A hot water supply system is a component of a building’s water supply system that heats and distributes hot water as required by the users. This is often used for showers and baths. Most houses today are equipped with hot water systems, and they are considered a key component for quality-of-life metrics in residences. There are various types of hot water supply systems used in buildings, various methods of supplying energy, and special equipment required for their operation. to these systems. This article is an overview of the different types of hot water supply systems available for residential buildings as well as the components used in each type.
Power supply
Heating water requires energy. The most common method of heating water is to use an electric immersion heater to heat the water and distribute it. The main advantage of this method is that it is reliable and is always available on demand. It is also simpler and less expensive to install. However, immersion heaters consume a lot of power, and this method may end up being expensive, especially if hot water is used often. Another method is to use solar power to heat water. This method also has two approaches. The first is to directly heat the water using solar heat, and the second is to generate electricity from the solar energy and use this electricity to heat water as mentioned previously. Systems of both types can be obtained from solar solutions providers such as hot water installation Sunshine Coast. Heating the water directly using solar energy relies heavily on the availability of sunlight and will not be able to supply hot water at other times. This method has almost zero operational cost though and is cheaper to install than the alternative. The other alleviates this problem using a battery to store energy and is versatile as the electricity can be used for other purposes than heating water. However, it may be more expensive.
Equipment
An indirect water supply system refers to a system where water is stored after heating and distributed throughout the building. This requires an additional tank to store hot water and continually reheat it as required. A direct water supply system heats water on demand and directly supplies it to the outlet. This requires no additional tank and can therefore be cheaper. However, the indirect system is more reliable and can offer uninterrupted water supply. There may be differences in efficiencies of the two systems depending on the size of the building being served as well as the number of outlets. For example, an indirect system works well if the hot water storage is placed close to the point of usage, but this may be difficult if there are multiple outlets in the building.
Transporting hot water through a building requires special plumbing that can withstand the high temperatures. Piping materials commonly used for this purpose are steel, copper and special PVC types such as UPVC which are resistant to temperature.