Why Is It Hard To Find Horizontal Hot Water Cylinders?

In the modern day, finding a suitable horizontal hot water cylinder is difficult. There are several factors at play here in why these are becoming increasingly rare on the market, and a few solutions we can readily prepare for those who absolutely must go for a horizontal option. Let's start with some of the key reasons you might find vertical a more popular solution, following this we'll discuss what options are still around.

Reasons why Vertical is more commonplace:

  • Stratification

One reason vertical units tend to dominate the market is due to efficient heat dispersal through the stratification process. Utilising the physics of rising heat, they enhance economic and power efficiency by effectively distributing hot water.

In the accompanying image, the vertical unit efficiently concentrates heat in a small baffle space. As the water heats up, the space expands, limiting temperature diffusion into cooler water. This minimises energy waste in heating water from low to lukewarm temperatures, optimizing heat dispersal and reducing time and energy wastage. In contrast, horizontal units with larger heat dispersal areas necessitate longer operation times, leading to increased costs and time consumption for water heating.

  • Space

Another important factor in vertical units taking over the marketplace is space. Many buildings, especially more modern designs, simply don't have the room space necessary to incorporate Horizontal units. Especially where we get to the 125 litres and over mark, you can be looking at losing a few square meters from your overall floor plan, which from a value perspective reduces the value of a household, and from an end-user perspective just leaves you with less room for your living space. Vertical units are therefore far more effective, taking up not half of a room in the house but just a cupboard space for example.

  • Legionella Control

A final reason as to why there might be fewer horizontal units appearing on the market could be the ability to manage and remove legionella. A bit like the temperature discussion above, a larger surface area of water gives more potential room for legionella to manifest within a system. When left unheated (for example, if you were going abroad) the larger contact area allows a greater possibility for Legionella to manifest, causing serious concern for health and well-being, also more likely requiring a full unit flush and therefore wasted water and heating.

 

I still need a horizontal unit, what are my options?

Luckily, we still have a few ways to supply a horizontal unit if it is absolutely required. We have some great options on the website for anything under 100 litres, such as the Hotflo or Multipoint horizontal options. If you were looking for something a bit larger, then we can recommend some product lines below that arent offered on-site but might be worth checking out:

  • Gledhill manufactures the stainless pro and stainless plus ranges of horizontal water heaters
  • Joule have a large selection of horizontal options available across their various product lines

If you have any further queries, please don't hesitate to contact us at 01934 253600 where we are on hand to advise or assist with anything Electric Water Heating related. Many thanks for reading!