Gas heaters can be found in many homes in Auckland. These heating systems often use hot water cylinders to ensure copious amounts of hot water are stored and available on demand. There are a number of things to consider when choosing a hot water cylinder for your home, i.e. capacity, efficiency, cost effectiveness and suitability to your boiler system.
Types of Hot Water Cylinders
There are two main types of cylinders:
- Unvented Cylinders. These work off the cold water main pressure, providing hot water on demand. Since they operate without a feeder tank, unvented cylinders free up space in your loft and allows you to install the cylinder anywhere around your home.
Generally constructed with top quality stainless steel, unvented cylinders have long lifespan and high durability with manufacturer’s warranty that range up to 25 years.
Since they operate at higher pressure than traditional vented units, unvented systems require additional safety features and need to be installed by boiler specialists. This adds up to the installation costs.
- Vented Cylinders. These copper tanks are fed cold water from the mains feed and use gravity to drive water through the pipes to the home’s heating system. They are suitable for use with standard heat only boilers. A vent pipe connects the cylinder and the cold water in the header tank.
Vented hot water cylinders are less complicated than vented systems, which means they are easier to install and maintain.
Other types of hot water cylinders come in both vented and unvented systems:
Direct Systems
In direct systems, an internal element (usually an immersion heater) heats the water in the cylinder directly. The heated water is fed out the top of the cylinder and supplied to the outlet (i.e. a shower or a tap) on demand.
Direct cylinders are an electric only option and are normally used when no central heating is installed, such as in flats and apartments.
Indirect Systems
As the name suggests, indirect cylinder systems heat water indirectly via an external heat source such as a gas boiler or solar thermal. An immersion heater is typically fitted as a direct backup or supplementary heat source. This ensures you have a steady flow of hot water even when your boiler is broken.
Indirect gas heaters particularly heat up and recover faster, making them a cost effective option. If you want to save cash without compromising performance or efficiency, you can always switch to gas cylinders any time.
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Just as not all hot water cylinders are created equal, not all varieties are priced the same. Think your quote is cheap? Try Us!
We carry a wide selection of hot water cylinders from leading brands including:
- Bosch
- Rheem
- Econergy
- HJ Cooper
- Rinnai
- Peter Cocks
- Apex Valves
- Chromagen
- Green Glo
- Triumph
- Thermann
- And more
For hot water cylinder repairs, upgrades or replacements, call our free NZ hotline: 0800 429 546.
