Plumbing manifolds distribute hot and cold water to appliances around the property. Pipes run from the manifold to each piece of sanitary wear (such as sinks, baths, washing machines) in continuous loops to and from the manifold so that there are no fittings in the system other than at the appliance and manifold.
Using a manifold system has the added benefit of allowing for individual flow control and in the event of a problem the individual isolation of appliances, whilst leaving the rest of the system fully operational.
Essentially manifold plumbing allows for every appliance in a building to be connected from manifold to appliance with no fittings in between, under a floor or over a ceiling, completely removing the possibility of joint leaks.
It means that the manifold becomes to plumbing what the consumer box is to electrics, in that as each appliance has its own circuit of pipework, if the appliance leaks or is faulty that circuit can simply be turned 'off'.
