Here are five reasons why sludge is worth knowing about so you can help support your customers and even save them money on their energy bills.

1. Sludge causes 60% of annual boiler breakdowns in the UK

Dirty water in your customers heating system contains magnetite – also known as sludge – made up of tiny magnetic particles. It can build up quickly in untreated heating systems, floating around in pipes and radiators until they eventually reach the boiler, clogging up components and eventually causing the boiler to breakdown. In fact, out of the 3.2 million boilers that breakdown in the UK each year, 1.9 million are due to sludge.*

2. Sludge can reduce the amount of heat your customers’ radiators give out by 47%

Sludge settles at the bottom of radiators and blocks the heat coming through properly. This is why radiators can still feel cold in places, even if the customer has their heating turned up. By installers following water treatment best practice, customers’ radiators heat output can increase by up to 47%*.

3. Sludge can increase your customers’ energy bills by up to 7% a year

Customers may tell you they’re continually turning their heating up but not feeling a real difference. This might mean that sludge could be blocking up their system. When sludge blocks the heat coming through, more energy is used to get the right temperature – costing your customer more in heating bills. Getting sludge dealt with has been shown to save people up to 7% a year on their energy bills**.

4. Sludge is increasing your customers carbon footprint

A central heating system contaminated by sludge must work harder to pump water around, using more energy to make the room feel warm enough. A sludge-free system will use less energy and reduce carbon emissions by up to 7%*.

5. Most UK heating systems are not protected against sludge

To prevent sludge building up in systems, a change to Part L Building Regs in June 2022 was introduced, meaning new boilers must be fitted with an inline filter, and engineers should carry out a system clean/flush and add scale and corrosion inhibitor. Installers can help customers who have existing boilers by recommending they fit a magnetic filter which will capture the sludge particles before they settle and cause a problem elsewhere.

How to deal with sludge – from an expert

“To find out how clean the water is in your customers system, carry out a water test. If the water is dirty, you can flush out the system and get rid of the sludge that is blocking the heat from your customers radiators and making the boiler work harder. You can also recommend fitting a filter in the system and dose the water with a solution to prevent sludge build-up in future. “This also helps the appliances to work better and last longer.”

COLIN YEARP, HEATING ENGINEER AND HEAD OF TRAINING AT ADEY

Find out more about our solutions to sludge in your heating system here.

* Independent research by ADEY alongside KIWA GasTec and Delta EE

** Against a corrosion filled system