Differences Between Vented And Unvented Hot Water Cylinders

A hot water cylinder heats and stores water until you need it. Mainly, there are two types of hot water cylinders, vented and unvented. Both of them have their pros and cons and you’d need to consider all of them before selecting either a vented or an unvented water cylinder.

To select the best type of cylinder for hot water for you, you’d need to consider what kind of heating system you have. If you are not much aware of it all then don’t worry, we’re here to help you out.

This Is How Vented & Unvented Hot Water Cylinders Are Different

Vented hot water storage units, also known as cylinders need to be connected to the cold water cistern tank. Usually, the cold water cistern tanks are located in the loft, the water comes from the tank through a feed pipe to the bottom of the vented hot water cylinder.

It is common knowledge that when heated, water expands, but the vent pipe and the tank in the loft offer the excess water to be escaped through. The extra water goes through the vent pipe and then flows back to the cold water storage in the loft. On the other hand, the vent pipe of the vented hot water cylinders also dissipates all of the air on top of the hot water cylinders.

Meanwhile, the unvented cylinders are directly connected to the main water tanks. The unvented hot water cylinders don’t require any kind of tank in the loft making the pressure of the water very stronger compared to the vented hot water cylinders. Although you should keep in mind that unvented hot water cylinders are required to be installed next to a system boiler for functioning.

The unvented hot water cylinders don’t have any kind of vent pipes or tank to deal with the excess water, expanding because of the heat. So to solve this out, the unvented hot water cylinders have built-in features such as expansion units at the top or an air bubble which is fixed during the installation procedure of the unvented hot water cylinders.

Vented and unvented hot water cylinders, both can be directly heated by an immersion heater in the cylinder as well as indirectly heated by a boiler system too. In addition to that, the vented and unvented hot water cylinders can be used as a part of a solar thermal system as well.

A lot of people use a boiler to heat the water but keep an immersion heater as a backup plan in cases of the boiler malfunction or any other kind of issue.

Ending Note

Now that you know the difference between vented and unvented hot water cylinders, it should be easier for you to choose the best one for yourself. So don’t waste any time and get the right hot water cylinder for yourself and enjoy non-stop warm water in your bathroom, kitchen, or anywhere else you want it!