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Canan Residence, a recently built luxury high rise development located in the heart of Istanbul’s new financial centre, is successfully controlling limescale formation in its hot water system thanks to KalGUARD™, an innovative cost saving device that boasts a return on investment of 12 months compared with brine water softeners. The independently-proven technology from water treatment specialist Sentinel has negligible operational costs and requires minimal maintenance, two key benefits that attracted the developers to the product.
Designed by Turkey’s celebrated architect Adnan Kazmaoğlu, the Canan Residence reflects the prosperous aspirations of the new financial centre, which will provide headquarters to many leading national and international financial institutions, including Central Bank and BRSA. The development itself is described as providing the ‘comfort of a 7-star hotel’ and comprises three blocks of 269 apartments - each complete with high quality fit-outs - in addition to a wealth of social facilities such as a spa, cinema, indoor and outdoor sports, gym, semi-Olympic swimming pools and cafe.
Meeting the needs of residents and staff for a seamless supply of hot water is a priority for the developers of the Canan Residence, yet the area’s hard mains water (at 200ppm) can compromise this requirement. For example, in the absence of adequate limescale control, hard water will give rise to limescale accumulation in water heaters, pipework and appliances, a phenomenon which can lead to low water flow rates, increased energy consumption and asset breakdown, to name but a few problems. Limescale can also adhere to sanitary fittings, such as showers and taps, potentially ruining aesthetics and function, and can jeopardise the health of a system by providing an ideal environment for bacteria to grow.
To promote boiler plant protection and efficiency, the development’s facilities management team investigated different types of limescale controllers. Initially, the developer was tempted to opt for traditional brine water softener technology due to its proven reliability. However, upon discovering the superior benefits offered by KalGUARD, the team switched to the latter technology.
“Sentinel provided us with a table comparing the operational costs of KalGUARD with a brine water softener over the course of 10 years. It showed that KalGUARD had a return on investment period of just 12 months, after which we would be able to make savings every year. We were also happy with the fact that KalGUARD is an independently tested and verified technology that is used successfully in thousands of installations worldwide. It was an easy decision to choose KalGUARD,” said Canan Yurduseven, Facility Manager at Canan Residence.
KalGUARD is able to deliver considerable cost savings as it requires no consumables and does not waste water. The device is also extremely low maintenance and, as there are no consumables to manage, labour costs are almost entirely eliminated. In order to prove the savings offered by KalGUARD, Sentinel advised Canan Residence’s facilities team to check its estimated annual costs for the running of a brine water softener before making a final decision on which technology to choose.
“As soon as the developer saw the figures they immediately chose to install KalGUARD instead,” explained Hakan Yildiz, Managing Partner for Sentinel Turkey.
KalGUARD uses unique powered electrolytic scale inhibitor technology that is based upon a methodology recommended by the Building Services Compliance Guide to Part L of the UK building Regulations and ICOM for the control of scale (unlike other device technologies such as magnetic and electronic). The product works by utilising a pure zinc sacrificial anode to permanently change calcium carbonate crystals (calcite limescale) into soft, non-deposit forming aragonite. This permanent change means that KalGUARD enables water to be stored without any loss of treatment. The product is also WRAS-approved, meaning water is perfectly safe to drink.
Value-engineered, KalGUARD is non-LSI dependent and sized according to demand, so just one unit is needed to treat an entire system when installed on the rising main before the tank and booster sets. The device is also quick to install, having taken Sentinel’s technical team less than a day to fit at the Canan Residence.
To test the effectiveness of KalGUARD, the facilities manager at Canan Residence installed the device on one of the development’s brand new 500 litre resistance type hot water boilers and monitored its performance against a 300 litre hot water boiler which had no water treatment in place. Both boilers were set to continuous 80 degrees Celsius. Before commissioning, the two boilers were washed and inspected, and it was confirmed they were free of limescale.
After three months in use, the boilers were inspected again. As expected, the boiler with no water treatment had already begun to suffer from significant limescale deposition. In contrast, the boiler with KalGUARD protection, despite coping with a much higher volume of water, was completely clean and clear of limescale.
“This test not only demonstrated how quickly limescale can build-up in a boiler system, potentially placing the plant at risk of breakdown, early repairs and poor efficiency, but also how well KalGUARD performs at limescale control. There was no trace of limescale on the boiler protected by KalGUARD. The client is extremely pleased with their choice of product,” commented Mr. Yildiz.
“Our work with Canan Residence is an example of the potential cost and labour savings that owners of other commercial buildings across Turkey can make if they install KalGUARD – millions of lira each year could be saved. Additionally, the benefits of eliminating water wastage and reducing environmental impact contribute greatly towards sustainability targets. KalGUARD represents a great opportunity for businesses and municipalities in Turkey,” he concluded.
KalGUARD is manufactured by Sentinel. Sentinel’s Turkish division is headquartered in Istanbul and operates throughout the country.
