Shower wattage

[Ken W]

Shower wattage
what is the recomended wattage for electric shower, search ther are wattage from 9 kw to 11 kw

[Jaymoss]

In my experience the higher the wattage the more flow of hot water you get in the winter

[Ms NTL]

Originally Posted by Ken W

Shower wattage
what is the recomended wattage for electric shower, search ther are wattage from 9 kw to 11 kw

it depends on the electric connection. Is it a new one or an old one?

If it is an old connection, what is the Amperage of the fuse?

[Taf]

Our cold supply is very cold in winter, so I fitted an 8.5kW one that does the job. A certified leccy did the wiring as it needs certification as it's in a "wet area". New dedicated fuse trip added, plus an isolator outside the bathroom. Earth and RCD both tested as per the new regs.

Originally Posted by Ken W

Shower wattage
what is the recomended wattage for electric shower, search ther are wattage from 9 kw to 11 kw

If you want a hot shower with good water flow, then the recommendation is as high as you can afford.

With an electric shower, the higher the wattage, the quicker it heats the water. When you turn the temperature knob on an electric shower, you aren’t changing the power consumption, you’re changing the water flow. So a high wattage shower will produce a hotter shower than a lower wattage one for the same quantity of water flowing through it.

(Caveat, some showers also have a high/low/cold dial in addition to the main temperature knob - these do indeed alter the shower’s power consumption).

Things to consider:

- If you have particularly poor water pressure, then a high wattage shower is a waste of money because it will overheat too easily.

- If your cold supply is particularly cold in winter (perhaps if the rising main is quite exposed) then a high wattage shower will be particularly useful because the shower will have to work harder to heat your water.

- Your electrical installation must be up to spec. You need 10 or 16mm cable back to the consumer unit, as you would for an electric range cooker, and for a high wattage shower (more than 10kW) you need a dedicated 60 amp mini circuit breaker on the consumer unit to protect it.

As this is an installation in wet conditions you must get a qualified electrician to do the work.

[Ken W]

Originally Posted by Ms NTL

it depends on the electric connection. Is it a new one or an old one?

If it is an old connection, what is the Amperage of the fuse?

The rcd or whatever it is called is 32 amp

---------- Post added at 15:30 ---------- Previous post was at 15:16 ----------

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

In my experience the higher the wattage the more flow of hot water you get in the winter

9.5 KW should be ok.

Originally Posted by Ken W

The rcd or whatever it is called is 32 amp

---------- Post added at 15:30 ---------- Previous post was at 15:16 ----------



9.5 KW should be ok.

A 32 amp circuit breaker is inadequate for any shower rated over 7 kilowatts.

If you want a 9.5kW shower, you need a 45 amp circuit breaker at the consumer unit ( a.k.a. ‘fuse board’). You also need 16mm cable between the consumer unit and the shower. If the circuit you’re using presently has a 32 amp circuit breaker, then the likelihood is the cable from it to the bathroom is only 6mm. This is completely inadequate and requires an electrician to remove and replace it.

A 9.5kW electric shower is ‘OK’ but that’s all. Seeing as you are going to have to have to have a professional installation done, including work to your house’s wiring and main fuses, you might as well have it all up-rated for a more powerful shower which will be much nicer to use. Go for 11 or 12 kW if you can.

[Ms NTL]

7.6 KW is the max

Triton 7.5

otherwise new wiring as Chris says...

[jb66]

How come you can get 12kw showers but car chargers are only 7.4kw?

Originally Posted by jb66

How come you can get 12kw showers but car chargers are only 7.4kw?

Because they make certain assumptions about what else you already have installed in your house and then mass produce the sorts of chargers most people will actually be able to use.

Your house may have a 60A main fuse (though it could be 100A) and if you have a powerful electric shower then running that at the same time as a powerful car charger will cause you serious problems.

I suspect if you get your home electrics surveyed and demonstrate that you have the available capacity you could make a case for having a more powerful home charger installed.

In the future if we’re going all-electric in every home in the street and charging 1 or 2 cars on every driveway we’re all going to end up with three-phase supplies, which you only really see in business premises at present. Our church has a 3-phase supply and the consumer unit looks like it could run a space station.

[pip08456]

10mm cable is perfectly fine for a 9.5Kw as it is rated at 11Kw on a 44amp breaker.

[Taf]

Originally Posted by jb66

How come you can get 12kw showers but car chargers are only 7.4kw?

Our local council has banned tenants from installing EV chargers. And a few local friends looking at EVs for everyday use were shocked that the best chargers require 3-phase mains to the house, and the installation of that cable is not cheap. 2 were quoted £4500+ VAT, 2 were quoted £6000 plus VAT!

Originally Posted by pip08456

10mm cable is perfectly fine for a 9.5Kw as it is rated at 11Kw on a 44amp breaker.

Mains wiring is a little too serious for you to be making irresponsible generalisations like ‘perfectly fine’.

Several things affect the suitability of the cable, including length of cable run and insulation.

I suggest you stick to offering general advice and refrain from saying things that might make the OP think there is any safe course of action that doesn’t involve calling in an electrician.

[Jaymoss]

Triton say use 10mm for over 8KW showers to 10.5 KW then 16mm above

Originally Posted by Jaymoss

Triton say use 10mm for over 8KW showers

I suspect I looked at the same web page you did, in which case they don’t *quite* say that - they acknowledge there are factors a qualified electrician needs to take into account in order to ensure the installation meets the regulations.