Electric Shower vs Gas Powered Shower

Ectophile

fezster wrote: »

Even the most powerful electric shower will deliver pitiful flow rates. It's OK as a backup, but I prefer a more powerful shower for daily use.

I have an 8.5kW shower - well below the maximum available. It's still good enough to take a shower even in the depths of winter when the mains water is really cold.


Some people only seem happy if their shower has a flow rate comparable to the Niagara falls, and hot enough to boil a lobster. They probably think they are being eco-friendly having a shower, rather than a bath.

SuzieSue

When our friends refurbished their bathroom, there was an electric shower there already, so they left it there as a back up (as they had a combi boiler) but also put in a shower running off the boiler.

gardner1

benjus wrote: »

Seems strange to opt for an inferior shower every day just to cover that (usually) once-every-few-years event of a boiler breakdown.

Just imagine if your boiler broke down this past week...(that once every few years event that always happens in winter)....plumber cant get it fixed/order parts for a week....now imagine being able to have a nice hot shower:j

Zola.

Think I am going to go for the gas shower, as others said if the boiler breaks down once in a blue moon I could just go to the gym in the morning for once!

Waiting on full specs from both guys to compare like for like quotes.

Any particular good shower brands you would recommend at a good price?

[Deleted User]

I had a 10.5kW electric shower, it was ok in the summer when the incoming water was warm but in the winter, to get any appreciable temperature the flow rate was pitiful.

In the end i just replaced the bath taps for ones with a shower hose output and got a rail put up, the only problem with this arrangement is that if someone turns on a tap the temperature drops / rises quickly! (if you want to avoid this go for a thermostatic mixer)

Currently gas is about a quarter of the price of electricity so a boiler heated shower is going to be cheaper. combi boilers modulate their output so just because you have a 32kW boiler doesnt mean its always using 32kW.

A combi fed shower should have enough warm water flow rate to act as an exfoliant too

ilovechristmas1

benjus wrote: »

Seems strange to opt for an inferior shower every day just to cover that (usually) once-every-few-years event of a boiler breakdown.

agree

i have a non electric shower with a pump and is amazing,stayed at a Hilton Hotel recently and mine was far superior,cost £190 for the pump to boost water pressure

well worth it electric just dont have the power

ilovechristmas1

i also have an immersion if the boiler goes down and can still have a shower

vw100

A system boiler with storage tank can do power showers, a combi boiler setup is not suited for a power shower. You need to find out of the two popular boiler setups which one are you being proposed - each has its pro's and con's. A gas safe engineer should factor in number of occupants, water pressure and flow rate, water usage, rads and sizes, size of property and energy efficiency.

Rodders53

Zola. wrote: »

I am in the process of pricing up converting from oil to gas.

Is that mains gas, or LPG tank gas?

Zola.

main gas Rodders