Hard water can create a lot of problems for a household. It affects everything in your daily routine from bathing to doing laundry to just running the tap. Hard water prevents soap and detergent from lathering and can seriously clog pipes. Besides the obvious plumbing problems, the hard deposits can also slow down your water heaters and air-conditioning units, adding drastically to your household’s bills.

There are a variety of options you can employ to solve your hard water problem, including reverse osmosis and distillation. The most cost effective option, however,  is to have a water softening system installed in your home or business.

Hard water is caused by an excess of calcium and magnesium in the water. A water softening system solves the problem by essentially “swapping out” the calcium and magnesium ions for sodium ions. The system collects the hard elements in a reservoir and flushes them out regularly. The softening system needs to be “recharged” with sodium ions regularly to ensure that it continues working properly. If you purchase a manual system,  you can perform this step as part of your regular home maintenance; an automatic system will perform this action on its own.

The result is a much cleaner and more efficient household. Sodium ions don’t interfere with soap the way magnesium and calcium do, so you can get a good lather and rinse when washing. You’ll notice right away that your glasses and shower doors aren’t spotted. Sodium also does not glom on to pipes the way the other mineral elements do, so that the water-operated machinery in your home works much faster and more efficiently. Moreover, you will also be able to count on your machines lasting through a longer lifespan.

As mentioned earlier, there are different varieties of water softening systems from completely manual units to fully automated ones. Take a look at all your options and see which works well with your household’s budget and schedule, keeping in mind that you will have to run a lot of the processes yourself in some of these units.

If you live in the Houston Texas area then you may want to have us come out to test the hardness of your water.  Knowing how bad your problem is will help you make an educated decision as to whether you need a heavy-duty or lighter-grade water purification system.

Now that the results are in, what will you do with them? At the recent WQA Aquatech USA 2010 tradeshow in Orlando, one of the most packed events was the Keynote address, “How to Effectively Market the Softened Water Energy Efficiency Study,” which featured a panel discussion and audience participation covering the best ways to use the information from the recently completed Battelle Study.

The Battelle Study began in 2009 when the Water Quality Research Foundation (WQRF), the research arm of the Water Quality Assn. (WQA), contracted the services of the Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio, to examine how much energy savings household water softeners can provide.

The study and its results have provided the industry with an independent, scientifically based endorsement, confirming that water softeners increase energy efficiency and extend the life of household appliances and fixtures.

“We have known from studies done in the 1980s that softened water will save energy in heating water,” said Joe Harrison, P.E., CWS-VI, technical director for the WQA. “Now the Department of Energy says that heating water accounts for 14% to 25% of the energy consumed in your home. The Water Quality Research Foundation (WQRF) wanted to update the data on energy savings with softened water in modern water heaters and the new instantaneous tankless water heaters.”

This article will discuss the basic findings of the study and various strategies for maximizing its marketing potential.

Scope

The independent institute developed and carried out tests evaluating the cost and energy use associated with heating hard water versus softened water.

Over a period of nine months, accelerated scale tests were carried out to simulate twelve years of use.

The project also examined the subsequent effect of hard water on the performance capabilities of fixtures and appliances such as faucets, low-flow showerheads, dishwashers and clothes washers.

With the data gathered from the water heater efficiency tests and fixture performance tests, the institute developed a differential carbon footprint assessment for homes that use softened water versus homes that use unsoftened water.

Water Heaters

Testing: Tests comparing efficiency of hard versus softened water in water heaters included 10 units each of gas, electric and tankless water heaters. Five of each kind were tested with a water softener, and five of each kind were tested without a water softener.

Thermal efficiency was calculated by measuring the inlet and outlet temperature at 15-second intervals, measuring the amount of hot water and measuring the amount of energy required to produce the hot water. The thermal efficiency was measured at the beginning of the study and at one-week intervals in order to track any change in efficiency as scale built up.

Results: For all water heaters on soft water, “efficiency remained essentially constant over the duration of the testing,” according to the study.

None of the water heaters on unsoftened water lasted until the end of the test—the outlet piping (1/2-in. copper pipe, a needle valve and solenoid valve—were blocked with scale buildup).

The average rate of scale buildup in the gas storage water heaters on unsoftened water was 528 grams per year, compared to 7 grams per year on softened water. The average rate of scale buildup in the electric storage water heaters was 907 grams per year on unsoftened water, compared to 14 grams per year on softened water.

Read the rest of the study at:

http://wqpmag.com/Battelle-Benefits-article11707