3 Hot Water For 3 Bedroom Households
Heating water for a 3-bedroom house may sound daunting, but it’s fairly simple. There are a few methods of putting this into action, varying in price and efficiency.
Direct Hot Water Cylinders
One of the easiest methods we could recommend for a new build or someone seeking a one-purchase solution for their household hot water would be to use a Direct Hot Water Cylinder. Direct Water Cylinders store and heat water from within using electric immersion elements. You might recognise these as "immersion" heaters or "storage" water heaters, designed to hold a given amount of Hot Water for usage when demanded in a shower, bath, or basin that requires a hot water tap or supply. Unlike an Indirect Water Cylinder that is connected to a separate heating system (such as a boiler), a Direct Water Cylinder is heated directly by an immersion heater that is located inside the tank. Some of our favourite options for these are the Super Xpress range from OSO, the Gledhill ES Direct Series, and of course the ever-popular Megaflo Range. Whilst each of these has its own benefits (check out this article for more information) some common points that might convince you of their usage are:
- Mains Cold Water Pressure - the unvented nature of these water cylinders allows for mains pressure hot water access - utilising the cold water mains to allow for the best pressure a household could ask for.
- Ease of Installation - the movement away from vented units means that these styles of heaters could be set up and installed anywhere in the household or property, with no need for a gravity-based installation.
- High Thermal Insulation - these units come with polyurethane foam insulation, meaning that most styles can offer up to 99% heat loss efficiency, ensuring that no money is wasted on heating water and saving as much as possible on electric bills.
Footnote - These are designed for usage with drinking and showering waters only, these units would not be capable of or designed for Central Heating requirements. To accommodate for this if necessary, we would more likely recommend...
Indirect Hot Water Cylinders - System Boilers
Another solution we feel might benefit those looking to renovate or update their Hot Water system more would be the use of an indirect Water Cylinder alongside a System Boiler. Many households likely utilise some form of Gas Boiler to power their 3-bedroom households, and in the current climate as of writing the cost of gas is lower than electricity generally. Whilst we all understand that this will change in the future, many installers wouldn't be too keen to progress into a purely electrical set-up, or may well just not wish to get rid of their system boiler, gas or electrically powered. Where this is the case, we would best recommend an Indirect Water Cylinder, which is able to use the power of this System/Gas Boiler to heat the water in the Cylinder. These Cylinders styles utilise a heating coil, which intakes the energy generated by the System to heat the water inside the Cylinder. This water is then provided to the various hot water outlets - e.g. showers baths and basins. Some of the best-in-class options come from the brands mentioned above, the Super Coil series from OSO, the Megaflo Indirect group, and the Gledhill Platinum Stainless Indirect range, as well as the Joule Air Cyclone Indirect. Some common benefits of these units include:
- Internal Expansion Vessels - all of the above options discussed include internal expansion spaces, ensuring that no unsightly expansion vessels are required and reducing plumbers' costs and time needed to get these units working
- Brilliant For Future-Proofing Your Household - heat coil usage can be adapted through the switchover from Gas to Electric Boilers, offering future-proofing as time goes on. This can massively increase the value of your property additionally.
What About These New Air Source Heat Pumps I Keep Hearing About?
A heat pump water heater uses electricity to move heat from the air or ground to heat water. It is an efficient and eco-friendly option that can save you money on your utility bills. Heat Pumps are an emerging technology in the market, at the point of writing about Heat Pumps we can't profess to many usage cases or first-hand experiences regarding their usage. Heat Pumps are likely to become a more and more popular solution for household heating as time goes forward, currently, there exists a Heat Pump Grant scheme, which is designed to prompt installers to consider this greener avenue of heating your home hot water. Incredible companies such as Trianco have already gotten ahead of the market in this regard, developing the ActivAir R32 range for household Hot Water and Heating requirements. Some of their core benefits include:
- High Efficiency - Air Source Heat Pumps are incredibly efficient, and are designed to offer an absolute minimum environmental impact only requiring air and electricity to generate hot water for your household hot water and central heating.
- Future-Proof - even more so than the above-mentioned Indirect Cylinders, Air Source Heat Pumps future-proof your property, installing these sooner than later would ensure maximum cost savings, made all the more easy a decision with the above-mentioned governmental grant that offers up to £5000 funding towards the use of these types of water heaters.
- Outdoor Set-up - the nature of the Air Source Heat pump requiring outside air means that no indoor space is taken up to use this. You can finally free up your old Boiler cupboard and get your house space back.
Conclusion
There are several options presented above for you, we aim to offer a wide host of solutions for someone looking to power the hot water for a 3-bedroom house. If the above has not fully helped you determine the style of set-up you're interested in, don't hesitate to give us a call on 01934 253600 to discuss any further, we are able to offer advice from the point of consideration to installation and we strive to be as informative as possible. Not having our own brand in the market should help you in trusting we aim to offer objective and informative advice, get in touch to get the optimal solution for you!
