heat exchanger can only occur due to poor-quality water containing salts, minerals, dirt, impurities, and so on. Such water is  not suitable for technical use and leads to clogging of the cells (hexagonal cell) of the heat exchanger, due to which it ceases to work correctly.

In this case, it must be cleaned, and if there is serious damage, it must be replaced.

Important! To avoid such issues, even at the stage of building or repairing a house, it is critical to think about the implementation of a water treatment system that will make water suitable for technical needs. How to implement it, we tell in our article about water treatment. 

Since the heat pump has an outdoor unit, its service is also provided. Maintenance of the heat pump outdoor unit includes:

• cleaning from dust, dirt, and insects;

• checking the refrigerant pressure in the system;

• checking the drainage.

​Service of other elements of the boiler room

Expansion tank

Serves to compensate for excess pressure in the heating system.

Expansion tanks cannot be repaired: if a malfunction is detected in it (for example, the inner membrane is torn), the tank must be replaced with a new one.

Hot water tank

DHW tank maintenance includes:

• checking the condition of the magnesium anode – it must be inspected every year, and changed – 1-2 times a year, depending on the degree of destruction;

• flushing of the tank itself;

• cleaning the heat exchanger from scale;

• checking the blow-off (safety) valve – if it leaks, makes noise or looks questionable, the valve must be replaced.

Important! Alter Air experts recommend changing the blow-off valve every 3 years, even if visually it looks good, as it is an important part of the safety of the system, and during the service it is not possible to clearly check its working condition.

Operation of the DHW tank without a blow-off valve (6 bar) is prohibited! It is designed to protect the tank from overpressure by relieving excess pressure.

Checking, cleaning and replacing components

Service maintenance of heating systems implies mandatory work with components:

• checking the integrity of all gaskets and connections.

• inspection and replacement (if required) of bleed valves - they should be changed every 2-3 years.

• check and cleaning of mechanical filters (mud collectors) – to do this, it is necessary to close the taps that are installed before and after the mud collectors, unscrew the filter, clean it from dirt and reinsert it.

• if air and dirt separators are installed in the system, they must also be checked and cleaned.

• a condensate neutralizer (e.g., from Viessmann) can be installed on site, which neutralizes the alkali in the water generated by the condensing boiler. It makes water safe for septic tanks with a biological product (bacteria). As part of the service, we check the condition of the condensate neutralizer and whether it needs to be replaced.

Kindly note that the replacement of components and heating elements is not included in the heating maintenance service and is paid for separately.

Service of heat distribution equipment

Maintenance of in-floor convectors includes:

• inspection of connections for leaks;

• check of a condition of electronics;

• crimping of all available contacts;

• annually – removal and cleaning (washing) of the impeller (washing is carried out under running water; to prevent splashing on the engine, special protection is put on it).

Radiator service includes:

• checking the operation of the thermostatic head and actuator (if any);

• once every 5-10 years – dismantling of radiators and flushing of the entire system: with draining of water and cleaning of equipment from dirt using special solutions.

Pipeline service: flushing of pipes and assembly

Flushing of pipes and assemblies is also included in the maintenance of heating systems and prices are included in the cost of regular service.

How are pipes flushed?

1. Ecosoft BWT-SoluTech System Cleaner liquid concentrate is used to remove lime deposits, scale and oxides, as well as restore the inner surface of pipes.
2. ​The concentrate is poured into the heating system, and it works on it for a certain time specified in the instructions.​
   
3. Then Alter Air specialists drain the first concentrate and fill in the second - Ecosoft SoluTech FULL PROTECTION, which neutralizes the effect of the previous one and further protects the pipes from corrosion, lime deposits and surface deposits.

In order for the heating system to function smoothly, so that pipes and heating equipment remain in good condition for as long as possible, it is important to use pretreated water.

Why is it important? Because tap water is initially quite hard, it contains various impurities and components that adversely affect the entire heating system and its individual elements (pipes, heat exchanger in a heat pump, water heater, etc.).

It is possible to reduce the hardness of water and make it suitable for use in technical and domestic purposes thanks to a water treatment system, which includes the installation of a water-softening filter.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that you start the heating system only after water treatment, or at least use clean bottled water for the first time.

​Automation service (room temperature control)

Automation plays an important role in the heating system. Therefore, to control the temperature of underfloor heating and radiators, we use the automation of the best brands: UPONOR, TECH and TECE. However, its work must also be checked.

Automation service includes:

• checking the signal in temperature sensors;

• tightening of contacts;

• checking the operation of servos;

• replacement of batteries in radio-controlled remotes;

• checking the settings of the entire system and, if necessary, adjusting its operation.

Boiler operation problems

Our specialists maintain and repair the following heat sources:

• electric boilers;

• solid fuel boilers;

• heat pumps;

• gas boilers – only from the manufacturer Viessmann.

If you notice any kind of problems with the heat generator (too high fuel consumption, the appearance of unusual noises, malfunctions of automation, etc.), it is important to immediately contact a service company for emergency repairs.

Alter Air specialists will first diagnose and then eliminate the cause of the malfunction.

Important! If it is necessary to replace any element of the system, its cost is paid separately and is not included in the cost of the service.

Leakages and other problems in piping

An indirect sign of a leak is a pressure drop in the boiler (less than 1.8 bar), wetting of a section of a wall or ceiling.

• If the leak occurred in the boiler room, at the place where the joints were soldered, then it is eliminated pointwise.

• If a heat pump is installed in the boiler room, our specialists check the refrigerant pressure – if it has dropped, this indicates a leak. In this case, it should be found and eliminated.

• In-wall leaks are harder to detect and become visible when the wall or floor becomes wet due to them. In order to quickly find the place of leakage and not touch the wires or the main pipe, it is important for specialists to have a system design in front of them, which shows the location of equipment, pipelines, and cables.

Maintenance of heating systems is important to carry out regularly, and not only in case of problems – this helps to prevent future leaks.

The check should be carried out not only in the boiler room, but also necessarily throughout the house. Even if there are no leaks or damage on the pipes, specialists should inspect the radiators and in-floor convector connections to make sure they are in good condition.

Increased fuel consumption

In most cases, the cause of increased fuel consumption lies in:

• incorrect selection of a heating boiler or heat pump;

• poor thermal insulation of the building;

• improper use of thermal insulation materials;

• incorrect system design.

Let's provide an example for the last point. The condensing boiler heats the water and sends it to the heaters at a temperature of 80°C. The water returns at a temperature of 60°C. Due to the high temperature of the coolant, a lot of heat is lost during its transportation, respectively, fuel consumption increases.

According to the regulations, the temperature of water for transportation to radiators/convectors must be 55°C, and for return – 45°C. As you can see, the difference in how it is and how it should be is quite large.

If you have a heat pump installed and you notice an increased consumption of electricity - the reason may be that the heat pump works for radiators, while it should be used in low-temperature heating systems and work with underfloor heating and fan coil units.

The low-temperature heating system is the most energy efficient: the lower the temperature of the heat carrier, the less energy is required to heat it. Therefore, our specialists recommend customers to implement a low-temperature system even at the stage of project discussion.

What do you need to do if your heating system is designed incorrectly or the heat source is chosen incorrectly?

This requires a profound analysis of the project and the search for effective solutions. This is possible within the framework of engineering consulting, which is carried out by experienced design engineers of Alter Air.

The result of the work will be:

• recommendations for correcting weaknesses/errors in the project

• feasibility study for equipment replacement (if required)

• at the request of the client – the development of a new project of the heating system.

Professional consulting will help you improve the efficiency of your heating system, its maintenance, and avoid problems in the future,

System maintenance before starting at the beginning of the heating season

Maintenance of heating systems is especially important to carry out before the start of the heating season.

What is included in the service:

• checking for air-tightness and functional capability of all units of the system under pressure.

• flushing the system with special solutions (Ecosoft BWT-SoluTech System Cleaner and Ecosoft SoluTech FULL PROTECTION concentrates) to clean the pipes from scale and limescale.

• switching the operation of the boiler or heat pump to the “winter” mode – for heating and hot water supply.

Our experts are engaged in system maintenance both before starting the system and after the end of the heating season.