hot water

Please see our section on hot water efficiency - it's as important as planning for a good heating system.

These days, unvented systems are increasingly popular; this means that there is no loft pipework and hot water can be delivered at mains pressure. 

Traditionally, hot water systems entailed a clylinder which heat water, fed by a tank in the loft, through copper pipe inside.  The hot water never passed through the boiler so this was called an indirect system.  Typically, these systems also include a back-up immersion heater.