Hot water cylinders that do not have the appropriate insulation, otherwise known as ‘naked cylinders’, are in breach of building regulations, warns Isaac Occhipinti of the Hot Water Association (HWA).

“A ‘naked cylinder’ exceeds the maximum heat loss values allowed by Building Regulations so we are reminding installers that they shouldn’t be fitting them,” he said.

“In addition to not meeting building regulations, naked cylinders fall through a ‘loop hole’ of the recently introduced ErP Directive. Until September 2017 the energy labelling regulations only require water heaters and storage tanks to be supplied with an energy efficiency label, therefore a naked cylinder could be supplied with a label showing its efficiency, rated G the lowest most inefficient possible, but it could still be legally sold. Using an uninsulated cylinder means that heat is lost, costing the homeowner money. We would like installers to recognise this and not install them into people’s homes.”    

HWA will be calling on its members to stop manufacturing naked cylinders and will continue to lobby the industry to make the best choices for the end user.

To find out more about the HWA please visit: http://www.hotwater.org.uk/hwa-charter/

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