Electric showers are essentially kettles which dispense warm (obviously not boiling) water onto your body via a shower head, rather than into a cup. They allow you to situate showers where there is just a cold mains feed, which can potentially save you a lot of money if installing a new shower room in a place where there is no existing plumbing.

Understanding Electric Showers and Water Pressure

The big difference between an electric shower and a kettle is that in an electric shower the water is constantly moving. The speed at which it moves will be influenced by the water pressure from the mains (as a guideline, unless you buy a shower which explicitly says otherwise, you probably need a minimum water pressure of 0.7 bar) and by the temperature to which the water is heated.

Basically if you want a cold shower, then the water doesn’t need to be heated and so can progress at the fastest speed allowed by the mains supply).

If, however, you want your water heated, then it has to stop in the tank for the heating elements to do their work and a combination of factors will determine whether this time out is a quick pit-stop or a lengthy break. These factors are: the quality of your electric shower; the season and your desired temperature.

In short, the better the quality of your electric shower, the quicker it will heat water regardless of the season and it will heat water quickest of all in summer when the temperature of the mains water is at its highest (and, of course, vice versa).

Finally, regardless of the quality of your electric shower, the higher you want the water temperature, the longer any electric shower is going to take to heat your water.

NB: if a high-quality electric shower has to choose between maintaining a consistent temperature and maintaining a consistent flow, it will always choose the temperature for safety reasons, even if it does not have a thermostat, although thermostatically-controlled electric showers, by definition, do a better job of regulating water temperature.

The key points of electric showers

Here are the points we suggest you consider when buying an electric shower.

User-friendliness

We appreciate this is hugely subjective, but it’s also highly important. An electric shower one person finds totally intuitive may completely confuse someone else. The good news is that there are plenty of options from which to choose, so you have a great chance of finding an electric shower which suits your taste perfectly.

Speed of heating

As we explained above, there is a direct correlation between an electric shower’s ability to heat water quickly and its ability to maintain good water flow.

Temperature control

Part of temperature control goes back to our earlier point about user-friendliness, i.e. you need to be physically able to choose the right temperature in order for the electric shower to be able to generate it. The other part essentially goes back to the quality of the heating element and whether or not the electric shower has a thermostat.

Robustness

If you see two showers with similar features but very different prices, then there’s a good chance the differential reflects the build quality in a way which may not be obvious from online pictures (which may not even be of the item you’re buying). Genuine reviews can be a great way to identify which electric showers are genuine investment pieces.

Guarantees

Please be aware that a guarantee is only worth anything if you can have trust in the company behind it, which is why we recommend only buying trusted brands from trusted retailers.

Best Electric Shower

Here is our round-up of the best electric showers on the UK market.

Editors Pick

Mira Showers Sport Max Electric Shower

Runner-Up

Mira Showers Azora 9.8 Kw Thermostatic Electric Shower

Best Budget

Triton T80si Electric Shower

Aqualisa Quartz Electric Shower

Not only is the Aqualisa Quartz electric shower a Which? best buy, it has also won the prestigious “Red Dot” design award.  As far as we know, it’s the only electric shower to have picked up one of these awards (as yet).  Being a critic’s choice is all very well but it’s the public who really decide whether or not a product is a success and we suspect this electric shower will divide opinions.

First of all, we have to make it clear that when it comes to safety and performance, the Aqualisa Quartz electric shower ticks all the right boxes, including anti-scald protection and phased shutdown.  It also has a choice of five shower spray patterns so you have a good chance of being able to adjust the flow to suit your mood.

The issue is with its design, which, depending on your point of view, is either sleek, chic and futuristic or the worst of minimalism.  There is a start/stop button and a temperature dial.  That’s it.  What’s more, the temperature dial just says “COLD” and “HOT” with arrows pointing to the direction in which the dial should be turned.  On the one hand, we get that this is probably reasonable enough given how people are likely to use it.  On the other hand, we’re quite partial to guide markings for safety reasons.

Overall, we’d say that the Aqualisa Quartz is probably best avoided if your household includes very young children, elderly people or diabetics.  For everyone else, this shower is either to your taste or it isn’t.

Bristan JOYT385 W 8.5 kW Joy 3 Thermostatic Electric Shower

As you’d expect from a Bristan shower, the Bristan Joy 3 electric shower is all about simplicity and convenience.  It is easy to install and built to last so it’ll be a while before you have to install a replacement.

In addition to temperature control and phased shutdown, the Bristan Joy 3 electric shower also has “warm-up mode”, which is exactly that.  While the water is warming, a light flashes to let you know that the electric shower is working but not yet ready.  When the light goes off, you’re good to go.

You operate the shower by means of a start-stop button, two dials and a digital display.  The top dial shows the power level, including an eco mode.  The bottom dial controls the temperature.  There are guide markings to give you an idea of how far to move the dial and then you can check the exact temperature on the digital display at the very top of the shower body.

Overall, we’d say that the Bristan Joy 3 electric shower would be a great choice if safety was a paticular concern, e.g. if there were older people in the house.  It’s also a solid choice for anyone who just wants a robust electric shower.

Gainsborough 10.5 se Electric Shower

The Gainsborough 10.5 se electric shower is another electric shower which combines robust build quality and decent functionality with minimalist design.

In addition to the (fairly standard) phased shutdown, there’s an “over-temperature protection system”, which basically means that if the shower thinks you’ve selected too high a temperature it will stop the water from heating.  There’s also a rub-clean spray plate on the shower head which helps to reduce the build-up of limescale and hence keep this electric shower in good working order.  The showerhead itself has three modes, which is a decent selection.

The body of the Gainsborough 10.5 se electric shower has a single on/off button and a temperature dial.  The dial just shows hot and cold with arrows, there are no guide markings and no digital display.  Because of this, we’d suggest choosing another option if safety is a major concern for you.  Otherwise, the Gainsborough 10.5 se offers a nice balance of performance and price.

Triton T80z Fast-Fit Electric Shower

We’re going to say up front that for an electric shower which sells itself on being easy to fit, the manual for the Triton T80z could do with some improvement to put it mildly (in our opinion).  If you decide to go for this option then hopefully this problem will be fixed by the time your unit arrives.  If not, however, the good news is that Triton has produced a YouTube video which walks you through the process.  Once you understand the general idea, you can check the manual for the exact details.

Setting that aside, this is a budget-friendly electric shower, so set your expectations accordingly.  For example, there is neither a thermostat nor a phased shutdown.  The lack of phased shutdown can encourage the build-up of limescale, but the showerhead is easy to take apart and therefore clean.

In terms of controls, you have a start/stop button and two dials (one for temperature and the other for flow).  Realistically, in an electric shower this simple, the flow will mostly be dictated by the temperature.

Basically, the Triton T80z electric shower is an affordable shower which just gets the job done.  The lack of thermostat and phased shutdown means we’d avoid it if safety is a major concern.  If not, however, and you just want a basic electric shower at a basic price then this could be a very good option.

Triton Seville

The Triton Seville combines very classic styling with modern technology and it’s a breeze to install thanks to the 5 electric cable and water entry positions, which allow for great flexibility if you’re fitting it in a new bathroom (or as a totally new shower installation) or maximum convenience if you want to replicate an existing installation.

The controls are likewise very intuitive with one dial for the three power settings and the other for the 10 temperature settings, both of which are complemented by 5 different spray effects, from a wide gentle spray through to a vigorous jet. Water is heated very quickly so you’re never left waiting (im)patiently for your shower.

Bristan BL3105 B Bliss 3

The Bristan BL3105 B has been engineered to be super-easy to install. In particular, there are multiple inlet options for the water and electricity supplies, plus the footprint of the shower is compact enough for it to be squeezed into small spaces.

As an added bonus, the brackets on the riser rail are adjustable, which means that you can discretely cover any existing drill holes. The design of this electric shower is very pleasing to the eye and its robustness is pleasing to the wallet.

Users in hard-water areas will be pleased to hear that this electric shower uses phased shutdown (it will continue to run for a short time after turning off) so as to flush any hot water out of the shower and hence reduce the build-up of limescale.

Even if you’re not in a hard-water area, you’ll notice that this electric shower has lots of nice touches such as thermostatic control, a digital temperature display and a warm-up mode (no more getting a shower which is still warming up).

Bristan CHE95 W 9.5 kW Cheer Electric Shower - White

When it comes to build-quality and ease of installation, the same comments apply as for the previous Bristan. Our one quibble, and it could have been a one-off, is that the screws do not appear to have any iron content and so it’s pointless using a magnetized screwdriver.

The big compromise as compared to the other Bristan is the loss of thermostatic control, so we’d have to suggest giving this electric shower a miss if your household contains people who are very old, very young or diabetics. Otherwise, while the lack of a thermostat may cause the occasional uncomfortable incident, it also chops quite a bit off the price, so it’s a question of priorities.

It’s also worth noting that the aesthetics of this electric shower are also very different from its stablemate and while it’s easy to use and we’re fine with the overall appearance, it certainly doesn’t have the more premium chic of the other Bristan. Again, it’s about your own priorities.

Best electric shower overall

If you’re on a budget and can live without a thermostat, then we’d suggest either the Bristan Cheer, or the Tritan Seveille, both of which are on the basic side, but perfectly capable and robust enough to stand up to regular use.

By contrast, if you’re looking for a premium option, then we’d suggest either the Bristan Bliss or the Mira Azora. If safety is a concern, then we’d suggest the Azora, thanks to that sensi-flo technology, but if not then your decision will probably come down to aesthetics as these two electric showers have very different looks.

In the mid-range, the Mira Sport Max is a solid option at a reasonable price. It doesn’t have the glam looks of the Azora, but it still has a premium aesthetic, easy-to-use controls and sensi-flo technology.