Combination boilers, commonly referred as combi boilers, are among the most common brands of new boiler installations. Their popularity comes with the fact that they are compact and are highly efficient. So, do electric showers work with combi boilers?
To answer this, you need to understand how the two boilers operate. When using a combination boiler, you do not need to store hot water, as it heats water on demand. As such, the need for a water heating cylinder is eliminated.
An electric shower is a perfect choice for larger households where the demand for warm and hot water is high. To operate them, you only have to ensure that there is enough cold water flowing through the mains feed. The water is then passed through the integral heating heater located in the shower unit for heating. So, can you use the two types of showers simultaneously?
When evaluating whether the two showers can work together or independently, there are factors that you should check. They include:
1. Diversity
A mixer supplied from a combi boiler will undoubtedly be the best shower. However, if something were to happen to your furnace, then your shower would be no more. If you are willing to place all your eggs in one basket, then this is the boiler for you.
If not, you can install both and have the electric one act as backup.
2. Quality Matters
The choice between either the two or both is dependent mainly on the age and quality of the two showers. You need to be very careful when running an old or a cheaper mixer. The two will have significant challenges providing consistent temperature to the showers.
New boilers are however the best at regulating the temperature to the extent that you can run the mixer on its own. If your shower is unique, you can efficiently operate both the electric and combi boiler without any worries. However, if your equipment is old, the shower will burst.
3. Available Resources
What happens if your combi boiler breaks and you do not have enough resources to repair or replace with a new one? As such, you will have to bear with the agony of boiling a kettle. Otherwise, you will have no water for some time.
On the other hand, electric heating consumes your money like nothing else on this planet. Whereas the argument of “what if the combi broke?” may be slightly off, it is still worth checking. Settle on the decision that you can live.
4. Bathroom Pressure
You can only supply water to an electric shower through a cold water feed just. As such, so long as the cold water feed supply is not interfered with, you can comfortably install the combi boiler.
However, you need to be very careful. Before you install the combi boiler, you need to ensure that your shower equipment is not that old. Otherwise, they will all end up bursting thus increasing the repair and maintenance cost.
The Final Thought
Using either an electric or a combi boiler will work just fine. There are some instances where the two can work together to deliver excellent results. However, you need to perform a cost-effective analysis before deciding to have the two installed.
The argument that what would happen if the combi boiler got destroyed is neither here nor there. Furthermore installing the two may be better for backup but you will end up having idle resources in your home.
Whereas the decision to install either of the two or both, you need to evaluate carefully the cases for or against and pick the best