We’re delighted to announce that Halcyan Water Conditioners will be part of the new NSBRC (National Self Build & Renovation Centre) Market Day events in 2024! The NSBRC Market Days bring a fresh opportunity for homeowners, self-builders, renovators and their professionals to connect with industry experts, and we’re thrilled to be a part of it.
What’s an NSBRC Market Day?
NSBRC’s Market Days are a series of events scheduled on the second Friday of each month, providing a unique platform for expert product suppliers and visitors to meet. These days are perfect for those looking to progress their self-build or renovation projects with confidence and detailed knowledge of their choices.
Each Market Day will feature a free guided tour of the NSBRC’s new build educational zone, an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the latest building and renovation practices.
Halcyan’s Presence: More Than Just a Display
As Halcyan doesn’t have a traditional office or showroom, our presence at the NSBRC Market Days offers a rare and valuable chance for you to see our units up close and understand how they can transform your experiences at home with healthy but difficult to handle ‘hard water’ and make limescale a thing of the past.
Why Visit Halcyan at the Market Days?
Visiting Halcyan’s stand at the NSBRC Market Days is more than just an exploration of products. It’s an opportunity to:
Personal Consultation: Discuss your specific water conditioning needs and concerns with our experts. Whether you’re an NSBRC-led enquirer or just exploring your options, we’re here to guide you.
Understand the Benefits: Learn how our unit can lead to significant energy savings, reduced bills, and enjoying more people-friendly water.
Plan Your Project: Ideal for those in the middle of, or planning, a self-build or renovation project, our experts can help integrate the optimum Halcyan system seamlessly into your plans.
The NSBRC Market Days are shaping up to be an essential destination for anyone in the building and renovation community. Whether you’re just starting to think about your project or are well into the planning stages, make sure to drop by and see how Halcyan can contribute to your efforts.
We look forward to meeting you there and discussing how we can bring the best of water conditioning to your home or project.
Water quality can vary greatly around the world, and one characteristic often experienced by UK households is “hard water.” The UK is known for having some of the hardest water in the world, and it’s a problem that many people struggle with. Hard water can cause a number of issues, from limescale build-up to reduced appliance efficiency. In this blog post, we’ll take a look at why the water is so hard in the UK and what you can do to make it better.
What Causes Hard Water?
Hard water is caused by a high concentration of minerals such as calcium and magnesium. These minerals are naturally found in underground rocks, and when they dissolve into the water supply they create hard water.
Geological Factors:
The geological composition of an area plays a significant role in determining water hardness. The UK is predominantly composed of sedimentary rocks, including limestone and chalk, which are rich in calcium carbonate. Over time, rainwater seeps through these rocks, absorbing mineral deposits and increasing the water’s hardness.
Source of Water:
The main water sources in the UK are rivers, lakes, and underground aquifers. Since these sources often pass through mineral-rich regions, they naturally accumulate minerals like calcium and magnesium. Consequently, the water derived from these sources tends to be harder in nature.
Distribution Network:
The extensive water distribution network in the UK is another contributing factor. As water travels through the pipelines, it can come into contact with mineral-rich deposits, further increasing its hardness. Although water treatment aims to minimise this contact, some minerals inevitably dissolve into the water supply.
Environmental Impact:
The UK has a long history of industrial activities, particularly coal mining and metal extraction, which have left a legacy of environmental impact. Pollutants from these activities can infiltrate water sources, affecting water quality and potentially contributing to increased hardness.
The Impact of Hard Water
Hard water can have a number of negative impacts on your home and health:
Limescale Build-up
One of the most common issues associated with hard water is the formation of limescale. As hard water evaporates, the dissolved minerals are left behind, causing the build-up of limescale on taps, showerheads, kettles, and other water-bearing appliances. Limescale not only affects the appearance of these fixtures but also reduces their efficiency over time.
Household Chores
Hard water can make household chores more challenging. It can leave soap scum on dishes and glassware, make laundry feel stiff, and reduce the effectiveness of cleaning agents. More detergent and cleaning products are often required to achieve satisfactory results, leading to increased costs.
Increased Costs
If you are in a hard water area, limescale could also be affecting your energy bills. When limescale builds up, appliances have to work significantly harder and for longer in order to heat up water. This can affect washing machines, boilers, kettles and electric showers. In addition to appliances costing more to use, limescale can also cause premature breakdowns meaning you need to replace your appliances more regularly.
Skin and Hair Issues
Hard water can have a noticeable impact on skin and hair. It may leave a residue that can clog pores, potentially leading to dryness, irritation, and exacerbating conditions like eczema.
How Can You Reduce the Effects of Hard Water?
Thankfully there are several methods for reducing the hardness of the water in your home:
Whole House Filtration System
The most common solution is to install a whole-house filtration system which will remove minerals from your tap water before it enters your home’s plumbing system. This will help reduce limescale build-up and improve the taste of your drinking water.
Water Softener
Another option is to install a softener which will remove calcium and magnesium ions from your tap water using an ion exchange process. This will help reduce limescale build-up but won’t improve the taste of drinking water as much as a filtration system would. You may also need to install a separate drinking water tap.
Halcyan Water Conditioner
A very clean and simple solution to hard water is to install a Halcyan Water Conditioner. Once installed, its unique alloy changes the way that water behaves in your home. It doesn’t remove the minerals from the water but instead, the water behaves much like soft water would. The best part is that once you install a Halcyan, you can leave it to work its magic for the next 30 years!
Conclusion
While hard water is common in the UK, it does not pose any significant health risks. However, it can be a nuisance due to the various problems it causes, including limescale build-up, increased energy bills and cleaning requirements, and potential skin and hair issues. With various treatments, including the Halcyan Water Conditioner, you can alleviate the effects of hard water, but some options are simpler than others. Understanding the underlying reasons behind the prevalence of hard water in the UK can help you make informed choices about managing its impact on daily life.
If you’d like to find out more about the Halcyan Water Conditioner, you can explore our Knowledge Centre and find out how it works here. You can call our expert team on 0345 504 0656 for more information on how you can heat your water for less, by installing a Halcyan.
Why choose Halcyan?
Halcyan Water Conditioners is a British company based in Bristol and our alloy-based solution to hard water is unique to the UK. As leaders in our industry, our mission is to help our customers reduce the impact of hard water on their homes, saving money, saving energy and saving the planet with our eco-friendly, people-friendly water conditioners. We take huge pride in our customer satisfaction and our testimonials speak for themselves. With our 30 Year Warranty and our 12 Month Money Back Performance Guarantee, you can say goodbye to damaging hard water for good!
Zenova IP is a thermal insulating paint which embeds the most modern insulating technology in a thermos-like ultra-thin layer. By applying it to your property you can save energy by increasing the thermal technology insulation level in both commercial and residential buildings. It can be applied to any substrate, is easy to apply and provides a good decorative finish making it the perfect solution for retrofits or new builds.
It can be applied both internally and externally. When applied internally it also assists in preventing temperature fluctuations within the spaces it is applied, ensuring an even spread of heat radiation within the room, and when applied externally it has been independently tested and validated to deflect, absorb, and dissipate up to 75% of heat caused by solar radiation, thereby reducing the inside temperature by up to 45%. for those hot summer months
Gapogroup is the global leader in high performance insulation tape for building envelope solutions. Improving building performance at install and ultimately people’s lives – that’s what drives our team.
We manufacture a wide range of tapes which are the first answer to the ‘Performance Gap’ where rigid Insulation is being installed. With our inclusion in the updated Part L 2023 of the Building Regulations, we are the simplest way to save energy and achieve our Net Zero targets, helping building owners and design teams optimise performance and maximise property returns.
Is your home future proof? Are you concerned about increased energy prices? Are you worried about your home’s carbon emissions? You could install one of our top quality ground mounted solar trackers yourself, slash your bills, and if you move, don’t worry – you can take it with you!
Bee Solar Technology Limited manufactures and distributes Heliomotion Solar Tracking systems globally. This Finnish designed, made in England, dual axis solar tracking system consists of up to 6 high quality solar panels, held on a steel column, with an aluminium frame :mounted above a drive unit. It rotates and tilts from sunrise to sunset to constantly face the sun, maximising potential output in comparison with a static roof or ground based system. In the UK, on average, this will give you an extra 40 – 45% of power output. Two colour options are available – silver or green.
We also supply solar panels, inverters, solar immersion diverters, ground anchors for mounting, together with battery storage, so you can sort your entire solar pv requirements with a single supplier. You can download all our data sheets, assembly guide, spacing recommendations etc from our comprehensive website.
Mixergy are the market leaders in smart and connected hot water tanks. They help you live
better, save money, and reduce your impact on the environment.
Their award-winning tank gives you all the hot water you need, when you need it, with their
patented top-down heating technology. Compared to conventional tanks, you can save up
to 40% on your hot water bills and heat your water 10x faster.
You stay in complete control with the Mixergy app or simple gauge, and it can connect it to
any heat source, from gas boilers to solar and heatpumps.
Our top team expertly train our large and trusted Installer Network, so you can rely on the
very best to install and maintain your smart tank.
BLOCK OFF YOUR CHIMNEY WITH THE CHIMELLA CHIMNEY UMBRELLA
The Chimney Umbrella catches all falling debris, rain or hail stones and holds within its unique canopy structure until you choose to dispense. The canopy may also be sponged clean if required.
ENERGY SAVINGS ON YOUR HEATING BILLS
The Chimney Umbrella could be the single most cost effective step you will take in driving down your energy bills. RESEARCH has shown that the average chimney will draw out 80 cubic meters of air every hour. This can lead to a staggering 700,800 cubic meters of air, per chimney, every year being sucked out of your home.
If you have a large Chimney such as a large Victorian or Inglenook Fireplace the draw can be as high as 590 cubic meters an hour.
Using a Chimney Umbrella to block off the chimney flue will significantly reduce the air flow through the chimney and can save you over 0.583 tonnes of carbon per year, per chimney. This converts into an energy saving of 3066 kilo watt hours per annum, per chimney, or CASH SAVING of up to £200 per chimney per year.
SAFE TO USE AND INSTALL
The CHIMELLA handle is constantly on view to indicate that the chimney flue is efficiently blocked off. In the rare event of someone lighting a fire while the Chimney Umbrella is still inserted, the canopy has been designed to harmlessly burn away and safely re open the chimney flue, allowing smoke and fumes to be drawn up and out of your home.
Living in the seaside city of Brighton, inventor of Waterblade, Nigel Bamford became aware of the scarcity of water not just worldwide but here in the UK. Since 1960 the amount of water people use in the UK has increased by 66%.
We are now consuming 141 litres of water per day. If present levels of consumption continue not just for us but worldwide, two-thirds of the global population will live in areas of water stress by 2025.
Water is hidden in all that we see: in our cars, our clothing, even in our sandwiches.
We can easily reduce our water footprints. We can buy water efficient white goods, turn off the tap while we brush our teeth and fix leaks, but how can we make a significant reduction in water consumption and the energy used getting it to us?
Inspired by the Dyson Air Blade, which was improved by spreading the air flow out, Nigel created the water saving device Waterblade to save significant amounts of water. With the help of Innovate UK, the EU and the Green Growth Platform he developed it to fit easily to most taps.
It uses the surface tension of the water to spread a small flow into a sheet making it efficient for washing and rinsing but using dramatically less water. It uses between 1.9 and 2.7 litres per minute, compared to a normal tap which uses 10 to 20 litres per minute.
The Waterblade has been fitted in some of the UK’s most recognisable buildings (HSBC Canary Wharf, Birmingham Bull Ring Shopping Centre, The Leadenhall Building also known as the Cheese Grater) and many more worldwide.
The product itself has developed in sophistication. It is now electro-chrome plated and incorporates state of the art flow control, meaning it is totally ‘plug and play’. All you need to do is change the nozzle on your tap, and the flow is optimised for all mains pressures.
Waterblade has won the top UK innovation and water industry awards both in the UK and overseas and is now used by companies such as Sainsbury’s, HSBC, Microsoft, Unilever and many others.
Surestop stopcocks are an innovative way for controlling mains water in the home with a simple switch operation for shutting off mains water. If the stopcock is to be in an accessible location, but users desire one which is simpler to use and easy to install, the Surestop Stopcock is the ideal choice for domestic installations. Made from ABS MDPE stainless steel, with a push-fit connection suitable for 15mm copper or plastic piping, it features an easy to use switch for controlling the mains water, so it can instantly be turned on or off when required. The Surestop 15mm stopcock is powered by water pressure alone so no electricity supply or batteries are required.
EndoTherm is an award winning energy saving additive for central heating systems, independently proven to save up to 15% on space heating energy consumption. Verified by the Energy Saving Trust as an effective energy saving product it has now been installed into 150,000+ buildings over 10 years.
Supported by research programmes at Chester and Liverpool John Moores Universities, the additive changes the properties of the bulk fluid in a commercial or domestic heating system to make the water more efficient and improve its heat transfer capabilities. Its quick and easy to install via a dosing pot, magnetic filter or radiator, EndoTherm will circulate quickly around the system starting to improve efficiency immediately.
EndoTherm is compatible with inhibitor and freeze protection chemistries and poses no corrosive risk to any materials/components within a heating system. Leading brand boiler manufacturers have confirmed the use of EndoTherm does not invalidate warranties.
With a vast library of case studies from domestic properties to large commercial portfolio rollouts, EndoTherm’s ability to improve efficiency in any wet heating system, at a relatively low cost, is something anyone looking to save energy can benefit from!
We know these are really testing times for everyone but we really want to show our appreciation and support for those people on the frontline.
So we are very pleased to offer a 15% discount to all holders of a Blue Light card or similar photo ID, from any of the emergency services.
You’re protecting us, and we’d love for a Halcyan unit to protect you and yours.
To claim your discount, please email us a photo of your photo ID, and we’ll ping you back your one-off discount code, which you can apply in our webshop, or just call us and we can help you over the phone.
