Hot water is one of the most important needs of both homes and workplaces, especially in winter. Thermosiphons, which are counted among the heating and cooling systems, meet the hot water needs in a practical way. Thermosiphons are generally used in bathrooms and kitchens.
What is a thermosiphon?
Before going into details about the selection and use of a thermosiphon, let’s answer what a water heater is and how it works. Thermosiphon meets the need for hot water in places that do not have a solid fuel or natural gas heating system. Thermosiphon, also known as a water heater, heats the water in its reservoir to the desired temperature with its technology. Thermosiphon, which is used as an alternative to electric water heaters, ensures that the water stays hot after performing the heating function.
How Does Thermosiphon Work?
Thermosiphon is usually connected to two taps in the bathroom, one for the cold water inlet and the other for the hot water outlet. According to its capacity, it takes the cold water inside and heats it and sends the water from the hot water outlet. While mounting, it is necessary to check the carrier feature of the wall and mount it to the wall hanger according to the mounting booklet. Not tightening the safety valve too much during assembly and ensuring that the flex hose is smaller than forty centimeters allows energy to be used efficiently.
Thermosiphon models differ according to the production method and device capacity. Thermosiphons, which contain water tanks and produce hot water with electricity, are mostly preferred. Thermosiphons, which produce hot water with electricity, maintain the temperature of the water for a long time, thanks to the use of insulating materials in their production.
Thermosiphon brands offer different models according to their capacities. While water heaters with a capacity of 50 liters are preferred for bathrooms, high-capacity models are preferred for large kitchens. Thermosiphons with a capacity of 60 – 100 liters heat the water in about 10 minutes.
Models with anti-legionella function promise safe and hygienic use by filtering the water as well as heating it. “Eco mode”, which is the most ideal usage program of water heaters, operates the water heater at the most suitable temperature level. In this way, energy savings are achieved.
Unlike the thermosiphon combi boiler, it only supplies hot water to the taps and does not send hot water to the heater cores. Let’s clarify the difference between a water heater and a thermosiphon. Although the water heater and the thermosiphon seem to perform the same task, the two differ. While water heaters work with tube or natural gas, the thermosiphon only works with electricity. While water heater produces hot water continuously, it produces hot water as much as the tank capacity on the thermosiphons. Even though the water heater needs time to heat the water, it provides an advantage as it can supply water to more than one tap. Thermosiphon prices also differ from the water heaters in this direction.
What should be considered when buying a thermosiphon?
The insulation system allows the water heaters to maintain the temperature and save energy. A class or A+++ class models provide the highest efficiency with the lowest energy use. Models with titanium tubs are more resistant to water corrosion. Models with a digital thermostat allow both to keep the water at the same temperature and to adjust it to the desired temperature. Thermosiphon can be mounted on the wall or placed under the counter. For this reason, besides the boiler quality and resistance quality, it is necessary to choose a thermosiphon model suitable for the area.
How to use a Thermosiphon?
There is another subject that is as curious as what is thermosiphon and how does it work: Usage. At this point, the degree of operating thermosiphon becomes important. A high temperature level means more energy consumption than necessary. It is around 50 degrees Celsius in summer and 60 degrees Celsius in winter.
When thermosiphon is turned off, the heated water cools down and when it is turned on again, the device consumes more energy to reheat the water. For this reason, it is necessary to keep thermosiphon open at a certain temperature level all the time. In thermosiphon, which is not maintained once a year, the resistance gets calcified and both performance decreases and energy consumption increases.
