Hard water and energy bills

In order to explain how Halcyan can help save you money we need to start with the problem first, limescale. Over 60% of the country is supplied by hard water and in turn suffers from limescale build up. This is of course very noticeable on taps, showers and in the kettle but it is the hidden limescale build up which is the most damaging.

Heat causes limescale to form more readily, meaning heating elements in expensive equipment such as your boiler, dishwasher and washing machine are especially susceptible. For every 1mm of limescale on a heating element the amount of energy required to heat water increases by 7-10%. As you can imagine, in some areas there’s a lot more build up than 1mm.

Eventually this build up will damage your appliances, in hard water areas you can expect to replace equipment such as your boiler twice as often as someone in a soft water area. So not only are your bills going up throughout the lifespan of this equipment, but you need to undertake expensive replacements and repairs more often as well! Hard water doesn’t just affect energy costs it also increases your shopping bill, regularly using expensive detergents and cleaners such as Viakal adds up!

How to solve the problem

There are several options to treat hard water, the most well known being the water softener. These systems work well but come with a host of downsides. They take up space, have ongoing costs and flush chlorides into our waterways. Halcyan tackles the problem without these issues in a passive and sustainable way! The Halcyan treats the minerals in the water directly, altering the way they behave thus preventing build up of limescale and reducing those growing energy bills and saving you money on expensive detergents and cleaning materials. In fact our research suggests you could save up to £1000 a year by installing a Halcyan!

Our CEO, Samantha Mant sums it up perfectly: “As energy prices continue to soar, households are running out of ways to save money on their bills. However one way to achieve a more energy-efficient home is to install a sustainable water conditioner which can save households hundreds of pounds per year. This small device takes under an hour to install and requires no additional cupboard space. It not only prevents future limescale but also treats existing limescale in your system. With a 30 year warranty, users can expect to achieve a potential saving of over £20,000 on energy bills at today’s prices over the lifetime of the device.”

What next?

If your keen on keeping your energy bills lower and want to press ahead with a Halcyan then please check out our product selector tool using the button below, to find out which Halcyan best suits your home!

But, if you’d like more info that’s ok too! Why not sign up to our newsletter and we’ll send you information about the different ways Halcyan can help you to save money and the environment, as well as more information on how it works, straight to your inbox!

More than meets the Eye

Limescale isn’t just a nuisance to clean, you may not know that it can also be a significant drain on your finances. The problem is also very widespread here in the UK with over 60% of households bring supplied with hard water. So how does hardness affect your wallet and how affordable are the solutions?
In this article we’re looking at the money side of the limescale equation and hopefully providing you with a good understanding of what limescale is costing you but also what your options are. Whether it be a traditional salt-based softener or a more sustainable conditioner.

1 – Treating your Hard Water

You’ll forgive us if we start with the solution most close to our hearts here at Halcyan, hard water. Very much an underappreciated area as far as energy efficiency is concerned limescale from hard water can be a significant drain on your energy bills. Limescale builds up on heating elements insulating them meaning you need more energy to heat your water. British water suggests that for every 1mm of limescale the energy needed to heat your water increases between 7-10%. You can remove this inefficiency with minimal effort which will save you energy and money. Not to mention approximately 0.5 tonnes of carbon a year!

2 – Insulating your home

Insulation is always one of the go to recommendations for reducing energy use in the home, and for good reason! An uninsulated loft, attic or flat roof can result in whopping 25% of your heat being lost! The walls are an even bigger drain with 35% of heat being lost through uninsulated walls. By adding insulation to your roof and walls you can save a significant amount of energy and thereby a significant amount of money as well.

Loft insulation can be relatively straightforward to fit. Insulating material is simply fit between the joists in the loft or attic space. Wool is an excellent sustainable source for this material and is commonly used as insulation.

Cavity walls are also simple to insulate, and it can be inexpensive to do so. Usually, holes are drilled into the wall from the outside of the property and insulating material is injected into the cavity.

Adding insulation to solid walls can be trickier and more expensive, usually insulating material or insulating boards are fixed to the walls internally and then covered over with render or cladding.

3 – Double Glazing your Windows

Heat loss through windows results in 25-30% of residential heating and energy use. Fitting windows with high energy efficiency is a great way to reduce wasted energy and save money in the long run. Double or triple glazing is an excellent option for keeping your house warmer in winter and cooler in the summer and ensuring that energy bill is kept low!

4 – Boilers and heat pumps

Your boiler itself may be more of a drain on your energy bills than it needs to be. Older boilers are much less efficient than newer models. Condensing boilers are some of the most efficient systems available. They can save you  up to £340 a year if they are used to replace older models. Not only that but you’ll also be cutting down your carbon footprint.
But why stick with a boiler? Two renewable heating options are becoming much more popular, ground source and air source heat pumps. Both absorb heat from their surroundings, either the air or the ground and transfer this heat to your water. Not only will this cut down on your heating bills and your carbon footprint but you may also be eligible for the Governments renewable heat incentive scheme which will help to cover the cost of installation.

5 – Solar Panels

Whilst solar panels are a hefty upfront cost they more than make up for it! The most obvious benefit is that you’ll be able to provide energy for yourself thus cutting down on those pricey bills but you’ll also have the potential to sell your energy back to your energy supplier through the feed-in-tariff ! Solar panels are also a sustainable source of energy which means you’ll be cutting down on your homes carbon footprint as well! If you’ve got the budget and the space for them solar panels are a no brainer!

Final Thoughts:

Hopefully this list has proven useful to you and you come away with some ideas for energy saving improvements for your home! All the options listed will have a significant impact on your energy usage. So whilst they may be pricey upfront, in the long run they will pay for themselves, and you’ll be doing your bit to make your home that much more sustainable! If you’d like to know more about how our Halcyan system works check out our system explanation below

Cost

One of the key areas to compare in this market is cost. Many companies hide their prices, meaning that you have to get in touch with a salesperson to figure out the costs. This is not usually a quick, cut and dry conversation either. We know how frustrating this can be but sadly until companies decide to make that information public we can only make estimates based on information from customers and installers.

The other key point to look at is value. Whilst some products are very cheap they don’t bring that much to the table whereas other are more expensive upfront but have much more bang for buck.

Water Softeners

We’ll start with water softeners. As a rule of thumb these are the most expensive treatment options on the table. Not only do they tend to have a high initial price (this can often be paid for with a finance plan) they also have ongoing running costs. Water softeners need to be regularly topped up with salt and can increase water use for the regeneration process.

There is a wide range of products available with more expensive twin cylinder units such as the Harveys HV3 costing between £1,500-£1,800 including fitting costs, mid-range systems such as the Monarch Midi HE costing about £499 excluding fitting and cheaper systems such as the Water2buy W2b110 going for £299 excluding fitting. Salt prices can range depending on factors such as water hardness and number of people living in the property. As a rough ballpark estimate the cost of salt can run up to around £68 a year but bear in mind, there is currently a shortage of salt in the UK so costs are likely to increase.

Water Conditioners

The next group is water conditioners. These can vary quite significantly in cost with upper range conditioners such as the Aquabion costing between £450 – £550 for the unit, to cheaper electronic conditioners, such Eddy costing £139.99. TAC based systems also vary quite significantly in cost with Aquasana’s whole house system running up to £999 and requiring a filter change every 6 years. This in contrast with the EcoPlus system which is £349.99 and requires a filter change every 3 years. Generally, these systems are cheaper than softeners although the higher end conditioners will often be more equivalent in cost.

Scale Inhibitors

Scale inhibitors are the cheapest units on the market as most are designed for protection of single pieces of equipment. Products such as the inline Liff limebeater cost only £55.10. The Calmag Magnetic Scale inhibitor is one of the cheapest systems often running for less than £20. Most Inhibitors it somewhere in the range between these two prices.

Performance

Performance is probably the biggest thing that customers want information on after cost. If a system works well people are happier to spend a little extra. Sadly this part of the industry is just as, if not more shrouded in mystery than price. There is currently no independent organisation tracking or comparing how systems perform on tackling limescale or in providing lifestyle benefits. All the information on this subject has to be taken from the websites of the companies themselves, from reviews and testimonials and in many cases from second-hand and anecdotal sources. We’ll do our best to comment on performance in this section but please bear in mind that our hands are somewhat tied when it comes to this topic.

Water Softeners

Salt softeners have been the go-to limescale solution for many years in the UK. If properly and regularly maintained and looked after they keep surfaces clear of limescale and appear to make the water feel better on skin and hair. Softened water also seems to allow customers to use less product when washing. More expensive softeners tend to be more efficient, using less salt than cheaper products. They will also tend to use less water during regeneration as they will have built in meters ensuring optimal water use and more efficient technology.

Water Conditioners

Water conditioners seem to vary in performance much more significantly than their more traditional counterparts. All of these systems, in theory, will alter hard water minerals reducing scale. On surfaces you can expect to see a soft powdery residue which is easy to clean and a thin layer of hard brittle scale on heating elements. Premium conditioners such as the Aquabion and Halcyan will both prevent new scale formation and remove existing scale over time. They will also provide some of the benefits of soft water, such as the water feeling better for skin and hair.

Systems such as the Eddy also offer some of these benefits though it may be the case that the effect of the system is reduced the further the water travels from the unit. Conditioners maintain their effect on the minerals for a limited time usually ranging between 24-72 hours. The Halcyan is set apart in this regard as its effects last for 2-3 weeks. One of the big advantages of many of these systems is that they require no maintenance. Running costs in most cases are also non-existent. This is not the case for TAC and phosphate dosing systems which require semi-regular cartridge replacements.

Scale Inhibitors

The cheaper inhibitors such as the Liff limebeater, seem to vary wildly in performance. Some preventing new scale formation, others having a minimal impact. The vast majority of these systems only help reduce scale formation and do not remove existing build up. Nor do they provide any of the ‘soft water’ benefits which premium conditioners provide. They also tend to be designed with single pieces of equipment in mind e.g. the boiler. Depending on the methodology used the effectiveness of these units can decrease the further the water moves away from the system, this is most notable in magnetic and electronic systems.

Longevity

Longevity is a key area of interest especially where water treatment is concerned. Installing a limescale prevention system can be costly and time consuming. The longer a system lasts the longer expensive appliances and equipment are kept safe.

Water Softeners

Salt softeners are often more long lived and reliable in the upper range. Systems like the Harveys HV4 last between 15-20 years before needing replacement. These systems also require much less servicing, if any at all. Cheaper systems will usually last around 10 years before requiring replacement and will often require regular servicing.

Water Conditioners

Depending on methodology water conditioners can have radically different lifespans. The Halcyan unit lasts for 30 years sometimes more, a sacrificial system such as Aquabion will need replacing every 6-7 years. Electronic systems such as the Scaleguard seem to last about 10 years. Some however have lifetime guarantees such as the Eddy.

Scale Inhibitors

Inhibitors usually have a fairly short lifespan with, at most 10 years though more often than not much less than this. Units such as the Liff limebeater are guaranteed to last for about 5 years. Monitoring this can be quite difficult, as these units usually only protect the boiler. As such checking whether the unit has failed requires checking the heating element of the boiler itself.

Key Takeaways

We hope this has proved a useful general overview of the market and has given you a bit more to work with while making your decision on how you plan to treat your limescale problems. Why not check out our handy table which will directly compare some products on the market.

We know that comparing the market for water conditioning and water softening is difficult. These articles are very much works in progress, subject to regular revision and updates when and where new information arises.

If you’re interested in a Halcyan then why not try our sizing quiz? Click the button below to walk through which of our systems is most suitable for your home!

The Water Treatment Market

First off let’s take a brief look at the water treatment market and the varying price points that can be found and where we fit.

At the upper end of the scale we have salt softeners. These have a high initial cost including installation along with ongoing running costs. Expenses include increased water usage and purchase of salt. A higher end water softener can run up to around £1,768 in the first year. Water softeners last usually between 15-20 years assuming they are maintained properly. The results, again assuming proper maintenance, are very good.

Next up you have premium conditioners. These include brands such as Halcyan and Aquabion. These units provide protection from limescale build up require no maintenance during their lifespan. They also often provide some of the lifestyle benefits of soft water as well. Units like the Aquabion with a sacrificial component will require replacing every 6-7 years while the Halcyan requires no ongoing maintenance and is guaranteed for 30 years. Prices in this bracket vary between £450-£770.

Finally on the cheaper end you have scale inhibitors. These range both in price and methodology. Most electrolytic inhibitors are between £30 and £100. Inhibitors tend to be designed primarily with a singular piece of equipment in mind such as a boiler so are not typically used to treat hard water across the home.

In terms of effectiveness there is only so much we can say as there are no robust comparisons to refer to. Going by general consensus they seem to have limited effectiveness, but this will vary brand to brand. Lifespan also varies, with units such as the Liff having no lifespan listed on their product page.

Comparison of cost over time

Below you’ll find a table comparing a salt softener, another premium conditioner, a cheaper inhibitor and a Halcyan over a period of 30 years. Most other products on the market conceal their prices and require customers to ask for a quote. As such prices used are rough estimates of these products based on conversations with customers and fitters. Should new information come to light they will be updated to reflect this.

* Replacement unit purchased

The Value of the Halcyan Water Conditioner

So why do we fit in the premium range? What makes our system different from the cheaper inline conditioner units? The quality results we provide. The Halcyan is of course preventative with new scale but also removes existing limescale build up in the system making it an excellent retrofit product. Our unit can also provide some of the benefits of softer water such as feeling better on skin and hair and lathering soap more efficiently.

The effects on the hard water minerals last for between 2-3 weeks meaning it can be used with storage tanks without fear of build-up happening due to changes in water usage. This is one of the big advantages of our system as even other high-end premium conditioners tend to only keep minerals in their altered from for 48 hours. You can find out more about how the Halcyan does this in our ‘system explained’ section.

The Halcyan’s longevity also sets it apart as the units function for 30+ years without needing to be replaced or maintained in any way. The Halcyan cost reflects its value to you the customer. Over its lifespan the Halcyan not only pays for itself but also saves money by extending the lifespan of other expensive equipment such as boilers.

So why does the Halcyan cost so much? In conclusion, whilst our unit is pricey at first glance you are not only getting an effective product but also a product which will stand the test of time. Our system truly is fit and forget and our price reflects that. Check out our product selector below, to find out which Halcyan is best for you!