Radiator or electric towel rail in ensuite?

[MICH43L]

Hi,

I'm planning a small ensuite in the loft room (above existing bathroom).

Do I need to add a radiator to the system, or is there an electric towel rail that will do the job?

Cheers

 

[RigidRaider]

Your existing pump might struggle to send hot water that far; I've seen problems in an attic. Keep it simple and use an electric rad but beware that towel rails don't have a very high output, unless your little en suite is well insulated.

 

[stem]

'Towel radiator' is really a bit of a misnomer, they are now often more correctly referred to as 'towel warmers'. As a rule of thumb, a 'towel warmer' will emit about one third of the heat emitted by a radiator of the same size. But that assumes it is uncovered. Once covered with fluffy insulating towels the heat output is reduced to not very much at all.

Having said that I have known larger electric towel warmers 250 watts or more, if left on permanently keep a small well insulated bathroom reasonably warm, but would be hopeless at heating the room up from scratch first thing in the morning.

My first house (super insulated timber frame construction) with a small bathroom had an electric towel warmer and also a wall mounted fan heater which gives instant heat for a fast top up as required. The towel warmer kept the chill off, and I just switched the fan heater on whilst I was in there showering.

 

[MICH43L]

Can they run from the mains (fused spur)? I think I'm going to have to use the last slot on the consumer unit for the shower.

 

[stem]

Yes they can be connected via a fused spur. This is the usual way of connecting them.

 

[MICH43L]

Thanks, might save a lot of notching and adding yet another rad to the system.