Can I add hot water to my central heating system?
Unlike many other methods of heating the home, central heating systems can provide space heating and hot water for baths, showers, and the like. There are two ways in which a warm water central heating system can service domestic hot water supply.
- Combination boilers, suitable for homes with up to two bathrooms, heat water for the central heating system as well as additional water, either produced instantaneously or stored in the boiler, for domestic hot water use.
- System boilers or hydronic heat pumps use the same heated water which is pumped around the central heating system to indirectly heat domestic hot water via a heat exchange coil in the hot water cylinder.
In a typical household, the performance is so good that when using a separate cylinder, the boiler only needs to heat the domestic hot water for an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. These heating times and the stored water temperature can be adjusted easily to suit any household or lifestyle.
