Let Arco Heating Ltd take care of your hot water plumbing

There are numerous ways to heat the water in a property all of which will require some form of plumbing. In the UK, there are currently three main types of hot water systems used; open vented, unvented and instantaneous.

Hot water systems

The three types of systems are:
Open vented
This system consists of a hot water cylinder, a cold water storage cistern (tank), an open vent pipe and a heat source to heat the water. There are two types of open vented hot water:
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  • Direct heating – the water is heated directly from the heat source either by an immersion heater or by the boiler. 
  • Indirect heating – the central heating and the hot water are separate. The water is heated via a coil (heat exchanger) from a boiler. 

​Unvented hot water cylinder
These systems are more complicated.  They are designed to work with a storage cistern and operate at a much higher pressure than the open vented system. An unvented system has no cold water tank and is fed directly by the cold water mains. ​
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This means that it can also deliver hot water at mains pressure.  Water from the mains will offer a much better flow rate meaning that all the baths and showers in your property will perform more efficiently.  If space is at a premium in your home, an unvented system has the advantage of having no cold-water tank which therefore offers more options as to where the hot water cylinder can be sited.

Instantaneous or tankless water heaters
This method uses gas or electricity to heat the water without the need to store the water.  These are water heaters that instantly heat water as it flows through the device.  The most common method to heat water is the use of a combination boiler. This type of boiler works by using the circuit that powers the central heating and diverting it to another ‘water to water’ heat exchanger (heat swapping). The main advantage of this system is the immediate flow of hot water - on demand, no need to wait.
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So, if you’re thinking about changing your hot water system or would like to have one of our fully trained staff take a look at what you have – get in touch now!