Heated Towel Rails

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 central heating radiator like 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.

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?

This is especially important if purchasing a plumbed in rail as you will need the pipes from the radiator circuit to be run to the right spot.

There are 3 main styles of towel rail, Designer, Traditional and Ladder. Designer rails are the more contemporary modern designs which are more suited to people who want their towel rail to be a focal point of their bathroom and are going for a modern look. People who live in older style or period properties will probably want a traditional style heated towel rail as this will be in keeping with the general design of their home. Ladder rails are most appealing to those on a tighter budget or that just want the best price and are not too bothered about the overall look as these are the most basic in design and the cheapest style of rail, the white ladder rails are cheapest of all.

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.

When upgrading a standard plumbed in towel rail to dual fuel or purchasing an electric only rail, an electric element needs to be selected. There are 3 options when selecting this element. The first is a standard or single heat element. These can be very hot so for someone with small children this would probably not be the best option. Secondly there is the option to have a thermostatic element. With a thermostatic element you can control the temperature of the rail with a small dial control which is similar to the type of control found on most toasters. The third option is a digital thermostatic heating element. This is similar to the thermostatic element with the dial however instead of a dial there are plus and minus buttons and an LED display to control the temperature with.

When upgrading a plumbed in heated towel rail to a duel fuel rail T pieces are required to be able to fit an element. This is a T shaped joiner which connects the valve to the radiator also allowing the element to be connected at the same time.

Digital timers are also available for electric and dual fuel rails in 24 hour and 7 day programmable time periods that can be set so that your towel rail switches on at a pre set time. This means that if you would like a warm towel in the morning but don’t want to waste electricity and money by having your heated towel rail on all night you can have your programmer set to come on before you get up in the morning which will mean you have a nice warm towel when you get out of the shower or bath. Timers are designed to fit somewhere between the element and the electrical supply. They cannot however be fitted in the bathroom or close to running water unless they are sufficiently protected by a suitable enclosure.