Heating a Bathroom: Key Things to Consider

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There’s nothing worse than stepping out of a hot shower or a luxurious bath into a cold bathroom – especially in the depths of winter. While the steam can make your bathroom seem like a sauna, the truth is that the ventilation required to keep your bathroom free from damp can also be responsible for sucking out the heat from that steam, leaving you with a chilly space that’s difficult to keep warm. 

But that’s about to change – because in this blog post we’re tackling the subject of bathroom heating. 

Is heating a bathroom different to heating other rooms?

In short, yes. Not only are bathrooms much smaller spaces in which to fit an entire heating system, but they are often incredibly humid and require surges of heat which will both keep you warm and ensure that your bathroom doesn’t stay so damp that it risks going mouldy around the edges. 

The way you heat your bathroom may well intervene with your chosen layout and the facilities you decide to integrate into the room – so keep reading for our take on the options available to you. 

Bathroom heating options

There are four main types of bathroom heater that you can use: 

  1. Radiators
  2. Heated towel rails
  3. Underfloor heating
  4. Electric heaters

Each of these offers its own advantages, with some feeding off the central heating system while others are powered via your mains electricity. 

Bathroom zones

Bathroom zones

Before we jump into the different sources of heating for a bathroom, it first pays to understand the different bathroom zones and how important it is to recognise the safety of heating the 3 zones in your bathroom space. 

If your heating comes from an electrical supply, this is particularly important and should dictate the type of heating fitting which can be used in each of the zones. 

Zone 0: inside the shower or bath

Zone 1: the space above the shower or bath up to a height of 2.25m from the floor

Zone 2: 0.6m around the bath’s perimeter and up to 2.2m from the floor

Outside zones: anything outside of the above zones where water cannot reach

Radiator sizes

From standard residential radiators to the modern trend of tall and thin radiators which stretch the height of your room, all the way down to much smaller radiators which slot neatly into the space between your toilet and sink, getting the right size of radiator for your space means understanding its layout and the size of your bathroom – so that you can avoid making the room too hot or too cold. 

We recommend getting a BTU calculation which will tell you how many thermal units a radiator emits, allowing you to match your need up with the right product. 

Will a heated towel rail be enough to heat a bathroom?

While a large bathroom may require more than one heated towel rail or an additional source of heat to keep the bathroom environment warm, in most cases a heated towel rail is an effective source of heat which both dries your towels effectively and can maintain a nice temperature in the entire space. 

Consider the layout of your bathroom when selecting a fitting, with the market offering huge varieties in style and appearance. 

Electric bathroom heaters

The great thing about electric bathroom heaters is that they can stay on all year round, even when your central heating system is not being used. For this reason, many of the most popular towel heated rails and fan heaters are electric and able to be turned on and off independently and when required. 

It is worth noting that these are often more expensive to run and do not maintain a consistent temperature in your bathroom – rather, they offer a quick surge of heat when required. 

Underfloor heating

Keeping feet warm, drying wet floors, and maximising the use of bathroom floorspace without the need for radiators and other installed devices; underfloor heating is one of the most popular heating solutions which presents advantages to all homes and bathrooms regardless of their size. 

There are two different methods of installing heated flooring, either through an electric system or a pipe system – using instant electricity or heated warm.

If you need advice on which of these will be the best solution for your new bathroom or would like to discuss plans for your own bathroom remodel, get in touch with our team who will be able to help and guide you.