New shower system question

gluppers

Hi, I'm looking to get a new shower cubicle installed. I've also decided I'd like to get rid of my electric shower (fed up with its limitations) and get a mixer shower. Currently the plumbing in the house consists of a cold water tank in the attic and an immersion heater in the hotpress in one of the bedrooms.

I've done a little research and learned that an unvented cylinder tank is a good source for a mix shower. I'd also like to have provision for any further additional showers in the future

Questions..

1. Given the current plumbing situation, is an unvented tank the best option for the mixer shower, or should I consider implementing the immersion and water tank as the source to the mixer shower?

2. Are mixer showers generally more economical than electric showers?

3. Should I consider a power shower instead?

Lenar3556

1. An unvented tank is certainly an option. The supply to this should be pumped from the attic storage tank (which may also need to be enlarged or an additional tank fitted to cope with demand) Not a low cost solution. Unvented tank and suitable pump could easily get into €5-7k by the time it is in.
   
2. No - because the volume of water is usually twice if not three times that of an electric shower. You could potentially have some lower cost ways of heating a cylinder of water vs an electric shower. But there is no doubt a mixer or power shower will cost more per shower than an electric.
   
3. I would. An Aquastream or Triton Novel SR will deliver similar performance to a bar mixer and will be a more cost effective solution. Note however that you could still potentially need a larger water cylinder and/or additional attic storage tank capacity to meet the much higher water requirements of a power shower.

gluppers

As regards a power shower….I already have an immersion flow going to the bathroom to the sink. So I suppose that will facilitate a connection to the shower? With the cold feed coming from the tank in the attic

I always have the 'sink' option for the immersion on. Will that be enough to supply max a 15/20 mins shower? Max 2 people in house. Occasionally 3, but shower use is usually staggered

Finally, is power shower usage much more expensive than an electric shower?

Lenar3556

Because of the consistent and flow requirements a power shower should be piped directly into the cylinder. The cold feed can come directly from the tank.

If you have the shower on full, It will need every bit of a full cylinder to run for 15 mins. Sink won’t do it.

On costs, the power shower itself will consume very little. It’s the water heating costs and the volume of water that make it more expensive than an electric shower. Heating a full hot water cylinder with an immersion might cost €1.40. A 15 minute electric shower might cost €0.70.

But a power shower is a much better experience and you might find a 15 minute shower is no longer necessary. You could also look at heating the cylinder with oil or gas which will be lower cost than electric.