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The Layover — Tom Scott Explains Why Britain Is Like That (nebula.tv)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/nebula@lemmy.world
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[–] 1 point 9 months ago* (5 children)

Are hot water tanks not normal in the UK or US? Here in Australia, I've never had one in the attic, but my previous apartment (built, I think, around the '70s) had one located under the stairs to the next storey, and my new house (built last year) has one in the garage. But Tom Scott talks about it as though "combi boiler" are completely ubiquitous on newer housing in the UK today, and the Jet Lag boys seem to believe the US has had that approach for much longer.

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  • [–] 2 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Tom Scott talks about it as though "combi boiler" are completely ubiquitous on newer housing in the UK today

    Tanks were rare for about 40 years, as instant "combi" burners were popular on cheap housing and most UK housing is cheap junk. The big housebuilding companies didn't design heating systems well and if they messed up, they'd have a more powerful burner than needed for heating anyway, in order to do instant water heating and avoid taking up space with a hot water tank or caring about pipe run design much. The number of small homes with 30kW heaters is scandalous, but why would the builder care if the heating is even more inefficient when gas is cheap and the resident pays the bills, not the builder?

    That's starting to reverse because it's easier to get permission for homes with heat pumps and insulated water storage now, due to tighter pollution rules and so on, but the big developers still don't have great experts and there's 40 years of junk out there now.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago

    I recall once hearing that instant hot water heaters (including electric, rather than gas, ones) are supposed to use less energy than water tanks, but I wonder if that's only resistive tanks, rather than the more common (these days) heat pump tanks?

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  • [–] 1 point 9 months ago (2 children)

    Depends on where you live in the US and age of house. I'm no expert but watch a lot of This Old House. Boilers are popular in northeast or older homes that use radiators for heat. But that is separate from hot water heaters. While tankless heaters are gaining popularity, most people have standard insulated tanks that are heated by gas or electricity.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago (1 child)

    Thanks, that's interesting.

    Do you have any idea what the gap in my interpretation of Tom's comments is, then? Why it seemed like he was suggesting that hot water tanks are a very old fashioned and not used in newer homes, and that they'd be surprising to Americans?

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