What problems can be caused by poor water quality?
Poor water quality can cause serious problems in open loop systems. Your water should be tested for hardness, acidity, and iron content before a heat pump is installed. Your contractor or equipment manufacturer can tell you what level of water is acceptable. Mineral deposits can build up inside the heat pump’s heat exchanger. Sometimes a periodic cleaning with a mild acid solution is all that’s needed to remove the build-up Impurities, particularly iron, can eventually clog a return well. If your water has high iron content, make sure that the discharged water is not aerated before it’s injected into a return well. What is a closed loop system? A closed loop system uses a continuous loop of buried polyethylene pipe. The pipe is connected to the indoor heat pump to form a sealed, underground loop though, which an environmentally friendly antifreeze-and-water solution is circulated. A closed loop system constantly re-circulates its heat-transferring solution in pressurized pipe, unlike a
Poor water quality can cause serious problems in open loop systems. Your water should be tested for hardness, acidity and iron content before a heat pump is installed. Your contractor or equipment manufacturer can tell you what level of water is acceptable. Mineral deposits can build up inside the heat pump’s heat exchanger. Sometimes a periodic cleaning with a mild acid solution is all that’s needed to remove the build-up. Impurities, particularly iron, can eventually clog a return well. If your water has high iron content, make sure that the discharge water is not aerated before it’s injected into a return well.
