Electric Towel Rails Buying Guide

All electric towel rails boast the following energy-saving benefits:

Unlike central heating towel rails, electric towel rails work independently from the rest of your home heating. This is a huge advantage because the heating needs of your bathroom will be very different from the rest of your house. This is never more useful than in summer, where you’ll be able to keep your towels warm and dry without having to switch the heating on.

Electric towel rails are 100% efficient at point of use. In a central heating system, energy is lost as heat radiates from the pipes.

Electric towel rails are compatible with your choice of sophisticated electronic timers, thermostats and programmers.

To maximise the energy-saving potential of your electric towel rail it’s important to make sure it’s installed with some level of heating control. You can either buy a towel rail with in-built heating controls or choose an unenhanced towel rail and fit it with a programmer of your choice. Here are some of your options for heating control:

A thermostat is essential if you want to use your towel rail as your primary bathroom heating system. The thermostat will switch the towel rail on and off to maintain your desired room temperature, preventing the towel rail wasting energy overheating the room. The more accurate your thermostat, the more efficiently your towel rail will function. Digital thermostats are usually more accurate than mechanical thermostats.

Programming your towel rail gives you real scope to cut down on energy usage in your bathroom. Most of us spend the most time in our bathrooms in the mornings and evenings, and if we’re out of the house during the day we certainly don’t need to be heating an empty bathroom all day long. Programmers are available in all shapes and sizes, from basic programmers with pre-set heating schedules to sophisticated 24/7 digital programmers that allow you to customise your heating down to the nearest degree.

A remote control makes programming that little bit easier if you struggle using small screens.

Dual fuel heating control allows you to connect your electric towel rail to a piped central heating system. You can choose whether to run the towel rail off electricity or as part of your central heating system. For some people, this solution offers the best of both worlds: they can integrate the towel rail into their central heating system in winter whilst continuing to use it independently in summer.

Electric towel radiators with dry thermal elements heat up using thin metal wires which run along the length of the rails. As the rails get warm they radiate heat and warm up the surrounding air to heat by convection. These wires heat up faster than equivalent thermal fluid elements, making dry thermal elements a great choice if fast-acting heat is the priority. Another advantage of dry thermal technology is that the manufacturers are free to choose the position of the heating elements. Unlike water or thermal fluid filled radiators, they don’t need to waste energy heating the vertical struts of the radiator. Dry thermal towel rails are probably the best choice if the primary function of your towel rail is to dry towels.

Many electric towel rails use thermal fluid elements. Thermal fluid towel rails are filled with a specially formulated liquid heating element which heats up quickly and spreads across the entire volume of the towel rail, providing an even heat distribution across the room. As the towel rail gets warm it radiates heat and warms up the surrounding air to heat by convection. Thermal fluids offer superior heat retention to dry thermal elements, making them the more efficient choice if your towel rail is being used primarily for heating.

Glass towel rails transfer most of their heat through radiation, although they do stand proud from the wall to allow air to heat up against their surface and circulate around the room. Glass towel rails use thin metal wires similar to those used in dry thermal towel rails; however these wires are stretched between two thin panes of glass to create a heating panel with a very large surface area. Your towels hang in front of the panel and dry quickly as they absorb radiated heat. The large surface area of the panel means that towels dry evenly instead of drying around the rung first. The higher amount of radiant heat given off by these products can be particularly useful in bathrooms that require an extract fan for ventilation, as radiation isn’t affected by air movement. Glass towel rails are a luxury option: though more expensive, they are also more efficient and available in a range of stylish designs.

Towel rails which are dual fuel compatible give you a choice of energy sources: you can run them off electricity or use them as part of your central heating system. This allows you to enjoy the best of both worlds. You can integrate the towel rail into your heating system in winter, whilst running it off electricity in the summer when you don’t want to turn the heating on. Dual fuel towel rails are usually sold as central heating towel rails with a dual fuel extension pack.

Electric towel rails for bathroom installation must be wall mounted and hardwired into a fused spur. To comply with IET wiring regulations the towel rail must be wired by a professional electrician. However, if you wish you can wall mount the towel radiator yourself and leave the electrician to do the wiring and final checks.

To keep your bathroom safe and compliant with IET regulations, it’s important to make sure you choose the right towel rail for the area of your bathroom where it will be fitted. IET wiring regulations divide domestic bathrooms into four zones, as pictured opposite. Electrical heaters fitted within these zones must have the appropriate level of water ingress protection. The level of ingress protection offered by your towel rail is measured by its IP rating:

Zone	Description	IP Rating
Zone 0	Inside the bath or shower	Minimum of IPX7 (protection against immersion in water)
Zone 1	Above the bath or shower to a height of 2.25m	Minimum of IPX4 (protection against splashing water)
Zone 2	The area up to 0.6m outside the bath or shower and above the bath or shower.	Minimum of IPX4 (protection against splashing water)
Zone 3	Areas outsides zones 0, 1, and 2.	No minimum IP Rating

Note: A minimum IP Rating of IPX5 is required for any towel rail fitted in a location likely to be exposed to jets of water for cleaning purposes.

In practice, most people choose to fit their towel rail in a Zone 2 location and will need to make sure their towel radiator has an IP rating of at least IPX4. The most common ratings for electric towel rails are IPX4, IP24 and IP34. To be on the safe side, always defer to the manufacturer’s guidelines regarding bathroom suitability before having a product professionally installed.

If you want to use a heater with a lower IP rating you will need to find a suitable Zone 3 location in your bathroom.

All electric towel rails are low maintenance heating options. All you need to do is keep them clean.

White

White remains a classic colour for bathroom design.  Most white ladder towel rails are made from steel or aluminium with a white enamel finish. White glass towel rails are also available for a more contemporary look.

Chrome

Smart, stylish, yet utilitarian, chrome is the defining design theme of contemporary bathrooms. A chrome towel rail is the natural choice if your bathroom already sports metallic fittings and features. Chrome towel rails come in all shapes and sizes and are usually manufactured from polished steel or aluminium.

Colours

A coloured towel rail can add the perfect finishing touch to a unique bathroom design scheme. Glass panel towel rails typically offer the greatest range of colour choice.

It goes without saying that the most striking towel rails also come with the highest price tag. It’s also important not to forget the radiator’s practical function. Is the towel rail easy to use? If not, your family may lose patience and leave their towels to fester on the floor. Make sure to bear in mind who’s going to be using the towel rail: fashion before form can work in a personal ensuite – but in a family bathroom it may all end in a pile of damp towels

Ladder Style

The classic ladder style towel rail design is practical, smart and looks at home in most domestic bathrooms. Easy to manufacture, traditional ladder style towel rails are usually the cheapest option.

Many ladder towel rails give you the option of curved or straight bars. Towel rails with curved bars usually make it easier to hang towels, but take up more space in your room. Towel rails with straight bars give you less room to hang your towels but are usually slimmer.

If you’re looking for something more unusual, you’ll find an array of designer towel rails that expand upon traditional ladder designs to offer up something a little more exciting. From ladder rails with asymmetric bars to towel radiators with square rails and patterned finishes, designer ladder towel rails offer practicality in a more unique package.

Panel Style

Panel style towel radiators offer a departure from traditional ladder style towel rails. Your towels dry as they hang in front of a large heated panel usually fashioned from tempered safety glass. The design is simple yet sophisticated, offering smooth surfaces, polished curves and an increasingly wide choice of colours. Most commonly available in black and white, panel style towel rails make stunning additions to minimalist bathrooms. A slightly pricier option that’s ideal if you want to create an uncluttered aesthetic.

Tubes, Spirals and Squares

With heating manufacturers getting more creative by the day, there’s never been a more exciting time to buy a designer towel rail. From the elegant to the outlandish to the plain absurd, designer towel rails today are more than stylish pieces of bathroom furniture – they’re functional works of art. Ranging from tightly curled spiral towel rails to angular heating polygons, there’s never been more choice if you want an electric towel rail that sets your bathroom apart.

All electric towel radiators should be fitted with an automatic safety cut-off which will cut power to the heater in the event of a malfunction.

All electric towel rails should come fitted with a thermal safety limiter which will cut power to the radiator if it exceeds a safe temperature. This is designed to prevent fires in the event of a malfunctioning thermostat. It also ensures that the surface temperature is never high enough to cause burns.

Every time you purchase an electrical appliance, for heating or otherwise, you should check that the product is validated by the appropriate safety accreditation schemes. As a bare minimum, your electric towel rail should carry the CE mark, which is the manufacturer’s declaration that the heater meets the minimum safety standards required by European law. However, to be confident that your towel rail boasts the highest level of safety protection you should always look for the BEAB approved mark. BEAB approval demonstrates that your towel rail has been manufactured in an inspected factory using approved methods and has been tested and assessed by expert third-party authorities. Products bearing the BEAB mark are also randomly tested on a yearly basis. The BEAB mark is a trusted indication of electric safety standards than can be found on appliances from across the UK and Europe.

You should never purchase an electric towel rail without a warranty. In the unlikely event of a malfunction, a warranty guarantees that your towel radiator will be fixed or replaced. The length of the warranty offered by the manufacturer can be a good measure of the towel rail’s quality. A two year warranty is common for most electric towel rails

Your towel rail’s IP rating measures its level of protection against ingress from solid particles and water. Towel rails for bathroom fitting must carry the appropriate IP rating for the area of the bathroom where they will be installed. Check the installation question above for more information.

Energy efficiency is the key to cutting down on waste. Pick a sophisticated towel rail controller and use our guide above to make sure whichever towel rail you choose is the most efficient choice for your home.

Wind turbines, solar panels and hydro power generators all produce electricity. This makes an electric towel rail the obvious choice for bathroom heating if your home has a renewable power source.

Towel radiators powered by electricity contain no fuel burning elements. This means they do not produce carbon dioxide. Used with green electricity, electric towel rails are one of the few carbon-neutral heating options on the market. Unfortunately, as it stands today, mains electricity is predominately generated by fossil fuel burning power stations. Only when the National Grid is powered solely by sustainable fuels will mains powered electric heating become a truly carbon free option.

Towel rail manufacturers are increasingly focussed on sustainable design, so today it’s easy to find towel rails made from recycled aluminium, steel or glass. Check individual product details for information on the materials used. The most environmentally friendly towels rails will use recycled materials which are themselves recyclable.