City of York installs MagnaClean Professional filters to protect central heating systems

(14/04/2008)

City of York is among the first councils in the country to introduce a formal programme of long-term central heating system protection and maintenance with the installation of magnetic filter technology.

The north of England authority is looking to reduce future maintenance call-out, repairs and parts costs throughout its housing stock with the installation of MagnaClean Professional filters. The units are designed to maintain and protect central heating systems through the removal of black iron oxide contamination which leads to inefficient performance and system deterioration and eventual failure.

From April the council will be installing MagnaClean Professional on new boiler installations as well as existing systems.

British Gas Housing Services Group Contracts Manager for York, Neil Halliday, believes the decision will bring significant benefits not just in the performance of the central heating systems themselves, but also in terms of substantial budgetary savings. “There’s no doubt the product works and the council is always looking at ways to make the budgets go further and this makes perfect, long-term, sense,” he explains.

“MagnaClean Professional provides extra protection from day one which is particularly important for the high-efficiency boilers these days as they’re far more sophisticated. The boilers run at optimum performance without as many issues which means a reduction in call-outs and repairs over time. We’re in year one of a three year contract and have been monitoring the situation. It’s working and doing what it claims and it’s been amazing what the filters have been picking up. I’ve been in the gas industry for 38 years and this is one of the best system maintenance and protection developments I’ve seen. I wish we’d had the product years ago. The technology is simple, but extremely effective.”

City of York Council’s Project & Tenant Choice Manager Andy Wilcock, who has responsibility for 8,600 homes in the city, states that the two primary objectives are to reduce departmental servicing costs and prolong the life of the central heating systems in the properties. "The technology brings a two-fold benefit and is particularly beneficial where we’re carrying out a boiler change because a power-flush doesn’t take everything out of the system. This technology delivers ongoing maintenance and although the programme is still in relatively early stages, I can see us extending it if the results are good,” he says.

Phil Sadler, National Accounts Director for Cheltenham-based ADEY Professional Heating Solutions who manufacture MagnaClean Professional, believes it is only a matter of time before local authorities adopt the technology as part of an ongoing maintenance strategy. “From a logistical and budgetary point of view this preventative approach makes so much sense for a government authority. More and more housing associations up and down the country are switching on to the logic and we’re getting very positive feedback,” he concludes.

Related categories:  Boilers - Combination and condensing   Boilers - Domestic   Central heating systems and pumps   Heating system components   Installation   Residential applications 

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