HOT WATER SUPPLY

Syllabus:
1. Direct System, Components &
Equipments used for the same.
2. Indirect System Calorifier.
3. Up feed System and Drop System.
References:

1. Construction Technology Vol. 1, R. Chudley.

2. Mitchell’s Advanced Bldg. Construction Components,
Services & Finishes.
3. Drainage & Sanitation, Blake, Smith & Gumbrell.
4. Sanitation, Drainage & Water Supply, G. Eric Mitchell.
HOT WATER SUPPLY

Supply of hot water to domestic sanitary

fittings is usually taken from hot water
tank or cylinder.

Source of heat is usually a boiler, oil or

gas fired or solid fuel burner for maximum
economy.
Nowadays, an electric immersion heater
fixed to hot water storage tank, having
thermostatic control, is available.

When a quantity of hot water is drawn

from storage tank or cylinder, it is
immediately replaced by cold water from
cold water storage cistern.
For hot water supply system galvanized
steel pipes or copper pipes are mostly
favoured.

Copper pipe, with capillary or

compression fittings, is usually preferred
as being neater & having small thermal
capacity, less heat being lost in heating
up “Dead legs”.

Material for H.W. storage tank is also

galvanized steel or copper.
Unless H.W. system is designed to do
some heating, it is important for
economy, that all pipes & storage tanks
be well insulated.

Care should be taken when connecting

copper to steel for risk of electrolytic
corrosion between dissimilar materials.

Where water is cupro-solvant & flow is

from copper to galvanized steel, zinc
coating will rapidly waste away &
corrosion set in on steel beneath.
In larger installations, base object should
be to supply water at a temp. of 600C for
use at sinks & 440C for bath, basin etc.

Usually, for washing purposes, water

which is too hot, is wasted by adding too
much cold water. So a temp. of 440C is
often aim in larger installations.

This may entail a larger storage of hot

water, but extra capital cost is offset by
saving in avoiding waste.
Generally, storage should be sufficient to
satisfy maximum hourly demand or peak
load of building.

Boiler power installed to heat water may

be capable of a duty equal to average load
& is usually equivalent to rising the
storage capacity to 650C in 2-3 hours.
(refer to the table )
HOT WATER STORAGE & BOILER CAPACITIES
Type of building Max. daily demand Storage Boiler power
Gal/Person Gal/person Gal/Person/Hour
Boarding school 25 5 2.5
Day school 3 1 0.3
House / Flat 25 / 30 10 3.0
Factory 3 1 0.4
Office 3 1 0.4
Infe. Hospital 50 10 5.0
Gen. hospital 30 6 5
Hotels 25 8 3
Maximum H. W. Requirements Gal/Hr for Sanitary Fittings
Lav. Basin (private) 3 3 3 3 3 3
Lav. Basin (public) - 10 - 10 - 15
Bath (2 / hour) 40 40 40 - 40 -
Shower 20 40 20 - 40 40
Sink 10 20 10 - 20 10
Type of fitment Res. Hotel Flat Offices Hospital School
Two main systems are used to
heat the water in the tank.
These are called-

The Direct System

and

The Indirect System.

DIRECT HOT WATER HEATING SYSTEM
COLD WATER
STORAGE

VENT PIPE

450 MIN.
SUPPLY PIPE
COLD FEED
SECONDARY RETURN
CYLINDER

PRIMARY FLOW
PRIMARY RETURN

BOILER

FROM GROUND
STORAGE TANK
DIRECT HOT WATER SYSTEM:

1.This is simplest & cheapest system for

domestic use.
2.Cold water flows through water jacket in
boiler where it gets heated & convection
currents are induced, causing water to
rise & circulate.
3.Hot water leaving boiler is replaced by
cold water descending from hot water
cylinder or tank by gravity, thus setting
up primary circulation.
4.Hot water supply is drawn off from top
of cylinder by a horizontal pipe called
distribution pipe.

5. Vent pipe is run vertically from H. W.

distribution pipe at least 450 mm away,
to prevent ‘one pipe’ circulation being
set up in vent or expansion pipe &
carried to a discharging position over
C. W. storage cistern.
6. This system is not suitable for supplying
to a central heating circuit or hard water
areas as pipes & cylinders get furred with
lime deposits.

Precipitation of lime occurs when hard

water is heated to temperatures between
500 to 700C, which is ideal temp. range for
domestic hot water supply.

7. In hard water areas, the primary circuit to

be minimum 32Φ.
INDIRECT HOT WATER SYSTEM:

Indirect Heating Method:

 COLD WATER
STORAGE

VENT PIPE

SUPPLY PIPE
COLD FEED
SECONDARY RETURN
CYLINDER

PRIMARY FLOW
PRIMARY RETURN

BOILER

FROM GROUND
STORAGE TANK INDIRECT HOT WATER HEATING SYSTEM
Indirect Heating Method:

1.This system overcomes problems of

furring by changing cylinder design
which now becomes a heat-exchanger.

2.Cylinder contains a coil or annulus

which is connected to the flow & return
pipes from the boiler.
3. Transfer of heat takes place within
cylinder, so after initial precipitation of
lime within primary circuit & boiler,
there is no further furring as no fresh
water is introduced into boiler circuit.

4. Supply circuit from cylinder follows

same pattern as direct system, but a
separate feed & expansion system is
required for boiler & primary circuit for
initial supply & for topping up loss due
to evaporation.
5. Feed cistern is of smaller capacity.
Water levels in both cisterns should
be equal, so that equal pressures act on
indirect cylinder.

6. A Gravity heating circuit can be taken

from boiler, its distribution being
governed by boiler capacity.
Alternatively, a small-bore forced
system of central heating may be
installed.
114 liters Indirect Cylinder

Rectangular Galvanized steel tanks can

be used for any H. W. system where
space is restricted & required storage
capacity is less than 155 liters. Relevant
I.S.I. standards recommend sizes,
capacities & positions for screwed holes
for pipe connections.
 Immersion Heater
114Lt. Connection

Indirect Hot Water Supply

Cylinder Outlet

Secondary Water
Secondary Return
Inlet

Primary Flow Inlet

Copper Cylinder

Corrugated Primary
Heater
Primary Water

Cold Feed Inlet

Primary Return
Outlet
To reduce pipe work involved in using
indirect system, a single feed indirect or
“Primatic” cylinder can be used.

This cylinder is entirely self-contained &

is installed just like a direct cylinder but
functions as an indirect cylinder.
Buoyancy of air is used to form seals
between primary and secondary water.
 Hot Water Supply
135 Lt. Outlet
Single Immersion Heater
Connection
Feed or
Lvl. of Secondar
Primatic Water
Cylinder Lvl. Of Primary
Air Bubble Water
Air vent pipe
Primary Flow Inle
Copper Cylinder
Primary Water Air Locks
Annular Heater Primary Return Outle

Cold Feed Inlet

135 Ltr. Single Feed or Primatic
Cylinder:

When system is first filled with water it

charges primary circuit to boiler. When
cylinder capacity has been reached, two
air seals are formed, one in air vent &
other in upper chamber of unit.

When water is heated in primary circuit,

expansion displaces some air in the
upper chamber to the lower chamber.
This is a reciprocating action & seals
transfer from chamber to chamber as
temp. rises & falls.

Any excess air is vented into secondary

system, which automatically replenishes
primary system, if required.

As with any indirect system, careful

control over heat output is needed to
prevent boiling.
Calorifier and Feed Tank:
(Coupled as a Unit)
In a block of flats, each can have its own
hot water from a Calorifier, being heated
by a primary circuit from boiler.
These calorifiers can have cold supply to
secondary systems taken off a common
feed from main C. W. cistern, but then
expansion pipe from each system has to
be carried up above this cistern. In a tall
block this will necessitate many
expansion pipes.
Alternatively, a separate cold feed cistern
controlled by a ball valve, can be put in
each flat. Then expansion pipe need only
to go to above the feed cistern.

Figure shows a combined Calorifier &

cold feed cistern, with expansion pipe,
feed pipes etc. all coupled up & so
designed, as to fit in a small space.
Systems of pipe work fall in one of 3
classes depending on whether a tank or
cylinder or both are used for storage of hot
water.
Tank System:
Draw-off taps are taken from flow pipe
between boiler & storage tank. Once a
popular method, has a disadvantage in that
in event C. W. cistern being empty of water,
it is still possible to draw hot water at hot
taps until H. W. storage vessel is empty. A
situation can entirely emptied of water
while boiler fire is allowed to continue,
causing serious accident.
Tank system
Cylinder System:

Draw-off taps are taken from a point

above storage cylinder. in case of C. W.
cistern being empty, water will cease to
flow at “hot” taps, but cylinder will remain
full, as well as boiler, primary flow &
return pipes.
A similar system, but with a secondary
circuit avoids large quantities of cold
water having to be drawn off before H.
W is available at draw-off taps. “Dead
legs” not only create nuisance due to
long wait before H. W. is available but
result in considerable loss of cold
water as it runs to waste, invariably.
Cylinder
System
with
Secondary
Circulation
A combined tank & cylinder system
is used in cases, where large
quantities of hot water have to be
stored, such as in hotels.
Combined
Tank and
Cylinder
System
Circulating Systems:
To avoid “Dead legs” to draw-off
points, H. W. SUPPLY must circulate
near to all fittings. This pipe work is
known as a secondary circulation,
and should be insulated to reduce
boiler load.
1. UP-FEED SYSTEM DISTRIBUTION:

a. Secondary flow is taken from top of

H. W. store vessel & run horizontally
at high level of lower floor with
branches rising to serve all fittings.

b. It is necessary to provide an open

vent at the highest point on each
riser.
c. A return branch, from a point
near the top of each riser
drops to the lowest floor & a
common return is run back to
the cylinder.

d. All branches risers should be

fitted with isolating valves &
drain cocks.
e. At least one open vent should be
provided, which shall not be
sealed off by any of above valve.

f. Illustration shows up-feed system

of circulation in conjunction with
an indirect cylinder. Direct system
would be equally effective.
g. The system can incorporate pumps,
where a natural circulation by gravity,
cannot be obtained.
Boiler Feed Main Supply Cistern
Cistern
Open
Vent

Draw-off to Fittings

Vent
Cold Feed
to Cylinder
Cold Feed to
Boiler Stop Cock

Primary Secondary Flow

Flow
Boiler

Secondary Two Pipe

Circulation Hot Water
Service
Primary Return