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Many households rely on hot water cylinders for their central heating and hot water if they have a system or open vent boiler or a heat pump. However, few know exactly how they work, how to look after them or how to diagnose potential issues until it’s too late.
A hot water cylinder is a well-insulated tank which stores water after it’s been heated. Water is heated through your boiler or heat pump system and is then stored, at temperature, ready for you to use whenever it’s needed.
By storing hot water in this way, there’s no need to run the heating system constantly resulting in lower energy bills, without subjecting household members to cold showers!
If you have a system or open vent boiler or heat pump (air source, ground source or water source), you'll need a hot water cylinder as part of your heating and hot water system.
For homes with two or more bathrooms and a high demand for continuous hot water, a heating system with a storage cylinder ensures your needs are always met. If your property has low water pressure and needs a pump for shower flow, a hot water cylinder ensures water is delivered at the right temperature.
Vaillant hot water cylinders are designed to work seamlessly with our domestic heating solutions. Explore our cylinder range or contact your local installer who will be able to advise you on size, type, or any other questions.
Unvented hot water cylinders get water directly from the mains, which means better pressure and easier water distribution in the home. This is a benefit to its design and a reason behind its growing popularity since it was first introduced to the UK in the 1980s.
Unvented hot water cylinders do not require a separate cold water tank. This makes them more compact than other systems that need additional space in attics and lofts.
A vented hot water cylinder gets its water from an external cold water tank, typically located in the attic. This setup relies on gravity for pressure, rather than mains pressure. It's called "vented" because it uses a vent pipe to connect the hot water cylinder to the header tank.
Watch the video 'What is an unvented hot water cylinder' for further info.
As well as choosing between an unvented or vented hot water cylinder, there is the consideration over whether it should be directly or indirectly heated.
A direct hot water cylinder heats water through an immersion heater found inside the cylinder. The cylinder is therefore not connected to a boiler.
An indirect hot water cylinder heats the water using an external heat source such as a boiler or heat pump. The water is heated in the cylinder through a coil that is heated by the appliance.
Hot water cylinders today typically come with a minimum 25-year guarantee but can last longer if maintained well. Your heating engineer will be able to carry out comprehensive checks for you to see if the hot water tank needs replacing.
However, you should look out for:
