The Care Up
Related Articles
Taking a hot shower is great after a long day’s work or for starting a late weekend, but not every bathroom has a dedicated hot water main. If you want a hot shower with high pressure but aren’t satisfied with your current setup, getting a new electric shower is a bathroom renovation offer you shouldn’t refuse.
When it comes to buying an electric shower, you might come across a lot of different models with titles that seem slightly similar, but don’t be mistaken, there are only a few types of electric showers, the rest of these differences are mostly in terms of appearance.
Is electric shower installation easy enough for DIY?
Certainly not. If you don’t have experience setting up a normal shower, which translates to a few plumbing skills, it’s not recommended to start learning with an electric shower. It’s not just your plumbing skill that will be put to the test, your electrical skills must be adequate to ensure electrical safety.
Installing a shower that’s supposed to have a switch for immediate power redirection isn’t an easy task, and messing it up can lead to quite a bit of trouble and even loss of life. Don’t meddle with electric shower installation as your first DIY project, and only approach it yourself if you know how to install a double-pole switch and change water main pipework.
Who can replace or install an electric shower?
Any certified electrician with plumbing knowledge and a plumber with a Part P certification is the best combination for an electric shower installation, as installing it as a one-man team can be difficult and dangerous. Especially for power showers, installing the electric segments and taking care of plumbing would be too much of a burden for one contractor.
Choose an electric shower you won’t regret buying!
The multitude of brands and models of electric showers can make the choice a bit of a thinker, especially if you want to find out about the specifications of each model and compare it to the others. But putting in the time to research your product before purchasing can save you a lot of money and avoid any unexpected installation fees. I would ask the advice of electric shower installers near me like Electric Works London before buying a new electric shower. If the consultant is familiar with your bathroom setup, choosing a shower that requires minimum adjustment in the existing layout will be easier.
Some of the best electric shower brands that we recommend are:
- Mira
- Aqualisa
- Gainsborough
- Bristan
- Triton
Every shower station needs an electric shower for efficiency
If you don’t have a centralized boiler providing heat to the entire building, you know more about the cost of having hot showers. Most common heating solutions aren’t very efficient, and you end up heating water that does not get used, or in other cases run out of hot water after a minute. Another issue with such a solution is taking a hot shower relies on everybody else in the house not using the hot water tap, otherwise, it’ll run cold soon.
An electric shower can solve this by providing hot water on demand since its built-in heating element warms up the water on the spot, as much as you need and not a litre more. Additionally, it can be controlled to not surpass a specific temperature in some models, which ensures a comfortable showering experience with no temperature fluctuations.
You can install an electric shower in as many bathrooms as you want, although you should note the extra power consumption if you want to use them at the same time. Luckily, you can customize ideal shower times in some models so every electric shower has hot water when you want it.
Electric Showers and Water Supply systems
The water supply systems used in different models can affect your final product experience, in addition to the details of the electric shower installation and fees.
Tank-Fed Showers:
A tank that stores the cold water is fitted on the roof or in the attic, or other rooms available in the building. A water pump is dedicated to transferring the water to the shower station. If you have a water tank available on your property, the cost of installation is reduced considerably, otherwise adding a new tanker can be expensive. Moreover, if you cannot connect the tank to the shower using existing plumbing routes, adding a new plumbing branch can add up to the costs of renovation.
Example models: Mira Elite / Triton T90
Showers connected to the water main:
The shower is connected directly to the water mains and runs with the same water pressure as the city plumbing allows 1 Bar. It is very reliable, as the city mains could be disconnected for various reasons.
Installing this model is easier as the plumbing work is not as extensive, and there is no need to add any tankers or use pumps. However, the experience is lacking comfort compared to other models.
Example models: Mira Vie / Triton T80
‘Power’ Showers
If you are in an area with a notoriously low main water pressure, opting for a power shower option is the best solution you have. It’s fitted with a dedicated water pump that runs on electricity, and it can boost the existing water pressure to comfortable levels.
Power showers require a change in the water pipe size, and the installation of the pump is a separate task. So the fees for installing one would be higher. However, the experience that the power shower provides is unique and incomparable with other designs. Power showers cannot heat water on their own as the pressure is too much for instant heating by a built-in element. You must have a dedicated heating system or hot water main in your building to utilize a power shower. Power showers are equipped with thermostats to monitor the temperature
