How To Choose Among the Different Types of Electric Towel Warmers

The advantages of an electrically heated towel warmer are that you to enjoy the warmth in the bathroom and dry clothes at the same time. But how do you choose the best electric towel warmer for your home? What are the criteria you should really pay attention to when buying?

Let’s start with understanding the three different varieties of towel warmers that are available in the market.

Electric Towel Heaters Based on Type of Heating

Towel warmers differ from each other based on the type of heating. There are three types: cable or dry, liquid or wet and hybrid towel warmers. Before choosing an electric towel warmer for your bathroom, you need to know the features of each type.

1. Cable Heating

In cable heating insulated cable is located inside the tube, which serves as a heating element. If you are planning to use this device solely to dry towels, this type is ideal for you. If you want to heat the bathroom at the same time, a dry towel warmer will not work as it carries a significantly lesser amount of energy. In fact, this is the biggest drawback of this model. But it has many advantages.

Advantages of the "dry" heated towel warmer:

• Economical consumption of electricity.
• Quick warm-up of the device.
• Very easy installation.
• Cheap compared to other types of devices.

2. Heating Liquid Type

It is recommended to purchase a heated towel warmer if additional heating of the bathroom is required. Of course, with more energy consumption, you can expect your electricity bill to go up when using this type of towel warmer.

The following can act as a heat carrier in liquid heated towel warmers:

• Water

Due to the large specific heat capacity, this heat carrier heats up slowly and cools down for a long time.

• Antifreeze

It is characterized by rapid heating and even rapid cooling. A similar property is explained by the substance's high thermal conductivity.

• Mineral Oil

Heats slower than antifreeze, but faster than water. The coolant holds the heat for a long time as it has low thermal conductivity.

 What are the disadvantages and advantages of Liquid Towel Warmers?

• Greater consumption of electricity.
• Longer heating time compared to "dry" type.
• The need to install the device strictly vertically.

Important! As a rule, all heated towel warmers are installed strictly vertically for aesthetic reasons. Therefore, this disadvantage is not that significant.

Advantages

• More powerful than dry towel warmers, which enables them to be used as space heating for bathrooms.
• If the device is disconnected from the power source, it will continue to stay warm for long periods.

3. Hybrid Towel Warmers

A towel warmer with this type of heating is a priority if finances allow, as the cost of these devices is much higher than the other models. The main feature and advantage of an electric heated towel warmer is the possibility of operating with both the central heating and the electrical network.

Aside from the type of heating, there are several other important factors you should pay attention to when choosing the right heated towel warmer for your bathroom.

Factors To Consider When Choosing a Towel Warmer

1. Power

The capacity of an electric heated towel warmer should be selected depending on the area of ​​the room where it is planned to be installed. The calculation is recommended at the ratio of 140W/m2. This is enough for quick drying of clothes and additional heating of the room, even if there is a small window. If you do not need additional heating, the device power can even be in the range of 100-200 watts.

2. Production Material

Most of the time, in stores, there are models made of stainless steel, common steel or non-ferrous metals. How to choose an electric heated towel warmer according to this criterion? It is necessary to take into account the following differences in each available option:

• The most economical and shortest-lasting operation is the common steel option. Brittleness is associated with coating the metal with enamel, which eventually begins to swell and collapse under the influence of high temperatures.

• Stainless steel towel racks are considered the best option, both in terms of price and usage. This model is often chrome plated, which significantly extends the life of the heating device.

• Non-ferrous metal devices are generally made of copper, aluminum or brass alloys. They have the greatest heat transfer but are rarely purchased by consumers due to their high cost.

3. Connection Type

There are two ways to connect an electrically heated towel warmer:

• Open

With this connection, the cable is plugged into a socket. Outside the room, the cable can be routed through a hole in the wall.

• Hidden

For this method, you must purchase a special heated towel warmer with a hidden connection. Its convenience lies in the fact that you don't have to constantly plug and unplug the device. Also, this device does not spoil the bathroom interior with cables. A three-core cable in a heated towel warmer with a hidden type of ground connection will also protect the user from electrical shock.

4. Shape

This selection criterion depends entirely on your personal preferences and the design of the bathroom.

The most popular options include:

• A small flight of stairs
• M-shaped
• U-shaped
• Turning
• Towel warmers with a top shelf

To help you choose the ideal towel warmer here are a few helpful tips:

• The ladder-shaped towel warmer is considered universal in design as it perfectly complements any bathroom interior and is practical to use. Additionally, you can hang a lot of sheets and towels on this model.

• A convenient option is a device with a top-shelf on which you can store folded clean towels, thus saving limited bathroom space.

• It is worth noting that portable electric heated towel warmers can easily be moved from one bathroom to another.

• There are several other designer models that are not only practical purchases but also are decorative.

Is a Temperature Controller Necessary in Towel Warmers?

It is recommended to choose a heated towel warmer with a temperature controller & the best example of this is Myson Towel Warmer. This allows you to adjust the temperature - both for drying towels and for heating the room. This option is very important in such devices because you can set a specific temperature that is comfortable for you. The most common temperature controller is found in liquid models. This is due to the higher power (up to 2 kW) compared to wired devices, which can be adjusted to save energy.