Have you got the right size Hot Water System for your home?

Check to see if your hot water system measures up – have you got the right size system for your household?What size system should I choose?The number of people in your household, the amount of water you use and when you use the water will all influence what size system you should get. It’s important to select the right size system for your household’s needs. If you have a storage tank that is too small, there is the potential to occasionally run out of hot water, or that the booster will need to be used more often. If your storage tank is too large, energy will be wasted in keeping excess water hot.As a general guide it is suggested that typical hot water usage in Australia is on average approximately 80 litres per person per day. Households with high hot water consumption or that use a lot of hot water at the same time (e.g. if everyone showers at the same time of day) may want to consider getting a larger system. However, you must consider if you use all your hot water at one time or if it is spread throughout the day. For example, if you have a 50-litre (L) tank and use 75L per day, you might assume that your tank would be too small. If that 75L consists of using 25L of water 3 times throughout the day though, the tank is in excess of what you require (http://www.build.com.au/hot-water-systems-whats-right-size).The size of your system also depends on what type of system you are considering. A continuous flow gas system supplies hot water on demand so you don’t need to worry about your tank size, but rather its flow rate. For Solar Hot Water systems you’ll need to have an idea on how many solar collector panels will be required to heat the amount of water you need each day. Split systems, which store the hot water in an external tank, are generally favoured over thermosiphon systems for households with a bigger demand for hot water (http://www.build.com.au/hot-water-systems-whats-right-size).