Thermal Store Vs Unvented Cylinder

[Lukey]

Hi Guys,

So i'm putting a new heating system in my house and I'm adding a large extension and a loft conversion. The house will eventually have 3 showers, 1 bath and underfloor heating.

After posting elsewhere in the forum about suggestions for the best way to heat the house, I was wondering what the main differences are between a thermal store and an unvented cylinder, as these are the two systems I am looking at?

I would like to maintain high hot water pressure when running two showers at once and would also like to utilse solar heating and electricity.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards,

 

[Synergy]

A thermal store is a more efficient way of heating the water and will cope with a higher demand than and unvented due to the nature of how it works. The downside is they are are more expensive and they need regular servicing and inhibitor adding to keep the warranty valid. An unvented is a much simpler system and will cope with the demands you are looking for no problem and doesnt require as much maintenance as long as the correct size unvented is fitted and installed correctly i would go down this route personaly

 

[ShaunCorbs]

What's your incoming mains pressure and flow rate as these matter

 

[Lukey]

OK thank you very much for the quick reply.

Am I right in saying that you have to service an unvented system annually and the installer needs to be specially registered?

Can you use solar heating and electricity with unvented systems?

Thanks guys,

I'm not sure what the exact numbers are for flow and pressure, however the cold water tap doesn't suffer from a low pressure at all.

 

[Synergy]

Its good practice to have them checked mainly for the correct operation of the safety blow offs and correct expansion vessle charge. As said previously the most important thing with both setups is the incoming cold water mains pressure the cylinder/thermal store needs to be the first off the cold main. Get your plumber to check the water presure before you start anything.

 

[Dotty]

And yes, the plumber needs to be G3 qualified and registered with a governing body.

 

[lame plumber]

A thermal store is a more efficient way of heating the water and will cope with a higher demand than and unvented due to the nature of how it works. The downside is they are are more expensive and they need regular servicing and inhibitor adding to keep the warranty valid. An unvented is a much simpler system and will cope with the demands you are looking for no problem and doesnt require as much maintenance as long as the correct size unvented is fitted and installed correctly i would go down this route personaly

beg to differ here, an unvented cyl requires more safety devices than a thermal store and more maintenance to be safe. you dont need to be g3 to fit a thermal store from my understanding of the regs. thermal stores work well with solar sources but so do unvented cylinders. the choice you make will have to be based on price, space and the output of hw and flow rates needed. In my experience an unvented cyl can provide higher flow rates with hotter water than a thermal store but will run out quicker than a TS, others will probably disagree. you are best looking at manufacturers literature and comparing both systems from one manufacturer to get an answer to your question. Thermal stores also need a F & E tank unvented dont.

 

[Howsie]

Agree. No inherent risk in a thermal store