Triton Showers – http://www.tritonshowers.com
A short video explaining the electrical requirements for an electric shower, in particular what to check before buying to ensure your intended purchase is compatible with your mains electric supply.
Instantaneous Electric Showers are still one of the most popular types of shower sold in the UK today. Which is why Triton manufactures an extensive range to suit all tastes and budgets.
An electric shower simply connects to a cold water supply and your mains electric, so it’s versatile enough to suit any home no matter what your plumbing system.
They are easy to install and they give you and your family instant hot water – any time, day or night.
So, what are the electrical requirements you need to know before you can choose an electric shower?
First of, all electric showers need to connect to your mains electric supply.
More to the point, it must have its own dedicated supply from your consumer unit.
It must not be connected to a ring main, spur, socket outlet, lighting circuit or cooker circuit.
The important thing is to ensure that the electric supply is adequate for the shower and existing circuits.
Check that your consumer unit has a main switch rating of 80A or above and that it has a spare fuse way to take the fuse or Miniature Circuit Breaker (MCB) for the shower.
The correct rating of MCB or fuse will depend on the kilowatt rating of the shower that is to be fitted. For more information on kW ratings take a look at our “What is a kW rating?” video.
If your consumer unit has a rating below 80A, or if there is no spare fuse way, then the installation will not be straightforward.
It may require a new consumer unit serving the house or just the shower.
For your protection, a 30mA residual current device must be installed. This may be part of the consumer unit or a separate unit.
The size of electric cable you need from the consumer unit to the shower depends on a number of things, such as – the kilowatt rating of the shower and the method of installing the cable…
…i.e. is it, or will it, be surrounded by loft or wall insulation. As a result, the cable could be anything from 6mm, to 10mm, or even 16mm.
To obtain full advantage of the shower, use the shortest cable route possible from the consumer unit to the shower.
In any event, it is essential that individual site conditions are assessed by a competent electrician in order to determine the correct cable size and permissible circuit length.
Finally before your electrics can go into the shower unit, you need to install a 45 amp double-pole isolating switch into the circuit.
This can either be installed inside or outside of the bathroom, but it must be readily accessible to switch off after using the shower.
Once you’ve fitted the switch into the circuit, all you have to do is complete the cable to the shower.
Depending on the model of shower, the cable will enter through either the top, bottom, sides or back of the unit.
Simply connect into the terminal block making sure the connections are good and tight so there is no risk of the cable overheating.
The final thing to say is that all electric showers must be installed in accordance with all the relevant water supply, electrical and building regulations.
To find out what the plumbing requirements are for the installation of an electric shower, why not take a look at our complementary video “Electric Showers: Plumbing Requirements.
Triton Showers – http://www.tritonshowers.com