H2OT
THE hot water engineers
If you’re having a particular problem with your hot water supply then give us a call
on 0118 942 4981 (if you are in the Reading area of Berkshire). We have over 30 years
of experience dealing with hot water problems. If however you are looking to change
your hot water system for something better, then please read on...
Got one of these?
Want to see inside?
This is how it works
Simple, but incredibly inefficient - and the hot water flow is often only adequate.
But we’re on a mission to give you this!
There’s nothing like showering under high-flow water. Apart from feeling cleaner,
it’s also more efficient. Yet strangely, many home-owners are still putting up with
poor showers and baths that take an age to fill - even though they have stayed in
hotels and experienced how good a power shower can be. Why? Forego that next hotel-stay
holiday and spend the money on installing a 21st century hot water system - mains-water
powered! This means that you get your hot water almost at the same pressure (flow)
as your mains cold water. It will give you exhilarating showers, fill baths quickly,
and cope with more than one tap at a time. There are two versions.
1. You can have a stand-alone electric-powered unit. This is completely independent
of your heating system. It’s therefore more reliable, less complicated, but requires
to be heated by electric immersion heaters. Before you think that’s too expensive,
read on: If your electric costs 10p per kilowatt* then the 3-kilowatt heater will
obviously cost 30p per hour. It’s not possible to say how long you would require
the heater to be on to supply the hot water you would use in a day, but if it supplied
energy for 2.5 hours a day, then the cost would be 75p per day - which equates to
£274 a year. However, it should be remembered that this is at daytime rate. If your
meter has access to a low overnight tariff then you would be able to use a lower
night-time rate than 10p per kilowatt, so your costs may be less than this. Please
note that this is simply a guide
2. You could utilise your existing heating system to heat a cylinder of hot water
- in much the same way as maybe your present system does. However, with our system,
the water heated goes on to heat your mains hot water indirectly. The cylinder acts
as a thermal store. This may require a little alteration to your heating system.
This system is cheaper to run but more complicated, and dependent on your heating
system for its heat.
We do NOT install ‘megaflo’ type systems. These are ‘unvented’. ALL the systems we
install are ‘vented’ thermal stores. We only install thermal stores systems because
they are more reliable, less expensive, and require virtually no maintenance or repairs.
A typical Heat Bank A
Thermal Store
Heat Banks and Thermal Stores - what’s the difference?
A Heat Bank uses a plated heat exchanger to transfer the stored heat in the cylinder
to the water that comes out of your tap. It does this by use of a flow switch and
a pump - so in a power cut you wouldn’t have any hot water. The addition of a pump
and a flow switch makes a Heat Bank more complicated and therefore potentially less
reliable. For the reasons above, and the fact that we cannot find a reliable and
trustworthy manufacturer of these units, then we do NOT recommend a Heat Bank.
A Thermal Store uses the heat contained in the cylinder to transfer directly to the
water that comes out of your tap by use of a coil inside the cylinder - so the water
in the coil (which is the water that comes out of your tap) is heated by transference
from being immersed in stored hot water. This method is much more simple and requires
no electrical parts whatsoever - so it can still be used during a power cut. As there
are no electrical parts (apart from the obvious immersion heater/s) then a Thermal
Store is a very reliable unit. And this is important to remember - because we place
reliability above everything else. You could have the ‘best’ hot water system in
the world, but if it lets you down then you might as well not have one! To us, simplicity,
and subsequently reliability, is key.
We ALWAYS recommend a LimeStop to eliminate the chance of limescale build up. Complete
installation prices vary according to what size water storage you require, but a
typical 180-litre unit would cost £1,695 inclusive - that’s for all materials and
labour. If you do require a LimeStop then it’s an extra £75. If you currently have
a hot water tank installed then obviously this would have to be removed - and would
be an additional charge. Remember, if you’re comparing our price with another, with
hot water you really do get what you pay for. If you go cheap, then that’s what you’ll
get!
This is what a home’s usual method of supplying hot water is!
So out of all the myriad of water heaters, what are your choices?...
Electric HPS 180-litre - £1145.00 including vat, delivery, and LimeStop (RG area
only).
1 year warranty on cylinder
Lead time usually 5 days
Please note, due to the fluctuating price of copper, this price could vary. Always
email us first before assuming price shown.
Installation charge of £400 - but that does NOT include removing your old hot water
heater (so please add £250). Please note that the installation charge shown assumes
you have suitable electrical supplies terminated within the cupboard where the cylinder
will be located. You will also require a warning pipe (often called an overflow pipe)
within your cupboard. If you don’t have one (and many flats and apartments do not!)
then you must assume liability for any resultant damage caused by the cylinder overflowing.
We can supply a small battery-operated alarm for warning of the presence of water
in such a situation for just £10.
Electric Albion 180-litre - £1345.00 including vat, delivery, and LimeStop (RG area
only).
5 year warranty on cylinder
Lead time usually 5 days
Please note, due to the fluctuating price of copper, this price could vary. Always
email us first before assuming price shown.
Installation charge of £400 - but that does NOT include removing your old hot water
heater (so please add £250). Please note that the installation charge shown assumes
you have suitable electrical supplies terminated within the cupboard where the cylinder
will be located. You will also require a warning pipe (often called an overflow pipe)
within your cupboard. If you don’t have one (and many flats and apartments do not!)
then you must assume liability for any resultant damage caused by the cylinder overflowing.
We can supply a small battery-operated alarm for warning of the presence of water
in such a situation for just £10.
Electric Gledhill BP 180-litre - £1145.00 including vat, delivery, and LimeStop (RG
area only).
1 year warranty on cylinder
Lead time up to 4 weeks
Please note, due to the fluctuating price of copper, this price could vary. Always
email us first before assuming price shown.
Installation charge of £400 - but that does NOT include removing your old hot water
heater (so please add £250). Please note that the installation charge shown assumes
you have suitable electrical supplies terminated within the cupboard where the cylinder
will be located. You will also require a warning pipe (often called an overflow pipe)
within your cupboard. If you don’t have one (and many flats and apartments do not!)
then you must assume liability for any resultant damage caused by the cylinder overflowing.
We can supply a small battery-operated alarm for warning of the presence of water
in such a situation for just £10.
You can contact us on 0118 942 4981 or 0770 231 6157. If you’d like to send us an
email then please click HERE
Building or developing ?
Need to know what you should provide before calling us to install a mains-pressure
hot water heater?
All we need from your architect, builder or developer is a cupboard (preferably centrally
placed, but that’s not essential) that is of the right proportions to accommodate
your hot water heater. Inside must be a 22mm cold mains water supply, and a 22mm
hot water outlet to all the taps served. Obviously we’ll also need a 16 amp electrical
supply. An overflow/warning pipe is also required.
Why do we advise electric only?
Heating your hot water heater by electric - rather than utilising the existing heating
circuit - sometimes needs explaining. Firstly, this allows your hot water to be completely
independent of your central heating, so when your heating fails, your hot water doesn’t!
It also allows your heating boiler to be completely shut down throughout the summer
months. Another reason we advise electric only is that this makes the whole set-up
less complicated, so it’s much more reliable. When a hot water tank uses the central
heating circuit, it is necessary to have valves, pumps and heat sensors control what’s
going on. With our set-up, all those components are not necessary. So reliability
is built in. However, one of the principle reasons for not using the central heating
boiler is because of efficiency. To heat any mains-pressure hot water heater requires
very high temperatures. If you run your boiler above 57 degrees C return temperature
then it will NOT condensate. And this level of heat (actually higher) would be required
to sufficiently heat a cylinder of hot water. Although initially the boiler would
condensate (as the heat would be given up), after a period of time the return temperature
would climb above 57 degrees C - and condensating within your boiler would cease.
As electric costs around 10p per kilowatt - and the immersion heater draw is 3 kilowatts
- then this means that your heater would cost 30p per hour to heat. We don’t feel
that’s a sufficient cost to warrant using the gas boiler rather than electric. If
you feel differently then we can easily fit a unit which does allow heat from the
central heating system to be used. We can only advise you - you must decide what’s
best for your finances.
How good is a mains-pressure hot water heater?
Even the smallest one can deliver 18 litres per minute, that’s twice as much as a
‘combi’ boiler. The higher-output units can supply 22 litres per minute.
CALL US NOW: 0118 942 4981 - 0770 231 6157
