Looking For A New Shower? Why Not Look For An Electric Shower?
When looking to purchase a new shower there are a number of considerations which can be quite complicated if you’re not a qualified plumber. Before purchasing any new shower, and especially before any shower install, you need to look at the hot water system you have installed in your house. It is important to make sure your choice of shower is compatible with your water system and to understand any pros and cons of this type of shower. It is also possible to have a shower that works independently of your hot water system which is ideal in households where there often isn’t enough hot water available. If this is the case it is recommended to look for electric showers 8.5kW.
Electric showers have some major benefits over other shower types, not least for their independence from your hot water system. No matter what hot water system you have installed in your home, it won’t matter. Electric showers, 8.5kW, 9.5kW or 10.5kW will all run completely independent of the water system you have in place. Do you have a small hot water tank? Is your hot water un-reliable? By looking for electric showers - 8.5kW or higher power ratings, you can be guaranteed of a hot shower, no matter whether you have any hot water in your tank.
There are typically three different power ratings available in electric showers, 8.5kW, 9.5kW and 10.5kW. The cheapest to run and to purchase are the 8.5kW. The way an electric shower works is based on a heating element. All water that enters the shower is cold until it passes past an electrically powered heating element. The temperature control on the shower actually regulates the speed of the water passing this element, so essentially, hotter showers mean the water is exposed to this element for longer.
The massive benefits to electric showers are, of course, you don’t need hot water in your system. As long as you have power in your house, you are guaranteed a hot shower, day or night. But why are there three power ratings for electric showers? 8.5kW, 9.5kW and 10.5kW all exist because of another important aspect of showers, pressure. Going back to the description of the electric showers, if you want your water hotter, the flow has to be slower. So electric showers, 8.5kW rated will have less power and the water will need to pass slower (less pressure) past the heating element the hotter you want it. Higher powered electric showers have been introduced to combat this issue, so a higher power 10.5kW shower will be able to run at higher pressure at higher temperatures than electric showers, 8.5kW.
Once you have chosen the shower you want, you’ll need to organise installation for the shower. This is one of the few downsides to electric showers, self installation isn’t an option unless you are a certified plumber. The combination of electricity and water means that only skilled and certified plumbers can set up and install this shower type in your home. This installation can add to the cost of your shower as it can be more costly to install than other shower types if cabling needs to be run or adjusted to power the shower.