George Linder, product manager at Heatrae Sadia, explains how installing a heating cylinder can provide an effective heating solution.
There are multiple factors for housebuilders to take into consideration when building a new home, one of which is the heating system. While boilers are a popular choice, cylinders can offer a unique set of benefits.
Different properties require varying heating set-ups due to the range of needs of each household. To select the correct system, it is necessary to evaluate the individual hot water requirements for each build. This includes how many bathrooms are being built, the flow rates and the amount of water that is likely to be needed. In builds likely to experience high hot water demand, a hot water cylinder is often considered as essential.
Hot water requirements
When choosing a heating system for a new build, housebuilders will already have an idea of how many bathrooms and rooms will be erected. These plans can be used to determine which cylinder is best suited to the home.
For a multiple bathroom new build with increased hot water demand, an unvented cylinder option would generally be better suited because as the cylinder uses mains pressure, it provides a more stable and even flow of hot water. This allows a greater variety of terminal fittings to be chosen and the ability to run different outlets at the same time.
When it comes to sizing, a cylinder size of 210 litres would be best for a two-bathroom house, based on the average wet room using 60 litres of water. The expected recovery period for 70 per cent of the volume for this cylinder is 30 minutes, when a heat input of approximately 15kW is used, ensuring wait times are kept to a minimum. Larger homes, with more than two bathrooms, generally require a larger cylinder to provide the hot water needed to avoid a 30-minute wait time for the hot water to be replenished.
Benefits explained
Selecting the correct heating system ahead of occupants moving into a property ensures that the core elements of the house do not need to be changed at a later date to better suit the residents.
It is the responsibility of the housebuilder to make an informed decision when selecting a cylinder to ensure it is the correct one for that particular build. If a bigger cylinder than necessary is installed then the homeowner will end up paying higher energy bills, to produce hot water that is not being used. Selecting the best cylinder for the job will therefore save money and time for the homeowner.
By providing the most suitable system, developers will also earn a better reputation than those fitting improper solutions, as well as avoiding the need to return to change the system at a later date.
When it comes to offering an effective solution for housebuilders, where the product is sourced can have just as great an effect as the capacity of the product. For example, a quality product such as the Megaflo Eco comes with a warranty that provides housebuilders with extra peace of mind that the system they have chosen is covered for years to come.
Installing a cylinder
It is important to remember that an unvented hot water cylinder must be installed and maintained by a G3 qualified installer. Once installed, a cylinder must also be serviced every 12 months.
Housebuilders who take into consideration the hot water supply when planning new builds, will reap the benefits when it comes to customer satisfaction. It is important to suggest solutions that will accurately reflect the anticipated hot water requirements of the property, as well as recognising there is no ‘one size fits all’ approach. This is where housebuilders can develop a reliable reputation for installing appropriate heating systems that last.
Heatrae Sadia has a full range of hot water solutions to ensure that no matter the requirements, there is always a product to suit. Housebuilders should take advantage of this breadth of range, in order to select the ideal hot water system for each property.
