How to: Choose the Perfect Shower for Your Bathroom

2 Apr

Written By

Showers are often chosen by design preference, but what type of shower you’d like is very different to what type of shower your home might need. The type of shower which will work best in your home is determined by the pressure of your water from whichever water system your home runs on. Do you have a hot water system, a combination boiler, or a gravity system? Water systems and the water pressure they provide will affect the type of shower you will need. There are showers for all types of homes and pressures, there's also solutions such as shower pumps to fix low pressure gravity systems. Once you know your water pressure, you’ll know which type of shower to choose, then you can choose from a variety of designs these types of showers offer.

Types of water systems

Gravity system - If you have a gravity system you’ll have a cold water tank in your loft and a hot water tank in your airing cupboard. This is a low pressure system so you may need a pump to increase water flow. If not, use a low pressure shower valve with both feeds coming from the storage tanks.Best type of shower to have: Install a shower pump to boost pressure or use a low pressure shower valve Combination boiler - If you have a combination boiler, which is very common in modern homes, you’ll have a wall hung boiler and no storage tanks. This is a high pressure system and it relies on mains pressure to deliver water around your home, giving you hot water on demand. Cold outlets are connected directly to the incoming water main and hot water is produced when cold water passes through equipment specifically designed for heating water at pressure.Best type of shower to have: Any thermostatic valve or kit for shower use & a manual valve which is ideal for exofil bath fillers Unvented water system- If you have a unvented water system you’ll have a cold mains water supply with a hot water storage tank, and wall hung boiler. The hot water storage tank is filled with cold water from the mains and heated within the tank. The tank then stores a quantity of hot water at mains pressure. Best type of shower to have: Any thermostatic valve & manual valves for bath filling

Types of showers

Thermostatic mixer - A thermostatic valve maintains your chosen water temperature, keeping it consistent, even when someone else uses a tap elsewhere in your home. It does this by regulating any possible temperature changes, to protect you against temperature fluctuations, which can cause scoulding. Thermostatic mixers require hot and cold water supplies. They’re great for family homes because they’re the safest way to shower. They’re becoming the standard shower to have in most modern homes.Suitable for homes with: Unvented water systems, combination boiler systems & gravity systems Electric shower - Suited to homes with low pressure, electric showers have their own heating element, producing heated water on demand from a cold mains supply. So you can have a warm shower at anytime of the day. Suitable for homes with: Combination boiler systems & gravity systems with poor pressure. Consider this type if you have poor pressure from your existing system Digital shower - Popular in modern bathrooms, digital showers offer state of the art technology. They sometimes allow you to control your shower via a remote control or even your smartphone. They also offer ease of installation in modern bathroom renovations. Digital showers allow you to set an exact water temperature much like a thermostatic mixer, but fancier, so the showers already at your prefered temperature for when you’re ready. Most digital showers offer touch control and can also change colour from blue through to red depending on the water temperature.

Suitable for homes with: Any system, plus digital showers can come with/or without a pump

Still unsure? Please visit a showroom to speak to one of our bathroom experts for full clarification.