Heated Towel Rails

Bathroom Innovation

At the forefront of heating innovation is an item that is quite often overlooked. The heated towel rail serves a purpose within the bathroom which can benefit the user in more way than one. With the ability to add a touch of style to the bathroom, the heated towel rail can aid in heating up a room as well as its primary function to heat up towels. Unlike the standard radiator, the heated towel rail can be installed using several systems. With the ability to be electric only and on the central heating system, such as your regular radiators, heated towel warmers can also combine the 2 methods, also known as dual fuel. This allows for bathroom heating during the winter when your central heating system is on, but the added benefit of having warm towels during the summer using the electric element. Once this has been experienced just once, you will wonder how you got through the years using cold and damp towels to dry off. You will never look back having installed a heated towel rail within your bathroom.

Selecting a Towel Rail

If a heated towel rail is something you have allowed for within your bathroom budget, you probably have a good idea as to what you want. If not you may have no clue, and be unwise to the decision you are about to make. Either way, selecting your new heated towel rail is not a job to be made lightly. There are several factors that you will need to consider before selecting the towel rail for you.

Do you have an alternative heat source in your existing or planned layout? If you don’t then you will need to consider how big your towel rail will need to be. If you are unsure as to how you go about measuring the size of your towel rail needs then you are in luck. You can contact a member of our sales team who will help you to ascertain the heat output you require, alternatively, you can use our tried and tested plumbing calculator.

Are you planning on year round use of your towel rail, or is it going to be a seasonal addition to your bathroom? This question may not seem important, however, it could save you money if you think this one through. If your towel rail is going to be for winter use only, then a standard central heating rail will suffice for your needs. It will come on with your central heating and turn off with it likewise. If you are considering it as a source to warm up your towels during the summer when your central heating system is off, then an electric only towel rail is for you. If you wish to have the best of both worlds and expect it to be on as and when you wish, you may consider getting yourself a dual fuel towel rail. This is plumbed into the central heating system and incorporates an electric element for summer use.

Styling

Now all of the technical detailing is out of the way, design is the factor that you will need to consider. You probably already have some idea as to what you want, but were you aware as to how many different designs of heated towel rail there were? Most people make a standard assumption that a heated towel rail is a standard look. The standard is the ladder styled towel rail. For heated towel rails this is a fitting assumption, as it is a convenient shape to ably hold your towels. This is not the only way forward. Due to the increased market in heated towel rails, suppliers have been thinking outside the box, and coming up with designs that could suit every bathroom regardless of its theme. First of all you have the traditional styled heated towel rails. These give a look back on the past, for those who like to reminisce. They come in all different sizes and allow the bathroom to follow a traditional look. In complete contrast to this, there are the contemporary designer ranges. This field is much larger than that of the traditional market as the modern heated towel rail can follow any style pattern. With this contemporary style hitting the market, it has caused people to not only reconsider the option of towel rail that they want, but to design their bathroom around the towel rail that they have purchased.

Colours of towel rails are not usually overlooked, however, it may be worthwhile looking into what different colours there are available and what each of these can offer you. For those that are strictly on a design policy, it may be that chrome is your only choice. However, with searching through towel rails, have you considered the option of a brushed steel heated towel rail? It is becoming more and more popular within the market due to it not being so mirrored, and offering a more chic style to the room that it occupies. This does not take away emphasis from the chrome towel rail however. The chrome towel rails mirrored property allows it to fit into any bathroom (or kitchen) that it is installed into. Its reflective ability mirrors the already situated colours of your bathroom to stand proud and in place, where otherwise coloured towel rails may not fit in so well.  Lastly, the white heated towel rail may be seen as the budget towel rail. Quite often, it is cheaper than its counterparts and doesn’t offer the same visual ecstasy as them either. This doesn’t mean you should rule it out. Are you having trouble finding a towel rail with a high enough heat output to satisfy your bathroom? White heated towel rails offer a higher BTU output than equivalent sized towel rails in different colours. If you are only looking to buy a towel rail based on heat output you are in luck. If not, you may have to settle outside of your style requirement; however, the white towel rail still does not show to be out of place within the bathroom. The white colouring is the same that any radiator would have, and so the white heated towel rail will humbly stand on the wall, doing as it is made to; to heat towels.

Materials

Just as important as styling, but not as highly thought about is what material your heated towel rail or traditional towel radiator should be made of. There are a couple of different materials to think of. The standard material that you will find is brass. If you read into the description of the heated towel rail you are looking at, it will usually say “chrome plated brass” or “white brass”. This is a commonly accepted material for towel rails as it works. It offers a robust quality while able to be manipulated into the style that you are choosing. The other option for material is the stainless steel heated towel rail. This material is highly sought in towel rails due to the stainless feature. Due to stainless steels lack of chemical reaction to water, it doesn’t get affected by the amount of water being pumped through the system however often you use it. The stainless steel rails are usually backed up with a 25 year guarantee because of this. This gives the buyer that little extra piece of mind while purchasing.

Additional Extras

Towel warmers and radiators all need certain items to function and be installed. Valves are the most important feature for your central heated towel rails. There are two types of valve that you may consider on your towel rail, thermostatic and non-thermostatic. You may already be well informed about these; after all they would already be on existing radiators within your home. If not, the explanation is about to follow. The difference between the two types of valve is that a thermostatic valve will control the temperature of the radiator, a non thermostatic valve will not. You may then believe that you will need thermostatic in preference to non-thermostatic. This is not necessarily the case. Non-thermostatic valves are usually installed when a thermostat regulates the room temperature and turns the heating on and off accordingly. This allows you to isolate radiators you do not want to come on, whilst the thermostat is doing this. Thermostatic valves are mostly installed where the temperature is decided in each room individually by the turn knob on the valve. The only other function needed to ascertain in a valve is as to whether you need straight or angled. Most commonly, angled valves are for towel rails with pipe work from the wall, and straight for pipe work from the floor. This rule can sometimes be bent. With the way traditional towel radiators work, it is usually required that an angled valve be fitted in all situations. A dual fuel towel rail will require either one of each or a set up that requires just angled. If you are unsure, a member of our sales team will be more than happy to help.

Elements for electric towel rails and radiators need to be selected wisely as well. The elements will usually be included on all electric only towel rails, but dual fuel will need to be selected separately. Once again you have the option of thermostatic and standard. Standard heating elements operate by hitting a certain temperature, turning off until the temperature drops to a certain level and switching back on again. These can sometimes be considered hot, so caution is advised if a small child is going to be in close proximity. This may be where thermostatic would be more suitable, as you are able to change the temperature with 5 levels to choose from, ensuring no unwanted surprises for the family.

Lastly, the finishing touches for your towel rail. When you spend so much time deciding which heated towel rail or traditional radiator you require, it would be a shame to see it fitted and looking unfinished. To combat this, there are items that are called pipe covers and flanges. These offer a finalised look to you towel rail as they are chrome. The cover the copper pipe that you would see otherwise and the flanges cover the entrance into the floor. This will make that long search for the perfect towel rail all the better knowing that you have got that final piece making your bathroom as attractive as you wanted it.

Heated Towel Rails

Picture the scene – you are just getting out of your bath or shower, the bathroom is cold and all you can find to wrap around yourself is a damp towel scrunched up on the floor kindly left by your teenage son. Not a good image. Now consider this – a warm fluffy towel plucked from a heated towel rail all ready and waiting for you to wrap yourself up in comfort and cosiness. This is more like it and that is what you can have for real if you choose one of the many heated towel rails for sale here.

There is a range on offer from the traditional style with two or three heated bars to the more contemporary designs which tend to be taller and have more rails on them. The more rails, the more warmth you will get so your whole towel is heated up rather than just parts of it. Chrome is a very popular choice of finish as it does not rust and is easy to clean by just wiping it down. If white fits in with your colour scheme better, then there are plenty of those to choose from as well.

There are also electric towel rails for sale with curved or straight bars. The beauty of these is you do not need any plumbing to have them fitted, they just plug into your existing electricity circuit. In the designer range there are some towel rails that are fingerprint free so they do not mark with smudges or greasy fingers. Whatever you choose though, be rest assured you will be pleased you purchased a heated towel rail.

Make your choice from a Chrome Heated Towel Rail, a Stainless Steel Heated Towel Rail, a Designer Heated Towel Rail, or from White Heated Towel Rails and our Thermostatic Heated Towel Rails.

A standard heated towel rail or towel radiator is designed to be plumbed in to a central heating system like a central heating radiator or any other radiator in the house. These are the lowest priced type of towel rail both to buy and to run however they do only run when the central heating system is on, so if you require the towel rail to work in the summer then this is not the best option. When purchasing this type of rail you must make sure you buy valves as well as they are generally sold separately.

With the standard plumbed in heated towel rail you also have the option to purchase one with an additional electric heating element. If you choose this option they then become dual fuel so can be used as part of the central heating system but also independently from it as well.

When selecting a towel rail it is important to consider the following

1. Will the towel rail be your bathrooms only heat source?

. If so then you will need to get one powerful enough to heat the whole bathroom as well as your towels. A rough guide to this is 100 watts per square meter.

2. When is it going to be used?

If you want to use to warm towels in the summer as well as in the winter then you will need an electric heated towel rails or dual fuel rail.

3. What size do you require?

Size is a very important factor if you are planning to heat the whole bathroom. You will also need to consider how much space is available and many towels you want to hang on it.

4. Where is it going to be positioned?

Angled valves are called this as the water flow pipe is across a 90 degree right angle. This means that the pipe enters the valve on one side and the product is connected to the valve on the other with a 90 degree right angle in between. These valves can be rotated to regulate the amount of water flow to the radiator which gives you some control over temperature but not a great deal.

Straight valves are called this as the water flow pipe is in a straight line. This means the pipe enters the valve at one end and the product is connected at the other and it is done in a straight line. These valves can also be rotated to regulate the amount of water flow again giving some control over temperature but not a great deal.

There are 2 main factors that determine the type of valve required. The first is the direction that the pipes are coming from so do they come up out of the floor, out of the walls or run along the wall. Second is how the valves connect to the radiator.

Thermostatic radiator valves are also an option. With these one of the valves also has a thermostatic control so that you can regulate the heat of the individual radiator.

Advice when buying a Heated Towel Rails

Heated Towel Rails are a relatively modern invention, designed to provide an elegant solution to the problem of wet towels.  The main purpose of a Heated Towel Rails is to gradually warm towels so that they're ready for the bather after a bath or shower.  Some of the newer Heated Towel Rails have been designed to provide enough heat to warm up your bathroom as well, but you need to check this first, before replacing your radiator.