What Is the Boost Setting for on a Water Cylinder?

If you have a thermal store water cylinder that heats water for use throughout your home, chances are good that you have run out of hot water at least once in your memory. Perhaps everyone in the family got a shower before you did, leaving you with tepid water for your bathing. Perhaps you jumped in the shower after running the dishwasher, only to find that your dishes had consumed most of the hot water. In these situations, the boost setting on your water cylinder could come in very handy. What is boost all about?

The function of the boost setting varies from one type of water cylinder to another, but they all work in a roughly similar way. When the boost kicks in, it heats only a portion of the water in the cylinder to your specified temperature, and it does so very quickly, at least in comparison with the time it would take the immersion heater to warm the contents of the entire cylinder.

The primary difference between various water cylinder types is how much water is heated and how long that heating process takes. For instance, with an E7 system, the boost setting would heat water for about 60 minutes, and it would warm about 10% of the water in the cylinder, giving you enough for a standard shower before the water would run cold once more. If your system is a non-E7 setup, then it would run for about 30 minutes and provide the same 10% of the cylinder’s contents warmed.

In addition to system types, you also need to consider the location of the boost element. If it is located in the top of the cylinder, you will usually only get about 10% of the cylinder’s contents heated within the operating window. However, if the system has an element located midway down the cylinder, you could see 30% heated within 30 minutes. With a boost element near the bottom, you could feasibly warm 90% of the water in 30 minutes.

If you have a modern water cylinder, then it should be equipped with a thermostat. When left on, this ensures that you always have a full cylinder of hot water. Why would someone choose to use the boost setting instead of the thermostat? There are a couple of reasons here.

First, the boost setting is useful for situations in which most of the cylinder’s hot water has been used but you still need more hot water and don’t have time to wait for long periods. Second, the boost setting is useful for situations where you want to conserve energy and do not have significant hot water demands. You could simply use the boost setting to ensure there was enough water heated for your bathing and washing needs, without having to heat the entire cylinder, thus reducing your energy usage.

As you can see, the boost setting on your water cylinder is actually quite handy and can provide several benefits.

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