Monthly Archives: June 2018

Grundfos Selectric Central Heating Pump

On 1^st April this year, homeowners across the UK saw their water bills rise by 2% - culminating in an extra £9 expense annually. After this development, you can forgive many for believing that they have little to no control over their water bills. Armed with the right advice however, homeowners can very easily reduce the amount they are paying. Opting for more energy efficient appliances, making an effort to collect, conserve and reuse water as well having a better understanding of both water-greedy and water-efficient processes, will put you in the best position possible to save money on your water bill.

Install a heating circulating pump

Circulating pumps will minimise the amount of money you spend on heating water. Grundfos central heating pumps are able to do this by expending a small amount of energy to distribute hot water throughout the home, so that an instant source of hot water is available from any outlet at any time. Without a circulating pump, huge tanks of water are heated and allowed to cool without being used up; a far from efficient process. The addition of a Grundfos selectric circulating pump can alleviate this problem, making your home’s heating of water far more efficient - both in terms of energy used and money spent.

Cut water usage by opting for eco shower heads

There are a plethora of products out there that are tailor-made to make your home more energy and water efficient - one of the most affordable yet convenient of which is an eco-shower head. By affording you with complete control of your shower’s flow rate, you can adjust the amount of water you use. Eco-shower heads vary in the way that they are able to manipulate your shower. Some simply reduce water flow, others will aerate the water (increasing the water flow without using more water) and some even include a flow regulator that limits water output from the bottom of the shower hose. What unites all of these eco-shower heads is their ability to reduce your home’s water usage and consequently, your water bill too.

Make better use of your water supply through reuse and recycling

With the global population set to continue to rise, global water demand is expected to increase by 50% between 2000 and 2050. Freshwater supplies have never been so scarce, making it more important than ever to reuse and recycle water where possible. We can help you do just that. At Pump Sales Direct, we have grey water recycling systems and rainwater harvesting pumps that will dramatically improve the efficiency of your home’s use of water.

Change your showering habits

Just as important as the physical changes you make to your home, are the behavioural changes you make. There are plenty of slight adjustments you can make that genuinely do make a difference. If you normally take baths, take showers instead. If you have become accustomed to taking long showers, try to cut it down by a few minutes. Simple changes that often get overlooked can be just as effective.

By incorporating this advice into your own home, you are bound to cut down on the amount of money you are spending on water. We are more than happy to help make this transition as smooth as possible by answering any questions you might have about any of our products. You can contact us by phone, email or through this contact form.

Grundfos Unilift 150 A1 submersible pump

As our constant search for sustainable methods of using water continues, more and more viable solutions seem to emerge. In this post, we will delve into three of the most popular - rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling and seawater desalination. Without these techniques, we run the very real risk of exhausting the world’s natural supplies of potable water. And the better we are able to understand and harness these techniques, the more likely we are to be able to properly manage and maintain our resources for future generations.

Rainwater harvesting

The most widely practised water reclamation technique is rainwater harvesting - and it owes its popularity to its simplicity. At its most rudimentary, it can involve nothing more than a bucket being placed outside. More complex alternatives are available however, and an astroturf lawn fitted with a water collection tank is perhaps the most elaborate example. One of the most practical rainwater harvesting methods is to install a water butt. Positioned at the base of a downpipe, a water butt will simply sit and collect rainwater, which can then be repurposed for use throughout the home at a later date.

Grey water recycling

Greywater refers to the relatively clean wastewater that emerges from baths, sinks, washing machines and other similar appliances after use. Unlike rainwater harvesting techniques which are comparatively simple, because of the recirculating that is necessary in grey water recycling, their systems are slightly more complicated - and, as you would expect, slightly more expensive. At Pump Sales Direct, the grey water recycling systems we have available are affordable and effective. You are just a few clicks away from reducing your home’s water usage by up to 50%. Accompanying any decline in your home’s water usage is a similarly healthy drop in your home’s water bills - proving that the installation of a grey water recycling system pays dividends financially as well as environmentally.

Seawater desalination

Seawater desalination is the most expensive and laborious technique for recovering usable water on this list - so much so that it has to be undertaken on a massive scale to prove financially viable. As one of the few truly rainfall-independent water sources, seawater desalination, for many areas, is an indispensable part of their water supply. In Kuwait for example, the water produced by seawater desalination provides 100% of their water use. The method by which this process is carried out varies from plant to plant. Amongst the most popular however, are: distillation, forward and reverse osmosis, and electrodialysis.

Water reclamation technologies from Grundfos

Grundfos, one of the best known manufacturers in the industry, produces a variety of pumps that are suitable for use in water reclamation - both domestically and commercially. Their range of wastewater submersible pumps are of the utmost quality and the addition of one to your home will undoubtedly bolster its ability to reclaim water - the Grundfos pump unilift 150 a1 is just one example. If you have any questions about any of our products, please do not hesitate to get in touch by phone, email, or through the contact form on our website.

Single impeller shower pump

Your bathroom can be dramatically improved with just one small change - the introduction of a new shower pump. With the right specifications and installed correctly, shower pumps can bolster the water pressure and flow of your shower - transforming a lacklustre trickle into a jet. Before you can make this alteration, you first have to understand the parameters within which you have to work to select the ideal shower pump. Uncovering whether your shower operates on a vented or unvented system, deciphering the best size and pressure rating of shower pump,  whether you require a single or twin impeller one, as well as the best location to position it are all essential considerations for those looking to make a purchase.

Identify the water system your home operates on. Is it a gravity fed (vented) system or a mains pressure (unvented) system?

Before anything else, you first have to identify the heating system your household operates on.  There are three main kinds in the UK: gravity fed (unvented) system, mains pressure (unvented) system and combination boilers. Shower pumps will only work in coordination with one of those heating systems - gravity fed (vented) systems. Gravity fed systems are actually the oldest and least efficient water heating systems and as such, are also the most likely to need the additional thrust offered by a shower pump.

Check what size pump (and bar rating) is required

The size (or pressure rating) of the shower pump you will need is dictated by the size of your house and the number and distance of the outlets it is tasked with serving. The more trying the task, the higher the bar rating your shower pump should be. Bar, a unit of atmospheric air pressure, gives an indication of the amount of pressure a shower pump is capable of generating. Shower pumps have a bar rating of somewhere between 1.5B and 4.5B. For comparison, a shower pump with a bar rating of 4.0B upwards are capable of providing for two entire bathrooms while a shower pump with a rating of 1.5B is only capable of boosting a single shower.

Know the difference between single and twin impeller shower pumps

Another distinction that is important to make at an early stage, is the difference between single and twin impeller shower pumps. While twin impeller shower pumps are able to boost the flow of water from two different sources of water (hot and cold), single impeller shower pumps can only increase the flow from one source of water.

Decide between positive and negative head shower pumps

Similarly, you have to be able to discern the differences between positive and negative head shower pumps. Positive shower pumps are reliant on gravity to work properly - the water tank must be positioned above the shower. Negative shower pumps on the other hand, are able to boost pressure regardless of the relative position of the shower and water tanks.

Whatever your situation, you are sure to find a shower pump that suits your home to a tee at Pump Sales Direct. Salamander shower pumps and Stuart Turner shower pumps alike, you’ll find all of the most reputable brands on our website. Quiet shower pumps are a necessity - you won’t find the noisier shower pumps of yesteryear at Pump Sales Direct. If you have any questions about our products or any aspect of our service, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can do so, by email, phone or this contact form.

Grundfos Magna 3

Circulating pumps have become an essential component of any energy-conscious home. Operating on a closed circuit system within the home, they have rapidly overtaken traditional heating methods and become the new standard. Where old methods were inefficient, the latest line of central heating pumps make far better use of a home’s resources to generate the same supply of hot water - only more quickly, more effectively and more efficiently. In this post, we have outlined everything you need to know about hot water pumps - from when and how to install them, how they work and why they are far superior to their predecessors.

How to install central heating pumps

It is possible to install a circulating pump without any prior knowledge of how they integrate into the closed circuit system of a home but it is relatively tricky. We would recommend hiring someone with the necessary knowledge, skill and equipment to ensure your circulating pump is fitted flawlessly. Instead of improving your home, an incorrectly fitted circulating pump can actually be a costly mistake.

What do hot water pumps do?

As you can probably infer from the name, circulating pumps circulate hot water around the home. The components of a circulating pump (support bearings, a pump impeller and a motor rotor) combine to provide homeowners with an instant supply of hot water. The electric motor causes the impeller to spin, which, in turn, pushes water out and compresses it - eventually producing an instant supply of hot water in the process.

What are the benefits of circulating pumps?

In areas with rapidly expanding and urbanising populations, local authorities offer rebates on circulating pumps because of their ability to slash the volume of water being used in homes. This is testament to the water saving capabilities of hot water circulating pumps. Equally important is their ability to reduce the amount of energy being used and wasted in a home. Traditional heating methods are reliant on heating a massive volume of water, only for a mere fraction of it to be used. By providing an immediate supply of hot water only when needed, hot water pumps are far more economic with the home's resources.  By reducing the amount of energy that is committed to heating water, circulating pumps are also able to keep heating bills to an absolute minimum. Not only are circulating pumps beneficial for the environment, they are also beneficial for your finances.

Shop hot water pumps from Pump Sales Direct

At Pump Sales Direct, we stock a range of heating circulators. One of our most popular models is the Grundfos Magna 3. For good reason too, as well as being extremely efficient (it is compliant with EuP requirements) it also possesses an in-built pressure differential and temperature sensor which ensure that your home's heating system is always operating at peak efficiency. If you have any unanswered questions about the Grundfos Magna 3 - or any other of heating circulator pumps for that matter - please do not hesitate to get in touch by phone or email. Our dedicated team will be more than happy to answer your queries.

If your bathroom is beginning to look tired and worn, it may well be time to consider making some changes. The thought of updating your bathroom décor is often accompanied by a sense of impending doom with the inevitable outlay of cash. An update to a rapidly deteriorating bathroom needn’t be an extremely expensive undertaking. On the contrary, with the right advice, you can rejuvenate both the appearance and efficiency of your bathroom affordably in one fell swoop. From replacing outdated, ineffective pumps with newer, more efficient alternatives to updating your décor DIY-style, transforming your bathroom for the better is very much achievable.

Quiet shower pumps

Replacing or installing a new shower pump is a practical move that will serve your bathroom well for years to come. If you don’t already have a shower pump installed, you only have yourself for to blame for the disappointingly weak water flow emanating from your shower. If on the other hand, you do have a shower pump bolstering your water pressure - and have had so for many years, it is most likely time for an upgrade. Technology moves at a rapid rate, and seemingly minor developments can culminate in major improvements in efficiency. This is true too of Salamander shower pumps and Stuart Turner shower pumps.

At Pump Sales Direct, we stock a range of energy efficient products, a great deal of which are shower pumps. Designed to run with extreme efficiency, the installation of one of the latest models of shower pump can equate to a 50% reduction in energy consumption, which is of benefit to both the health of the environment and your finances. Another factor worth noting is just how quiet shower pumps are now. A new shower pump is worth the investment to achieve the kind of tranquilly quiet bathroom you have always hoped for.

Décor

A new shower pump will improve the practical makeup of your bathroom, but it won’t have the kind of impact (at least aesthetically) that actually altering your décor will have.

Lighting

A change in lighting can make a deceptively drastic difference to your bathroom. Scientific studies have demonstrated the strength of the relationship between lighting and mood.  Neglecting older fluorescent lighting in favour of newer LED lighting is an inexpensive way to generate a mood-boosting ambience in your bathroom.

Paint

In a similar fashion to the way a change in lighting can elicit a positive response, so too can a fresh coat of paint. Again, opting for lighter colours is the best strategy. While repainting your bathroom is inexpensive, it does however demand a fair amount of hard work. From ridding the bathroom walls of soap scum to painting around toilet tanks, painting a bathroom properly is no easy task.

Armed with this knowledge, you should be well-equipped to go about injecting a new lease of life into your bathroom. If you are interested in purchasing one of our products but still have a few questions you need answering before you take the plunge, please do not hesitate to get in touch. You can contact us by email, phone or through this contact form.