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Original poster

Electric shower or not?

45 replies

JuneJan · 09/05/2023 21:23

We are mid renovation and are upgrading our heating system to a pressurised one. DH wants to put an electric shower in one of the bathrooms because it means we don't need to heat water in the summer but the builder/plumber/bathroom sales guy all say we don't need it and that water will heat up quickly. DH likes a high pressured shower and has made it known that he does so they all say an electric shower is the worst shower you'll ever have. Any advice? Anyone regret not putting an electric shower in? We always had electric showers so now I think we have the fear of not having one🙈

OP posts:
Movinghousehelp · 09/05/2023 21:26

I hate electric showers. Awful things.

What type of boiler do you have? Won’t you still need to heat water for washing up, cleaning, washing face and hands etc?

Tromso · 09/05/2023 21:27

Gas showers are much more efficient and I personally think they have better pressure - at least in my experience.

Electric showers also have a very short life expectancy - they're only guaranteed for two years and the last time I had one replaced, the electrician said that nowadays, they generally only tend to last 4/5 years unless you go super high-end.

Movinghousehelp · 09/05/2023 21:27

Sorry just re-read about pressurised system

whirlyhead · 09/05/2023 21:29

I put in an Aqualisa shower in my loft en-suite which had ongoing issues with water suddenly going freezing cold,then boiling hot. So I hardly ever used it. After being used approximately 30 times it’s stopped working and the whole damn unit needs replacing. I would never buy another electric shower!!

Mum2jenny · 09/05/2023 21:29

id definitely have an option for an electric shower. It covers all options when the main heating system fails.

Mum2jenny · 09/05/2023 21:30

We have one and it’s excellent. Maybe it depends on your main heating system?

Mandalor · 09/05/2023 21:36

I love my shower heated by the gas combi boiler, but my house before had an immersion heater water tank and it was a huge pain to heat the whole tank for a shower, then it'd be lukewarm, so I'd definitely pick an electric shower over a water tank.

1st choice combi boiler heated shower
2nd electric
3rd anything but immersion tank!!

mumwheresmyribena · 09/05/2023 22:04

We have an electric shower because we were unfortunate enough to get stuck without gas heating for a week once. We managed with portable heaters but it was grim not having hot water to shower or wash dishes. An electric shower means we'd still have got water if it happened again.

Pixiedust1234 · 09/05/2023 22:14

I never knew you could get showers that weren't electric until I came here. All mine have been electric and have had a long life each. First one in first home was there before we bought and we lived there ten years, second house we had to replace an old one of fifteen years, the new one is now sixteen years old. Our water pressure is fine but does drop slightly in summer. All three have been Creda if that helps.

Misslizzie96 · 09/05/2023 22:18

Our Main shower is gas combi boiler fed and it’s great. We have a good quality electric one over the bath upstairs, I’d chosen it as we were without heating once for a few days and hot shower made a huge difference, but honestly I’d not want to use it every day the heating sourced one is so so much better.

Original poster
JuneJan · 09/05/2023 23:52

Thanks for all the replies!

OP posts:
ChippyPrincess · 10/05/2023 07:30

It's not a bad idea to have one in a house; means you always have access to a hot shower, even if the boiler breaks down.

Reallybadidea · 10/05/2023 07:37

Heating water is much, much cheaper with gas than electricity. So it makes no sense to install it to save heating water in summer. A 10kw one will cost up to £3.50 an hour to run at current prices. Also, even the best electric showers are nowhere near as powerful as a standard shower with a pump.

It is useful to have the option of your boiler breaks, but not worth suffering rubbish showers the rest of the time just for that.

OakleyStreetisnotinChelsea · 10/05/2023 07:38

We have 1 in our downstairs shower and it is OK but the ones that run off the hot water are better. Im not clear on it being a cost saving for you though you should see the smart metre when the electric shower is being used! Surely you still need to heat the water tank in summer anyway? Otherwise how do you wash up etc? I would have thought more choose effective to heat the tank once a day than have multiple electric showers and doing things like boiling a kettle for washing up.

GasPanic · 10/05/2023 10:10

I would say don't bother with the electric.

What I would say is when they fit your new pressurised cylinder, make sure that they also wire in the immersion heater. Then you will have a backup in case the boiler goes down.

The new cylinder will almost certainly have an integrated immersion heater (unless it is a very cheap one). What they may do though is skimp on wiring it in - it's the kind of shortcut installers take to save money.

queenofthewild · 10/05/2023 10:17

I hate ours. It's weak and just about functional.

However, it has been a godsend if the boiler ever packs up.

CatOnTheChair · 10/05/2023 10:38

Fed it from the hot water tank! The pressure is far superior.
And I don't see how you won't heat the water in the summer? Washing pans? Washing hands? Do you seriously not use hot water anywhere else?

Like others have mentioned, we do have 1 electric shower in the house. Useful when the boiler breaks (currently twice in my years of house ownership of 20-something years).

We are getting a new bathroom currently. The pressurized hot water system has been described by a couple of plumbers as "the best possible system to have". Use it!

Changing the list above slightly:
Ideal: gas heated hot water tank
1st choice combi boiler heated shower
2nd electric
3rd anything but electric immersion tank!!

Movinghousehelp · 10/05/2023 11:16

I don’t know why anyone would install an electric shower just in case your boiler stops working… it’s hardly a regular occurrence. I’m happy to roll the dice and have a great shower every day and if my boiler packs ever packs in for a few days, shower elsewhere… I will have had days/weeks/months/years of great daily showers which will have more than made up for the inconvenience.

GasPanic · 10/05/2023 11:50

Movinghousehelp · 10/05/2023 11:16

I don’t know why anyone would install an electric shower just in case your boiler stops working… it’s hardly a regular occurrence. I’m happy to roll the dice and have a great shower every day and if my boiler packs ever packs in for a few days, shower elsewhere… I will have had days/weeks/months/years of great daily showers which will have more than made up for the inconvenience.

Probably because going 4 weeks to replace a boiler without hot water can be miserable.

It happened to me. Fortunately I had the hot water cylinder immersion heater as a back up. Most people with hot water cylinders have got these, they just don't know about them as they are hardly ever used.

Of course, if you have a combi boiler you are stuffed.

CatOnTheChair · 10/05/2023 12:01

Movinghousehelp · 10/05/2023 11:16

I don’t know why anyone would install an electric shower just in case your boiler stops working… it’s hardly a regular occurrence. I’m happy to roll the dice and have a great shower every day and if my boiler packs ever packs in for a few days, shower elsewhere… I will have had days/weeks/months/years of great daily showers which will have more than made up for the inconvenience.

Because nearly 2 weeks with no heating and no hot water in December sucks!
The nearest people I would feel comfortable asking for a shower are 30 mins drive away. Closest family over 100 miles.

Stripedbag101 · 10/05/2023 21:37

I had never had an electric shower until
i moved house. Hated it. Low pressure. Ripped it out and now showers feed from the combi boiler. Instant hot water and much better pressure.

I also think electric showers are really ugly (sorry!).

CrotchetyQuaver · 10/05/2023 21:51

Best showers I know about are from hot/cold water tanks and put through a water pump en route to the shower controls.

I would choose a hot water tank heated by the gas boiler with an immersion heater on it as option B.

Combi boilers are all well and good until they break down and you've no hot water other than the kettle or pans.

KievLoverTwo · 11/05/2023 11:31

I measured the cost of running these buggers in winter 2022 and it was something like 50p for 15 minutes. So that would be what, £1, £1.50 now?

Not keen.

You can get different showerheads that try to mimic the flow of mains fed, but idk how good they are.

Proudboomer · 12/05/2023 09:48

I have 3 showers in my house all going off the main central heating system with an additional pump to maintain good water pressure. I heat the water for a total of 1.5 hours a day which uses between 9 and 10kw of gas so cost me just shy of £1 . This gives enough hot water for the usual activities like washing up and hand washing plus 3 x 8 minute showers a day. A 10kw electric shower would cost 47p for a 8 minute shower so £1.41 for 3 x 8 minute showers a day. The cost is considerably more for a shower with a poorer water pressure.

Coronationstation · 12/05/2023 10:30

I have an electric one in my en suite and I'm pretty fussy about shower pressure because I have thick hair and some just don't even wet it through. I went for the highest power I could get and it's pretty decent, I'd say it's as good as the one in the main bathroom that runs off the boiler. I have a combi boiler so the gas one doesn't need a full tank of water heating up. The electric one is useful as back up if you ever have an issue with the boiler, and also means that both can be used at once without one person getting all the hot water and the other having a cold bath!