Will a scaled water heater use more energy?
A thermodynamic water heater or heat pump (such as the ones sold here) consumes energy. The presence of a heavy-scale deposit into a storage tank requires more time to heat the water. Your bill will therefore increase if your hot water system is suffering from scaling.
Higher electricity consumption
Your water heater will be more or less sensitive to the quality of the water in the network. This is determined by the quantity of calcium and magnesium ions. This water content is usually expressed in degrees. From very soft, it becomes soft then rather hard and very hard.
The higher it is, the more calcium carbonate it contains. The higher the cooking temperature, the more it solidifies. It is accepted that this transformation accelerates above 60°C.
The deposits will form around the resistance of a storage unit. Scaling will accumulate on the sleeve for a soapstone. In parallel, the scale will accumulate at the bottom of the tank and its walls. As a result, your system will need more time to produce hot water. Indeed, the scale will be heated first. Being an insulator, it does not conduct heat well. The rest of the volume of the appliance will take longer to bring to the right temperature.
As a result, your equipment will require more time to heat the incoming cold water. It will therefore consume more kW of energy. This will increase your bill accordingly.
Regular maintenance recommended
To avoid the energy-consuming problem caused by scaling, proper maintenance is necessary. You should descale your hot water system periodically. The interval between two descaling operations will depend on the model and the technology of the tank and system you are using. This will ensure that your water heater lasts longer.
The installation of a hybrid thermodynamic system is a good alternative when the scaling is high. This is because such models use magnesium ions as corrosion protection.
