Just being told that the shower in en-suite is electric

[Viviot]

AIBU actually?

Doing redecoration in the recently built house, and had no idea such thing exists so didn't pay attention before.

And now being told that the shower in the ensuite bathroom is electric

Just like why would you install that in 2010 built house with exceptional water pressure, and powerful boiler that provides boiling-hot water.the other bathroom has normal shower with hot water from boiler. Just like why??

Nothing wrong with a decent electric shower

@canabanana

"And the electric shower is more economical."

Since energy from electricity is about four times the price of energy from gas, that may not be right.

moofolk

Same here, can't believe the mental anguish we must be causing the DC, blighting the whole lives with just one bathroom that shock horror only has an electric shower.

It is more economical - it uses less water.

You know what building services engineers pet hates are???? Architects!!! What a load of twaddle from the American Architect ‘rubbish water pressure here’

I am not going to bore you all about hearing and hot water systems. I design commercial heating and water systems for schools and care homes.

An electric shower is brilliant as a back-up when boilers fail. We have back up heating in the form of a wood-burning stove, our tanked system boiler has a hot water storage with an electric immersion so if the boiler fails we can still get hot water off the tank.

If you want really good hot water pressure then get an invented pressurised system - where there is no cold water storage tank. The beauty of a hot water storage tank being it can help fill the bath a bit quicker!

Aren't all showers like this?!

Apart from ones that work from a rubber hose attached to the taps!

I live in a flat that is all electric. So I have a choice of an electric shower or no shower.

I don’t see any major impact on my electricity bills having an electric shower.

Honestly didn't know you could get anything other than an electric shower, in my defence though never lived in a house with a boiler

I got the crap electric shower removed when we re-did the ensuite. We have a pump in the boiler house so we don't rely on the rubbish mains pressure for our showers. We have a huge hot water tank with both an immersion heater for emergencies and solar panels for the summer.
Just get rid of it OP.

First world problems, eh? Electric shower all the way for me.

Ok. This seems like a good place to ask 😊...

When we bought this place we wanted to put in central heating and the boiler & cold water storage tanks were both old so needed replacing.

There’s bugger all storage here, so we jumped at the chance of getting a cupboard back by putting in a combi. Plus it was cheaper. Win/win I thought.

So having wanted one for ages we put in a digital Aqua Lisa shower.

A GOOD shower is HIGH on my list of ‘necessities’ so you can imagine how disappointed I was to discover that it has next to no pressure.

I rang Aqua Lisa to see if they had any suggestions or if I could buy anything to boost it. They told me to open the black box in the loft and switch it from combi to mains fed. It helped marginally.

I have the hot water set to as hot as the boiler will go.

It’s a new boiler (over sized for the property).

Other than replacing the combi boiler, does anyone have any suggestions to get more pressure/flow/whatever?

I swear it had more pressure when it had a shitty plastic thing from the bath taps 🙁

What were you expecting? Are electric showers not the norm? (Honestly, I really don't know what you mean by this thread!)

It is more economical - it uses less water.

You can restrict any shower with greater water flow to use no more water than an electric one, so this is not an advantage.

On the other hand, having more flow the electric shower can manage is wanted sometimes, so overall non-electric wins on this issue.

We have one bathroom, no ensuite, and one of those bath taps that has a hose with a shower head to hook on the wall. It works from mains pressure and is brilliant. I'm delighted to know that my refusal to fit an electric shower (on the grounds that I had no money) was a sound decision and has not blighted our lives in any way.

Have you actually used the shower yet?
You might find it's perfectly good.you might also find you've used one plenty of times before, in hotels or other people's houses. You just mightn't have realised it.

YADBU nothing wrong with electric showers...especially when your boiler breaks and you’re in need of a scrub.

A lot of new people here. I'm a foreigner. I've spent first 20 years of my life in a different country (Europe).

I have spent last 8 years in the UK (one owned house, one rented, both built by Barratt, boilers with tanks there)

New house is built by Barratt too. Combi boiler which feels very good.

As I had no idea such thing exists I didn't expect it.

The new house is close to a very good school, so we would have bought it anyway. With electric shower or without it..

But yes, now I'm a bit amazed by it and have received a lot of great advices and information here. No need to be rude (to some people).

And thank you all once again for your contribution.
It really helpeped.

I would love an electric shower as well as the one that runs off my gas boiler as when the cylinder has run out of hot water it’s cold. My DH likes ten minute,roaring hot showers and takes the whole supply sometimes. It causes WW3 conflicts when I remind him his DS needs water to shower before work, and, when we have guests, I virtually have to stand outside the door reminding him that there are other people on the planet who want to be clean.

It is a luxury to have an electric shower. Enjoy.

Because ...

When you have a shower fed by a combo boiler (fires up when you turn a hot tap on) you have to have a particular shower valve built for use with a combi boiler, normal ones don’t pull the water through quick enough to make the boiler switch on, regardless of water pressure.

An electric shower is basically an all in one that doesn’t need a specific valve, and is also a very much cheaper option. And, if the boiler breaks down, you can still take a shower.

Had electric shower in ensuite in last house. It was great, absolutely no problems.House wasn't built with ensuite, extension facilitated addition. New house (newbuild) has showers from boiler and no difference. The point of the electric one being a backup is well founded.

Haven’t RTFT but we have same, new build. It’s because it’s cheap, they only have to take a cold feed to the shower location! Also do you have a combi boiler? If so then with an electric you can still shower while other people or appliances are using the water, if it’s coming from the boiler then you’ll be scalded or freezing if you try

FrizzyMcFrizzface now that's interesting. This is what makes me sad a bit, that it will be very expensive to change it to the power shower.

It is unrealistic to destroy half of the bathroom to change the shower

So let it be.. how easy is it to change its head?

@SofiaAmes

Thank you for that, but you’re wrong if you’re talking about my current home, or my previous home, or indeed the one before that.

Water pressure in all 3 has been great, none of them have water tanks of any sort, hot or cold. So all taps can be used for drinking. Hot water is instant from a combi boiler, yes I can have someone flush a toilet downstairs whilst using the upstairs shower with no issue, boiler is downstairs so it’s definitely not gravity giving me my nicely pressured shower!

Does unfortunately mean that if the boiler isn’t working, there is no backup system right now... i was just debating an electric shower when the upstairs bathroom is to be redecorated next year as a result of this thread! So that I have a backup :)
Thanks OP!

Bloody hell, if this was my only “problem” in life.