Types Of Shower: The Best Shower For You

The best type of shower for your bathroom will depend on your budget, your heating system (if any) and your preferred style of shower.

There are three main types of shower. :

• Instantaneous Electric Showers
  • Electrical heating elements instantaneously heat mains pressure cold water to the desired temperature.
• Mixer Showers
  • Hot water heated by a boiler (normally gas/oil) is combined with cold water to achieve the desired temperature.
  • Can either be at mains water pressure or using gravity system with tank in loft
• Integral Power Showers
  • Stored hot water heated by a boiler (normally gas/oil) is combined with cold water to achieve the desired temperature.
  • Suitable for gravity systems only (tank in loft) and use a pump built into the unit to provide a forceful shower

Instantaneous Electric Showers

Electric showers heat water instantaneously using electric heating elements. Different models use different amounts of power, ranging from 7kW to 10.5kW.

The higher the power the better the flow of water from the showerhead with a 10.5kW shower producing 50% more water flow than a 7kW unit.

Electric showers also needs a mains cold water supply.

Electric showers are popular because:

• You can shower at any time, with no need to wait for water to heat up
• You don’t need a hot water tank or a gas boiler as they heat cold water using electricity
• They can cost less than £500 for a new installation and less than £250 to replace

 

There are some limitations of electric showers:

• The flow of water is less than from a power shower or a mixer shower with decent pressure
• The flow rate from the showerhead will be less in the winter than the summer (for the same showering temperature). This is because it has to heat the incoming cold water from a much lower temperature in the Winter (around 5 Centigrade) than the Summer (around 15-20 Centigrade)
• The shower needs a separately fused electricity supply cable from the main consumer unit. Depending on the power and the length of cable run this will need a 30-45 Amp fuse.
• Mains water pressure is needed for the shower to function so it can’t be taken from a gravity tank in the loft. Generally a minimum of 1bar water pressure is required at the unit.

As electric showers are cheap and easy to install (you must use a qualified electrician for a new installation) they are very popular and make up more than half of the showers sold each year in the UK. Popular brands include Mira, Triton and Redring.

See Fitting An Electric Shower for more details on the technical requirements of a new electric shower.

Mixer Showers

Mixer showers use hot water heated by a boiler (normally gas/oil). The hot water can be provided either from a hot water cylinder or from a combi boiler than heats water on demand. The hot water is combined with cold water to achieve the desired showering temperature. Mixer showers can use water at either mains water pressure (high pressure, typically 1-3bar) or using gravity system with a tank in loft (low pressure, typically 0.1-0.4bar).
Mixer showers are popular because:

• You can get a great flow of water from the showerhead, typically 8 to 15 litres per minute)
• A wide variety of different design styles are available to enhance your bathroom

There are some limitations of mixer showers:

• They can use up the hot water stored in the hot water cylinder if used for too long
• If the hot water cylinder is empty of hot water it can take a while to heat back up again
• Installation costs can be higher than for electric showers as the pipes are often hidden in the walls.

New mixer showers are generally installed a part of a bathroom/shower room refurbish and most new houses are likely to have this type of shower. Popular brands include Mira, Triton, Bristan and Aqualisa.

Integral Power Showers

A power shower combines stored hot water heated by a boiler (normally gas/oil) with cold water to achieve a forceful shower. This type of shower is on the decline as most new heating systems are high pressure rather than low pressure (gravity systems with tank in loft).
Power Showers are popular because:

• They give a forceful flow of pressure to shower under
• They are relatively simple to install
• They can cost less than £500 for a new installation and less than £250 to replace

There are some limitations of Power Showers:

• They can empty the hot water tank if used for too long
• They require an electrical supply to be provided (along with hot and cold water supply)
• They can only be used on low pressure gravity systems

If you are looking for a high flow of warm water then a Power Shower is ideal. Popular brands include Mira, Triton and Bristan.