With heating season in full flow, Wilo is encouraging heating and plumbing installers to check circulator pumps while performing a boiler service to ensure optimal home heating system performance and reduce the chances of a breakdown. As the energy price cap is due to rise in January by 5%, it’s even more important that any way of reducing needless energy spend is found for the UK’s population.

The pump manufacturer is firstly reminding installers to determine whether the circulator pump is a fixed or variable speed. The former is likely to be inefficient and will unnecessarily push up electricity bills owing to it not able to vary the pump’s performance based on the heating system’s demands. Wilo recommends installers prompt homeowners to switch to a variable speed pump which will allow customers to save energy in the long run while improving the reliability and performance of their heating systems. A variable speed pump with an electronically commutated (EC) motor can work from as low as 4W to a maximum of 40W, meaning a 60% reduction in electricity usage compared with outdated fixed speed pumps. 

The configurability of a variable pump enables customisation to each property by using details like the number of radiators in operation. This ensures constant optimal performance, making it crucial to the functioning of a heating system, and is something that fixed speed pumps do not allow. Running costs can be reduced significantly to around 33p per day and, if the pump operates at a lower speed, these costs can be reduced even further, by up to 80%.

If homeowners are experiencing difficulties with their radiators, this could mean that the circulator pump is not performing correctly, making both the pump and the boiler work harder than necessary. If radiators throughout the house aren’t operating, or some are heated but some aren’t, for instance, installers are encouraged to simply check the circulator pump is properly commissioned.

Additional signs that indicate an incorrectly functioning circulator pump include the pump casing feeling hot, or the water flow pipe not being hot despite the pump running.

Andy Thompson, national sales manager – Plumbing and Heating at Wilo UK, says: “With the colder months well underway, it is imperative that installers help homeowners make sure that their heating is working efficiently. Circulator pumps are an essential component of heating systems, so it makes sense to treat them with the same level of importance as you would a boiler.

“There are plenty of ways that installers can go the extra mile for their customers this heating season, including advising them to switch to a variable speed pump, which will provide long-term energy savings while keeping the bills down. Innovative pumps like the Stratos-PICO are designed to not only make the lives of homeowners easier, but installers too, thanks to its smart features like Bluetooth connectivity and pre-set factory settings that make it easy to set up.”

Wilo has also recommended that installers check if the pump is running dry. If this is the case, air that has entered the pump can damage the internal components, and can cause the pump to break down much faster. An indicator of an airlock in the pump is the pump emitting unusual noises. To avoid guesswork, however, the Stratos-PICO has an automatic dry running detection, and air can be vented at the press of a button. Installers will be notified by an error code on the pump’s display, accompanied by how long the fault has existed for.

Andy continues: “There are many ways in which smart circulator pumps can benefit both installers and their customers and alert them to potential problems. For example, other pumps might require an installer to use a flathead screwdriver on the pump in order to bleed the air out manually, something that can be extremely challenging depending on the placement of the pump and its accessibility.”

For more about Wilo and its heating circulator pumps, please visit www.wilo.co.uk.