Choosing a hot water system

What each type needs from your house, where each one disappoints, and the questions that decide it — sizing, space, noise, recovery rate and backup.

A third of the electricity, and three physical questions that decide it: where the compressor noise lands, whether it can draw enough air. And what happens on a 2 °C morning.

Storage runs out and recovers; continuous flow never runs out but caps the litres per minute. The flow rate at a realistic winter rise is the number to insist on.

Six product families, not one: choosing the brand does not choose the type. What the range covers, what the data plate tells you, and what belongs on the quote.

It never runs out, but it caps the litres per minute and everything running at once shares that cap. Flow rate, the cold water sandwich, and which household suits which.

Six families, and one name — Ecosmart — covers a heat pump and two different solar systems. Why a family name on a quote is not a specification, and what to ask instead.

The major names all sell the same span of types, so the brand cannot make the decision. What actually differs: parts, service coverage and what the warranty document really says.

Sizing charts start with how many people live in the house. What decides whether you run out is how many outlets run in the same twenty minutes — plus recovery rate, or flow rate at a winter temperature rise.

The valve that is meant to let water out. Why a closed system needs one, the two other valves people confuse it with. And what a wet pipe at the inlet means against a wet pipe at the tank.

Every solar system has a gas or electric booster. And the mode it is left in is what separates a system that saves you money from an ordinary tank with panels on the roof.

The range covers every type, so the badge decides nothing. How to read the data plate, what Hiline and Loline mean, and whether a fault is repairable or terminal.

A G390SS holds 155 litres, not 390. What the model numbers mean on the gas and electric ranges, and how to tell a repair from a write-off.

Close-coupled or split, flat plate or evacuated tube: the two design choices behind every solar system, and what each asks of your roof.

Same appliance, different vocabulary. Why the Australian term connects you to the rules that actually apply here.

"Geyser" is the everyday word in South Africa and India. Here it's a hot water system, and the difference isn't just spelling.

A brand, not a system type. What the range covers and what to get written on the quote.

Overnight heating on a controlled supply. How it works, and why the tank has to be big enough.

A timer changes when the tank heats, not how much you use. When it helps and when it does not.

A brand, not a system type. How to find your model and what to get written on the quote.

The flue carries exhaust gases outside. What it does and why any fault is gasfitter work.

Shorter waits at the tap, more heat loss. When a pump makes sense and what to try first.

Legionella grows in warm water. What that means for your hot water system.

Bottled gas changes running out and siting. Where the job becomes gasfitting.

How the two collectors differ in cold, hail and repair, and which suits your climate.

Why most units sit outside, and what to check before an indoor install.

The tank by its overseas name. Types, materials and what to ask before you replace one.