![\"cylinder](\"http:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/08\/cylinder_insulation-200x300.jpg\" "\\"cylinder_insulation\\"")
<\/a>Hot Water Cylinders are commonly used in the UK market in two different ways. The first is that the property uses a boiler which burns a fuel source and part of that boilers functionality is to heat the water too. That heated water is stored in the Hot Water Cylinder until it either is used or goes cold and needs to be reheated. This means the hot water stands around potentially for hours until it is used.<\/p>\nThe second type of usage is by using the cylinder with an electric immersion. This is where at the click of a switch, or for those using a timer a twitch of a dial, the immersion is made active to heat the water contained in a tank. For those who are interested an immersion works in a very similar principle to an electric kettle in the kitchen, just on a bigger size. Inside the tank there are electric filaments that heat the water inside the tank until it reaches the set temperature or that the electric is switched off. This type of Hot Water Cylinder is generally found on properties that mainly use electric heating or without a fixed boiler present. It should be noted that even where there is a boiler and the cylinder is used like in the first example the cylinder is likely to have the secondary function available as a backup. After all, if your boiler blows up, it is useful to still have hot water from the electric immersion whilst the boiler is being repaired.<\/p>\n
Cylinders vary in shapes, sizes and manufacturers. Some modern cylinders are large sealed units that have been insulated at a factory level. Insulation is very important on a Hot Water Cylinder. Why? Well think of it like this. You are paying money every time you heat your hot water to fill that cylinder because you are using some form of energy which is on your utility bill. Every time that water goes cold and has to be reheated it costs you more money. Obviously things like programmers and timers will help you target specific periods when you want the water heated for, but once heated the hot water within the cylinder will start to cool.<\/p>\n
The right level of insulation around a Hot Water Cylinder<\/a> will help slow that heat loss to prevent the water cooling for longer. This in turn means that you have hot water for longer and don\u2019t have to heat the hot water to top up the hot water in the cylinder. Simple, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\nOutside of the factory sealed units, which are normally tested to make sure they have optimal insulation, there are two basic types of cylinder. There is the older style bare copper cylinder which normally has a jacket of insulation tied onto the outside. If this cylinder has no jacket covering it, or there are large areas not covered, then there is nothing stopping the hot water from losing heat almost immediately. The recommended optimal level of jacket insulation is a thickness of around 80 millimetres or 3 inches.<\/p>\n