Insulating Your Unvented Cylinder: How and Why It’s Important

Unvented cylinders offer mains pressure hot water at every tap in your home. Today’s models are also more efficient than ever before, ensuring that you’re able to enjoy all the hot water your family needs while reducing the costs of heating that water. However, there are things you can do to help improve that efficiency and performance. One of them is to insulate your unvented cylinder. But how do you go about doing that? And why is it important?

Why It’s Important to Insulate Your Unvented Cylinder

Without insulation, your water cylinder is exposed to the surrounding air. During the warmer summer months, that might not be a problem. However, once it starts getting cold, it may mean that your cylinder operates more often to keep water at the optimum temperature as determined by the thermostat.

The more it cycles, the more power or fuel it consumes, increasing your operating costs. By insulating the cylinder, you help reduce heat loss to the surrounding air and decrease your costs. In some cases, unvented cylinder insulation can reduce your heat loss by up to 45%, which translates to a reduction in water heating costs of around 16%.

How to Insulate Your Unvented Cylinder

The simplest way to insulate your unvented cylinder is to purchase an insulated blanket made specifically for that purpose. You’ll find these at most DIY and plumbing/hardware stores. Make certain that you’re purchasing a British Standard tank jacket/blanket and that it’s at least 75 mm thick. Because these blankets are made to fit a range of different models, you’ll need to take your cylinder’s measurements using a tape measure, and then cut the blanket to fit.

In addition to cutting the blanket so that it fits around the cylinder, you will need to cut out holes for the controls and pipes. Some blankets come with pre-cut holes, but if yours does not, simply wrap it around the cylinder, mark where the controls and pipes are, and then cut them out when you trim the blanket to size.

If you don’t have a tape measure, you can wrap the blanket around the cylinder and then cut it to fit directly. Once cut and wrapped, tape the ends so that they don’t pull away from the cylinder. You can also wrap insulation around the hot water pipes leading away from the cylinder to help reduce heat loss there, too.

In Conclusion

Your water heater helps ensure that you and your family have all the hot water you need for bathing and washing up. However, you can improve its efficiency by insulating it. An insulating blanket is a simple way to reduce heat loss, improve efficiency, and cut down on operating costs. It’s also easy to install on your own with a few simple steps and basic tools most people have in their homes. However, you can also call the professionals. Get in touch with us at EasyFlow to check that your unvented cylinder is properly maintained and insulated.