Electric, mixer, thermostatic, digital… concealed or exposed valves… fixed head, hand held head… so many decisions to make when choosing a new shower, but getting the perfect shower for your home isn’t always easy. UK Bathrooms is one of the leading online stores for premium bathroom products and advises that before choosing your shower, you should think about what plumbing system is in your home and what water pressure you have.
Older homes usually have a gravity system with a hot and cold water feed, cold water tank usually located in your loft, with a hot water tank in an airing cupboard. Either a boiler or an immersion heater will heat the water in the cylinder and the pressure of your shower will depend on the distance from the tank in the loft to the actual shower head. The bigger the distance, the higher the water pressure. This system can also be fitted with a booster pump which will increase the performance of your shower.
Alternatively, your home may have a pressurized system or unvented hot water system. Here your hot water supply can either be on demand by a combi boiler or hot water can be heated in a cylinder designed to store hot water under pressure, this latter option provides a powerful shower, without the need for a booster pump.
With a combi boiler pressurizes cold water is heated on demand, however if you want a great shower you need to make sure that the combi boiler is powerful enough to supply an adequate hot water flow rate. Don’t forget the bigger your shower head, or number of nozzles then the greater the pressure required. The best option with a combi boiler is a thermostatic shower mixer valve, this will even out any temperature fluctuations.
Once you’ve considered your system then you can look at the types of showers available, these include electric, mixer, thermostatic and digital.
Electric showers are very popular especially if hot water is in short supply. An electric shower can be used in any home and cold water is heated by an element within the unit for instant hot water. A great example is the Aqualisa Quartz Electric Instantaneous Electric Shower System, efficient and economical this unit is available in white, graphite or chrome. The adjustable head also boasts 3 spray patterns.
A thermostatic shower such as the Hansgrohe Design Croma Select S Ecostat S Shower Set gives great peace of mind where the elderly or where children are involved as they prevent the risk of temperature fluctuation, the temperature is set by you and the mixer then maintains this.
Digital showers are an advanced form of thermostatic mixer showers, working in a similar way but giving more control over the temperature with a digital shower panel installed in the shower. A digital shower is both eco-friendly and user friendly take a look at the Grohe F Digital Rainshower Solo which utilises wireless technology to ensure the maximum in comfort and economy.
A mixer shower uses hot and cold water and mixes together in a valve before entering the showerhead, ideally suited to homes with a combi boiler or large hot water cylinder as the need readily available hot water. There are then two main types of shower valve, these being an exposed or concealed valve.
There is a huge selection of shower heads available today, which basically fall into two types, fixed and hand held. Both of these types can deliver a fixed water spray or be adjustable and deliver multiple spray options. Choose from a variety of shapes, options such as LED lighting are included in the Crosswater Rio Fixed Shower Head.
There are some exciting products available on the market, and one of the most popular are heads with aerated sprays, the experience being spa like, or taking a shower in natural rainfall. The waterfall is another impressive spray pattern, available on rectangular shower heads it can make a striking feature for your new bathroom.
With the abundance of showers available, new innovative products joining the market place and in constant development there really is a showering experience to suit every home. Visit ukbathrooms.com for advice and inspiration.
