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Domestic Hot Water & Cylinders
Last Post by Toodles 2 months ago
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Toodles
 Toodles
(@toodles)
Illustrious Member Contributor
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2185
Topic starter 22/09/2024 9:04 pm  
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We opted for this Sunamp design as we just don’t have a suitable space anywhere in the house for a conventional DHW tank of the capacity required by the MCS, and I didn’t much fancy enlarging the loft hatch to fit a tank up there.

This siting would have required all the attendant strengthening work to fit a 250-litre tank that bristles with pipes, sensors and pumps. Thus, we avoided any possible source of noisy motors too! (Not to mention the additional wiring and pipework!) We would also have lost the low-level heat source that we regard as always useful heat in the airing cupboard (which is too small to accommodate a conventional 250-litre tank).

There is an LED panel on the front face of the Sunamp Thermino, providing indications of Power Connected and status of charge. Though very granular, three LEDs indicate full charge, half charge and low charge level. In addition, one LED indicates when the unit is charging.

Our unit sits sideways in the airing cupboard, as the depth of the unit dictated this orientation; the LED display is still viewable sideways without much of a problem, though there is very little need to consult it anyway. We are able to monitor consumption via the Myenergi app, where we set our preferences for charging.

The unit is VERY HEAVY, and the installers had three attempts with progressively more powerful methods of stair-climbing sack trucks to take the unit upstairs! The unit sits over two floor joists, and the load is spread by sitting on two 25mm thick boards as a sandwich.

During installation, the top cover is removed, and several layers of vacuum foam insulation are lifted out to access the pipework. The connections to the water supply and hot water feed are made with solderless swivelling joints that may be set to exit to pipes on the left, rear or right of the cabinet.

On the day the old water tank was removed, we were only without hot water for a few hours while the existing pipework was modified, the Thermino placed, and the pipes and wiring connected. Within 30 minutes of powering up via the Eddi, we had hot water on tap again – there are comparisons with a combi gas boiler in that sense.

Now as to the working – well… it just works. Powered via a Myenergi Eddi, that once set, will provide either PV or grid power as required. The unit is ventless and silent in operation, has no pumps, and heats the cold water as it progresses through a few metres of internal pipework that is surrounded by the Phase Change Material storing the heat. It then exits through the hot outlet and goes straight to a tempering valve for safety.

Expected life? As yet unknown, but tested to the equivalent of 20 years and still good, I’m told. I did hear of a failed unit once, and Sunamp replaced the whole system for the owner without a quibble.

I considered several models but opted for the ePV version, as the one that runs from a heat pump input requires a high-temperature heat pump plus electrical ‘top-up’ to ensure the required minimum temperature. There is also a version for thermal solar panel heating in the range. Please see the website link, which provides dimensions, weights, capacities, and the various models available to match different energy sources.

The Sunamp model we have loses less than 0.75 kW of heat in 24 hours, and what is lost is made good use of as it sits on the floor in the airing cupboard. The total heat loss in the whole heating system is less than when we had a gas boiler and 99-litre DHW tank in there, so the airing cupboard is just a little cooler than it used to be. Our system has a 210-litre capacity, so it isn’t imperative that it is charged every day just for the two of us – we could (and have) left it for 2-3 days and still had sufficient hot water as and when it’s required. Currently, our daily charge consumes ~3kWh, but will rise to about ~4-4.5 kWh in mid-winter. I think a full charge for our unit capacity is ~11.5 kWh.

Would I recommend the system? Absolutely, every time!


Toodles, heats his home with cold draughts and cooks food with magnets.


   
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 Anonymous 5011
(@Anonymous 5011)
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 562
23/09/2024 8:35 am  

Several different views on Buildhub. @TerryE on Buildhub has just replaced 2 units with an unvented cylinder due to reliability issues.
Do your due diligence, they are very expensive, do nothing that an unvented cylinder doesn't do. 


This post was modified 1 year ago by Mars

   
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Toodles
 Toodles
(@toodles)
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Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2185
Topic starter 23/09/2024 9:08 am  

@johnmo Well, if you haven’t enough space for a conventional DHW tank, the Sunamp Thermino may well be the answer as it was for me. In terms of reliability, I have only had mine for some 18 months and it has performed very well in that time. No, they are not cheap, but then, neither are some of the other conventional tanks. Regards, Toodles.


Toodles, heats his home with cold draughts and cooks food with magnets.


   
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 Arundalep
(@arundalep)
Trusted Member Member
Joined: 1 year ago
Posts: 26
11/10/2024 11:52 pm  

We also chose a Sunamp due to space restrictions and have been very happy.

If you are a COP chaser then you probably won’t be happy due to the higher charge temperatures required to run a heat pump to charge the Sunamp (mine costs about 3p/kWh of hot water, happy with that). A suitable mains hot water cylinder would have been a nightmare for us (either loft mounted or loose a wardrobe).


1970’s 3 bed detached house in West Sussex. Mains gas disconnected September 2023.
Samsung HTQ 8kW heat pump using mostly existing radiators. House is warm 24/7 (normally between 20.3-20.6 C but currently with a newborn its 21-21.2 C).
Sunamp for hot water storage.
Solaredge 6kWp PV and 10kWh battery
Vehicle 2 Grid charger (used with a Leaf)
Wallbox EV charger (installed for Octopus Intelligent).
Home Assistant used for HEMS with lots of custom ESP devices to allow integration.

Insulation upgrades:
EPS cavity wall insulation.
Improved loft insulation (renewed and 300mm where possible).


   
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Mars
 Mars
(@editor)
Illustrious Member Admin
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 3618
12/10/2024 7:55 am  

@arundalep welcome to the forums, and thanks for sharing your Sunamp experience.

Posted by: @arundalep
↑

mine costs about 3p/kWh of hot water, happy with that

For context, what does that roughly equate to for daily hot water consumption costs?


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 Arundalep
(@arundalep)
Trusted Member Member
Joined: 1 year ago
Posts: 26
03/11/2024 5:21 pm  

@editor daily hot water costs about 40-45p / day. Average daily heat pump electricity consumption for hot water is 5.8kWh (taken from months with no heating). All of that consumption is using cheap rate electricity at 7p/kWh. 


This post was modified 12 months ago by Mars

1970’s 3 bed detached house in West Sussex. Mains gas disconnected September 2023.
Samsung HTQ 8kW heat pump using mostly existing radiators. House is warm 24/7 (normally between 20.3-20.6 C but currently with a newborn its 21-21.2 C).
Sunamp for hot water storage.
Solaredge 6kWp PV and 10kWh battery
Vehicle 2 Grid charger (used with a Leaf)
Wallbox EV charger (installed for Octopus Intelligent).
Home Assistant used for HEMS with lots of custom ESP devices to allow integration.

Insulation upgrades:
EPS cavity wall insulation.
Improved loft insulation (renewed and 300mm where possible).


   
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 Giselle
(@Giselle)
Joined: 9 months ago
Posts: 1
01/02/2025 6:01 pm  

If the phase change material develops a leak, does it end up in your domestic hot water?



   
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Toodles
 Toodles
(@toodles)
Illustrious Member Contributor
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2185
Topic starter 02/02/2025 10:32 am  

I have only heard of 1 case of leakage (heard about it on a YouTube presentation) of the PCM and in that instance, it leaked out of the cabinet onto the floor. I wouldn’t have thought a leak would manage to get into the DHW as they are separated by a copper pipe; not only would there need to be a leak of the PCM, there would also have to be break in the pipe carrying the domestic supply of water to allow ingress. Not impossible I suppose. Regards, Toodles.


Toodles, heats his home with cold draughts and cooks food with magnets.


   
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 PaulD
(@pauld)
New Member Member
Joined: 7 months ago
Posts: 2
12/03/2025 10:21 pm  

Hello All. Just found this forum and registered myself so here goes with my first post....

Can anyone please tell me what they paid (supply & fit) for their Sunamp heat battery? We curently have PVs on our outbuilding and are going to get a battery. We also intend to replace our gas combi boiler with an air source heat pump this year. We don't have a hot water cylinder and I don't know where we'd fit one. The Sunamp heat battery looks like a great alternative but before I contact one of their installers it would be nice to know what sort of money we're talking about!

Many thanks in advance

Paul



   
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Toodles
 Toodles
(@toodles)
Illustrious Member Contributor
Joined: 3 years ago
Posts: 2185
Topic starter 12/03/2025 10:58 pm  

@pauld The cost of the Sunamp Thermino ePV210 was £2,873.40; I cannot tell you how much the installation amounted to as this was just a component of the whole installation.Regards, Toodles.


Toodles, heats his home with cold draughts and cooks food with magnets.


   
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 PaulD
(@pauld)
New Member Member
Joined: 7 months ago
Posts: 2
12/03/2025 11:00 pm  

Thank you, Toodles. That's very helpful.

Best wishes

Paul



   
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Mars
 Mars
(@editor)
Illustrious Member Admin
Joined: 5 years ago
Posts: 3618
12/03/2025 11:29 pm  

Posted by: @toodles
↑

The cost of the Sunamp Thermino ePV210 was £2,873.40

Wow, I knew they were pricey, but didn’t expect it to be almost 3k. Interesting.


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Subscribe and follow our Homeowners’ Q&A heat pump podcast


   
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