Remember the old days when a household shower was nothing more than two rubber cups that resembled the implement used for milking cows had to be fitted over the hot and cold tap? Not the most high-tech product ever invented I'm sure you'll agree. And then there was the age old problem of either freezing or scalding yourself every time someone else in the house decided to run a tap, a bit like shower Russian roulette. But we've moved on a lot since those days.

The electric shower, perhaps once looked upon as more functional than stylish is now competing with many other household items as the must have product for the house. Electric showers have evolved from the simple on-off unit of 10-15 years ago into high-tech designer toys for the upwardly mobile. Shower cubicles with build in steam and sauna settings are readily available on the market, these usually come complete with a built in radio to keep you entertained whilst you steam away. Who wants to stand up in a steam room or sauna whilst listening to the radio? Why not sit down?

These electric showers also come with a little seat to keep you comfortable as you relax, and as if that wasn't enough you can even get an electric shower with a water massage facility. If you can't be bothered to wait for your shower to heat up why not get a remote controlled version that at the press of a button allows you to chose a pre-set temperature for your shower, turns the shower on, and even tells you when it-s up to temperature. Now that's evolution.

Electric showers now make up 52 per cent of the overall shower market with approximately 1.4 million instantaneous electric shower units sold in 2006. And the appeal of the instantaneous shower looks set to increase for a number of reasons. Firstly, there's the environmental issue - instantaneous showers are 99 per cent efficient as they only heat the water required and used. This compares sharply to other shower concepts, many of which rely on large volumes of stored hot water.

With the emphasis for the trade and homeowners increasingly being on energy efficiency instantaneous showers will doubtless remain a clear choice for consumers wishing to do their bit for the environment. Secondly, there's the ongoing trend for homeowners to renovate and extend properties rather than moving house, a trend that's likely to continue if the housing market levels out as forecasters are predicting.

Instantaneous showers are the perfect solution for second bathrooms or en-suites, being simple and easy to install as well as taking up minimal space compared to a standard bath. Finally, it's about consumer choice. The majority of bathroom fixtures and fittings chosen and installed by consumers in their home are chrome, which is firmly established as the chic and stylish material and finish for both contemporary and traditional bathrooms.

However, whilst 95 per cent of the mixer tap valve market is made up of chrome units, the choice of electric and power showers is much more limited. Instantaneous shower manufacturers have developed showers available in classic white and chrome in response to the consumer market and demand. As with most markets, the manufacturers will produce what ever they think the markets desires and with the power of the consumer growing ever stronger who knows where the evolution of the electric shower will end?