Purchasing a commercial hot water heater is significantly different than purchasing one for your normal household. Residential hot water heaters typically come in standard sizes based on the number of people in your household. If you run out of hot water for showers or a load of laundry, it is only mildly inconvenient to wait for the hot water tank to refill itself and carry on. A business has a lot more at stake and a lot more options to consider when they want to replace their commercial hot water heater.
How can you figure out just what size you need for your next commercial hot water tank? While the actual logistics are best left to the professionals, here are a few of the things that they take into consideration.
Maximum Hot Water Usage Rate
The first consideration that must be made is your maximum hot water usage rate or your dump load. This is extremely important because your business cannot wait for hot water to come back. Consider the business owner who is attempting to run a restaurant without hot water. Dishes cannot be washed, sinks cannot be filled with fresh water and so many other important activities. Every business has a certain amount of hot water that it needs, and it needs it right this minute.
Imagine that you turned on all of your hot water sources and set them as hot as they could go. This shows the gallons of hot water that your business requires at its peak demand. Most experts refer to this point as the dump load. It is typically measured in gallons per hour.
Your maximum hot water usage rate can also help to determine exactly what size hot water tank your business requires. You likely do not use the maximum hot water usage for the entire day. Consider how many hours each day you need this volume of water. This figure will come in handy during the final calculations.
Hourly Input
Once you know your dump load, it is important to understand the hourly input of BTUs of each system. This number determines how many gallons of hot water can be produced per hour based on the starting and ending temperatures of the water. These last two numbers will vary based on your climate and the temperature of the water that your business needs in order to function.
This hourly input ultimately helps to determine how quickly you can replenish the water that you took out of the hot water tank. The final heating capacity should be measured in gallons per hour.
You want it to be able to work quickly enough to meet your peak demand, but you don’t want it to have to overwork and burn out the unit. It is a very fine line between these two extremes.
The Final Formula
You must combine these two figures to help you determine what size hot water tank you really need for your commercial business. Make sure you have your maximum daily water usage, the hours that you need your maximum daily water usage, and the heating capacity of your water heater.
Subtract the heating capacity of your water heater from your maximum daily water usage. Multiply this figure by the number of hours that you need your maximum daily water usage. This will provide you with an estimate of the hot water tank size your business requires.
As you can see, determining the appropriate size for a commercial hot water tank can be a bit tricky and extremely technical. When you need to replace your unit, make sure you contact your local professionals. Clean Line can help you choose the perfect unit that makes sense for your unique business!
