How do you choose the right hot water system? Whatever you choose make sure that the system is large enough not only to suit today’s needs but those of your family in the foreseeable future. Consider in this choice the number of people in the home, the type of washing machine and dishwasher you have and whether they use hot or cold water. It is a good idea when deciding on capacity to count each extra bathroom and each washing machine as an extra person.

Types of hot water systems available to you are:

• gas
• electric
• solar

Hot water systems can be the following types:

storage heaters which store and heat water until required. Tank sizes vary and large units can be placed on off peak rates;

instantaneous heaters. New models of these are very popular and only heat water as you use it. Different sized units are available to service one or several outlets in the home. These units cannot use off peak tariffs but you only pay for the hot water used as none is stored. Systems are available for gas or electricity;

mains pressure are the most common systems where water is constantly replaced and heated in the tank as usage depletes the supply;

gravity fed systems which as the name implies, use gravity to feed the water to the outlet from storage tanks in the roof. These heaters have generally been replaced in popularity by other systems.

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