Do I need to replace my hot water cylinder?

About 30% of an average households energy use goes on hot water heating - that's almost as much as heating your rooms! It's important to make sure that your hot water system is efficient, affordable, and meets your needs. Signs that your hot water cylinder needs replacing include:

• You don't have enough hot water for your day to day needs.
• The water is too cold or too hot, and can't be safely adjusted by an electrician.
• The flow rate is very low
• A sudden increase in electricity costs, or high electricity costs throughout the year.

To find out the age of your hot water cylinder, look for a sticker on the side of the cylinder. The sticker may also state the grade of the cylinder. The different grades of cylinders indicate the extent to which they are insulated. New cylinders have the best insulation. Very old cylinders may not have any insulation at all, and should be wrapped. 

It is also possible that the cylinder is so old it won't have a sticker!

There are different types of hot water systems and things to think about when picking a new system. It is important that you call the Energy Advice Service for further, in-depth advice to confirm that your choice will meet your needs and be affordable to run.

It is also important to take into account the running costs of different hot water systems.

If you use a lot of hot water, think about installing solar hot water.  Subsidies are also available to install solar hot water systems. But before you install a solar hot water system, check with the Energy Advice Service if your cylinder is large enough to be put on a night rate, and that this rate can be provided by local electricity suppliers. This may be a cheaper and simpler option than solar hot water.

FAQs

It takes forever to get hot water to the shower, what can I do?  The cause is likely to be the long run of pipe from the cylinder to the bathroom. The problem may also be a low pressure system. This can be fixed by dispensing with the header tank, changing to a mains water supply, and installing a pressure reducing valve on the existing cylinder.  However cost of this upgrade needs to be considered - if the cylinder is old, it might be best to install a new cylinder altogether.

I always run out of hot water by the end of the day. What should I do?  Probable causes are; the cylinder is too small for the size of your family, the thermostat is set too low, or your system may be on a night-rate tariff.  

You may not have to replace your cylinder.  Solutions include

• take shorter showers
• install a low flow shower head or flow reducing valve
• use cold water in the washing machine
• enquire with your electricity supplier about changing to an all day tariff or a night-rate tariff with an afternoon boost.

Think about trying these first before you spend a lot of money on a new hot water heating system.