31 Oct What are the different shower types?
With all of the different shower types on the market it can be hard to know which shower type to choose. The shower is a key component to any bathroom or wet room these days. This means it is important to get the choice right. Otherwise you can end up compromising your bathroom experience and it will annoy you every day!
So what are the different shower types?
Really it boils down to 4 different shower types which are as follows:
- Electric showers
- Mixer showers
- Power showers
- Digital showers
How do you choose which shower type is best?
So what are the things you need to consider when picking a shower type?
- What is your boiler type? Combi boilers and older gravity-fed systems work very differently, so need different types of shower
- What is your water pressure like? If it is low, then you might need to look at ways to boost it. If you are using mains pressure, this is less likely to be an issue.
- How big is your immersion tank? Do you find you often run out of hot water? You can address this concern with an electric shower
Electric Showers
Electric showers are showers that heat the water with an electrically powered element. This built in heating device instantly heats up water as it passes through the unit. The main advantage of an electric shower is that you only need a cold water feed to it. This means you can’t run out of hot water, even if you have a small hot water tank.
Another benefit of an electric shower is that it only heats up the water that you need. This means you don’t have any waste that you might have when heating a full tank of water.
When you buy an electric shower, take note of what kW rating it has. The higher the kW, the better the hot water flow will be from it.
An electric shower can give you resilience against a faulty boiler. Since you won’t be relying on the boiler to heat your water if anything goes wrong with it you can still have a hot shower.
One downside of an electric shower can be if you have poor water pressure. If that is the case you might not have a good flow of water through the shower.
Mixer Showers
A mixer shower takes a feed from both your cold water and hot water. Hot water is typically heated by a boiler or immersion. Mixer showers often have the benefit of a greater flow of water than an electric shower. So if you like a good deluge of water it could be the better choice. You will be constrained by having to wait for water to heat, it’s not instant.
Power Showers
A power shower is advisable for houses that have gravity-fed water systems. Or for situations where your water pressure is too low. A pump is incorporated in the shower unit giving a more powerful shower. A power shower will instantly increase the water pressure in the shower. However, it doesn’t heat the water, it works in a similar way to a mixer shower taking a hot and cold water feed from a tank.
Digital Showers
A digital shower is really the modern equivalent of a mixer shower. They include precise temperature controls that can be managed at the touch of a button. They digitally control temperature and can show you the flow rate. Some units even allow different people in the household to set their own profiles for the temperature they like!
Some digital showers can be paired with your Alexa or Google assistant. This allows you to adjust the shower temperature or turn it on and off with a voice command!
At Bespoke Bathrooms we have experience of fitting all these different types of shower. We can advise you what will be the best option for your home. Call us today on 01 4948048