Proper Unvented Cylinder Sizing and Usage Strategies

Whether you’re upgrading from a too-small unvented cylinder or installing one in a brand-new home, it’s crucial to get a few things right. First, you need the right capacity, so sizing is a major concern. Second, you need to understand how your usage affects water and energy consumption and then develop strategies to match. This post will address both topics.

Sizing Considerations

When buying a new unvented cylinder, capacity is an important metric. It tells you how many litres your cylinder will hold, but that affects other things. If the capacity is too low, you may not have enough hot water for your needs. If it is too high, you’re paying to heat water that you won’t ever use. You also need to consider the impact of capacity on costs. The larger the capacity, the more the cylinder will cost initially, but you’ll also pay more to fill it.

The rule of thumb is to choose a cylinder that offers 35 to 45 litres of water per person per day. However, like most rules of thumb, there’s a lot of leeway here. Your family’s usage patterns will make a big difference. If your family doesn’t use much water, you may only need 30 litres per person. However, if your family uses a lot of water, you could need up to 70 litres of water per day.

It’s not just usage patterns. The number of baths in the home will also play a role. So will whether you have an automatic dishwasher, garbage disposal, bidets, and other water-using appliances. The best advice on gauging your usage is to read your water meter early one day, and then check it the same time the next day. Subtract the difference between the two numbers and this is the amount of water you used during that period (most of which will be heated water). Do this for a week and you should have a rough idea of your water consumption.

How Your Routines Affect Water Consumption

As you can see from the information above, your usage habits will play a big role in determining just how much hot water your household uses. Some of the most intensive uses come from showers, baths, manually washing dishes, and washing clothes in hot water.

If you’re concerned that your household is using too much hot water, these are the areas you should focus on reducing. Shorter showers, taking showers instead of baths, and using a modern automatic dishwasher rather than washing up by hand can all make very real differences in your hot water usage.

Get Expert Help

Not sure how to size your new unvented cylinder? Turn to the experts at EasyFlow. We can help you choose the right capacity and model from the available options, and we also offer professional, G3-credentialed installers. We can also follow that up with annual maintenance to keep your cylinder operating at peak efficiency. From more efficient water heaters to expert guidance on cylinder capacity, we’re here to help!