A publication specifying performance requirements for stainless steel vented cylinders has been released by the Hot Water Association (HWA).

The publication, HWA 001:2012, directly compares the hot water and energy performance of stainless steel vented cylinders with vented copper cylinders by applying similar test methodology.

The specification allows for two types of cylinder, covering the requirements for open vented vertically mounted stainless steel hot water storage cylinders, whether directly or indirectly heated, limited to nominal storage capacities of up to and including 500 litres and primary heat inputs of up to and including 45kW.

It also includes the possible provision of one or more additional integral primary heaters for use with a secondary primary source, such as a second boiler, thermal solar panel or heat pump.

This publication is presented by the Hot Water Association as a major advance in the consolidation of industry wide standards and of great merit to all industry professionals.

Cylinders which meet this specification can be easily identified by the HWA label, which will be clearly displayed on the product. This label provides confirmation that the product is built and tested to meet the strict requirements of the new standard, giving confidence to merchants, installers and specifiers, as well as peace of mind to end users.

The full version of the publication is available on the Hot Water Association website.