ᐅ Is an additional heater recommended in a bathroom with underfloor heating?

Hello everyone,

We are currently planning our new house and have reached the point where we need to decide on an additional fast heating option for our bathroom, one that responds more quickly than the rather slow underfloor heating.

We are considering either a wall-mounted fan heater or an electric towel warmer. We understand that both options have their advantages and disadvantages, but this supplementary heater will only be used during transitional seasons when the underfloor heating is not yet running or has already been turned off.

The bathroom has a floor area of about 18 square meters (living area around 16 square meters (172 square feet) due to the sloping ceiling). The built-in heating system will be an air-to-water heat pump with a controlled ventilation system.

Personally, I’m leaning toward the towel warmer, mostly for aesthetic reasons.

What would you recommend?

Best regards,
Dirk

Hello Dirk,

Doc.Schnaggls schrieb:

... an electric towel radiator. We are aware that both solutions have their pros and cons, but this additional heater is only intended for use during the transitional seasons, when the underfloor heating is not yet running or no longer running. The bathroom has a floor area of about 18 sqm (living area about 16 sqm (172 sq ft) due to the sloping ceiling).[...] Personally, I tend to prefer the towel radiator – but this is mainly for aesthetic reasons.

YMMD! A towel radiator as a transitional heater – as the name suggests, it is designed for a specific purpose; no more, no less – you can’t really "heat" with it.

Have you considered that you will likely set the bathroom temperature higher than the other rooms, which are probably individually controllable with thermostats? That the temperature sensor of the heat source is linked to an outdoor sensor and switches on or off based on the outside temperature? Avoiding to manually adjust a system and thus outsmarting the slow response time of underfloor heating? That you will save actual money by not constantly adjusting thermostats and by not turning the heating off during summer?

A towel radiator looks nice and warms the towels; it’s a nice gimmick, nothing more.

Regards, Bauexperte

Hello Building Expert,

Thank you for the quick response.

The stricter regulation for the bathroom is clear so far. However, with our home builder, an electric fan heater is installed as standard with the underfloor heating, which can be replaced by a towel radiator (with an additional charge).

I would see the towel radiator more as a nice extra, whereas I find the electric fan heater quite outdated...

Regards,
Dirk

Without a fan heater, it gets cold – our towel radiator doesn’t really manage to warm up the bathroom – but it uses a lot of electricity. We have the same system technology as you.

Hello Dirk,

Doc.Schnaggls schrieb:

... however, with our home builder, a fan heater is installed as standard for the underfloor heating,

He should actually know that continuous use of fan heaters consumes a lot of electricity.

Doc.Schnaggls schrieb:

which can, however, be replaced by this (for an additional charge) towel radiator.

A simple fan heater—there are now also more modern versions that look like a speaker—costs around €50.00. The towel radiator—depending on the supplier, power, and size—also starts at about €50.00 and can go significantly higher.

If I were you, I would remove it altogether, unless you really value having pre-warmed towels. I don’t consider cleaning my hobby, and this is just another obstacle to deal with.

Best regards, Bauexperte

Doc.Schnaggls schrieb:
What would you recommend to us?

Demand-controlled infrared heaters.

Best regards.