Keep Heating Systems Safe During Lockdown

As the lockdown continues, it’s important to be vigilant about preventative maintenance to protect heating systems in empty commercial buildings.

Keep Heating Systems Safe During Lockdown

Where a short-term shutdown is anticipated, the advice is to leave heating systems operating at a lower temperature of around 14ºC. This avoids the possibility of damp taking hold in the building, reduce the risk of contamination from microbes, which causes corrosion, and helps facilities managers to keep energy bills down as much as possible.

Preventative maintenance

Introducing a weekly maintenance schedule ensures that the system remains in good condition and avoids the risk of legionella.

• Carry out a visual inspection once a week, even where there is remote monitoring capability for the heating system.
• Keep moving parts such as pumps operating once a week for ten minutes to stop them seizing and failing when the system is reactivated.
• Allow domestic hot water to reach 60ºC (pasteurisation temperature) for an hour once a week to prevent bacteria from forming and avoiding legionella. Some water heaters have onboard controls to operate a legionella cycle that brings the whole system up to pasteurisation temperature.

Long term closure

If a long-term building closure is planned, you could drain down the whole heating and hot water system. It should be isolated completely to prevent freezing. The building needs to be decommissioned completely to prevent microbial contamination.

Reactivating a building

When reactivating a building, the following 24-hour maintenance regime can be followed.

• 24 hours before you bring the system back into operation, fill it up, remove air, and bring the hot water up to 60ºC.
• Open all the outlets until they get to at least 55ºC to make sure any stagnant water is removed before shutting them off. Flush outlets and pipes thoroughly.
• Carry out sampling to ensure that there is no contamination from microbes in the hot water. Depending on the outcome, you might have to chlorinate the hot water system.

L&W Heating and Plumbing – Here For You

During the COVID19 coronavirus pandemic, we are following all the suggested guidelines from the UK government, NHS and Public Health England whilst maintaining safe working practices at all times. For more information call our professional team on a local number below:-

Wigan Central Heating Engineers 01942 417220
Warrington Central Heating Engineers 01925 394260
Newton Le Willows Central Heating Engineers 01925 394260
St Helens Central Heating Engineers 01744 776140
Widnes Central Heating Engineers 01925 394260
Runcorn Central Heating Engineers 01925 394260