A nice, relaxing shower with the perfect amount of water pressure and temperature is a great comfort to be thoroughly enjoyed. But to experience this luxury you will need just the right type of shower unit and if you've never bought one before, you may be a bit confused by the different types available and the pros and cons of each.



Here's the information you need to know first to best decide between an electric, mixer, thermostatic, or power shower for your bathroom.

- Electric Shower: With an electric shower, as you might expect, the more elaborate the unit, the more expensive it will be; however, with this type of shower, the more features it offers the better it will perform regardless of the outdoor temperature. With this choice, water pressure coming from the main must be at a certain level (at least 0.7kilogram per square centimetre or 10lb per square inch) for the unit to work correctly.

An electric shower with a temperature stabiliser is a better choice as it won't affect the shower's water when other taps in the house are being used. But the downside of the electric shower is that their control knobs only allow for a high water temperature with lower water pressure, or alternately, lower temperature with more pressure, which can quite problematic in the winter months when the water coming from the main is colder. Some models of electric showers are equipped with a setting for either winter or summer as a solution to this problem.

- Mixer Shower: With a mixer shower, both the spray and the hose are combined together with a bath mixer tap. The bath/shower mixer is perhaps the least expensive of all the shower head options as no extra type of plumbing is involved. However, there are some drawbacks to this choice as its temperature control option can be inconvenient since water temperature is adjusted through the bath's tap.

- Thermostatic Mixer Shower: Perhaps the most attractive feature of the thermostatic mixer shower is its convenient temperature controls, which adds to the price as this type is one of the most expensive of all the mixer unit options. With this particular type of shower, the spray and hose are both a part of the shower's wall unit with the cold and hot water supplies being connected with one single valve. A stabiliser then completes the unit that contains a self-adjuster to keep the water's temperature from becoming too hot or too cold.

- Power Shower: This type of shower is one single unit comprised of an electric pump whose purpose is to regulate both the water's temperature and pressure. But, note that the convenience of dual capability for adjusting both temperature and pressure is unsuitable for water supplies that are heated by a boiler or by the shower itself and instead must be used with a water supply coming from a hot water cylinder and cold water cistern.

Whichever option you ultimately decide upon for your bathroom, first make absolutely certain that your water supply is the right kind for the unit to avoid returning to the store or shipping your purchase back for another type.