Heated Towel Rails

As the colder months loom and power prices are set to increase, our thoughts turn to ways to enjoy the creature comfort of warmth – while keeping our power usage under control.
While the luxury of wrapping yourself in warm, dry, fluffy towels when you step out of the shower will be incentive enough for most people to consider buying a heated towel rail for the bathroom, you may be surprised to know that they offer practical benefits. Since wet towels attract both mould and bacteria, keeping your towels dry is not only more hygienic, but will help reduce damp in your bathroom.

The cost
The output of heated towel rails range from around 50-130 watts, which, to put things into comparative perspective, is not much more than a regular light-bulb.
 
“Check what your power company charges per kilowatt,” says Corey Steers, Customer Services Representative of Goldair Appliances. “While towel rails are very economical, we do advise people not to leave them on all the time. If you’re concerned about electricity costs, it pays to do a calculation based off the wattage and how much you are being charged by your power supplier – then you can then decide how long you want to power it for.”

Doing the math To calculate kilowatt-hours, take the wattage of the device, multiply by the number of hours you use it, and divide by 1000.  (Dividing by 1000 changes it from watt-hours to kilowatt-hours.)  Here's the formula to figure the cost of running a device: Wattage   x   hours used ÷ 1000 x price per kWh = cost of electricity For example, let's say you leave a 100-watt heated towel rail running continuously (730 hours a month), and you're paying 24¢/kWh.  Your cost to run the heated towel rail all month long is 100 x 730 ÷ 1000 x 24¢ = $17.52.

Reducing the running cost
Like anything electricity powered, reducing the running costs simply means using your heated towel rail less. While you won’t want to be switching it on and off as often as a light bulb, because heated towel rails take just 15 minutes to heat up, switching them on when you need them doesn’t require a huge amount of forethought. You may choose to switch the towel rail on at night, in order to dry out the towels that got wet during the course of the day and switch the towel rail off after everyone has had their morning shower.

On and off
If scheduling your heated towel rail sounds like the right solution for your family, but you want to avoid having to add ‘switching it on and off’ to the long list of things you have to remember each day, a timer is your answer. Timers can be purchased which plug in to the socket and set the towel rail to turn off and on at certain times of the day.
If you have a large home and multiple towel rails, consider the Celsius Heated Towel Rail Timer, which costs just $39 and can be installed by an electrician to control up to five 100 watt towel rails, automatically switching them on and off to meet your usage requirements.

Free standing or attached?
Free-standing heated towel rail units are the least expensive option and because they simply plug in to an existing power point, there are no installation costs. However, you will need that power point in the first place and it’s not often that a bathroom has a power point in the right place for a heated towel rail. While they function just the same, bear in mind that freestanding heated towel rails also take up the most space in the bathroom and offer the least design variety.
If you are looking for a more streamlined and permanent solution, you will want to affix your heated towel rail to the wall.
“Heated towel rails are easy to replace, as they simply attach to the wall with screws. You just plug it in and you’re away. However, if you need to install from scratch, we recommend that you get a registered electrician to do the installation,” advises Jeremy Gooch, Mitre 10 Category Manager Bathrooms & Plumbing. “Water and electricity don’t go together well, so it’s best to be safe.”



The design
Once you’ve decided whether you would prefer a wall-mounted towel rail that requires installation, or whether you are happy with a free-standing towel rail that simply plugs into your wall socket, there are other features to consider. Heated towel rails come in a variety of designs, so it comes down to choosing one that best compliments the style of your bathroom and meets your needs. The S curve towel rail is popular and comfortably holds towels in a range of sizes.



Photo Concept
A ‘ladder’ design is another option and features a line of rails spaced closer together, which some people find handy for drying lots of smaller items. Ladder rails can have square or oval rails or rails that are curved into an arc. Left-hand or right-hand cable-entry towel rails can also be considered. Corey advises bearing in mind that the bigger the size of the heated towel rail, the bigger the wattage required to power it. “A five-bar towel rail is usually 50 watts, a seven bar is 90 watts and nine bar is 110 watts,” he explains.
From a purely visual perspective, consider a heated towel rail as an accessory to compliment your existing bathroom features.
“Mitre 10 sells two brands of heated towel rails – Goldair and Olanda – and both brands offer a range of designs,” says Jeremy. “Towel rails are available in chrome-plated, polished steel or powder-coated if you want a white look, so it’s about choosing something that works with your home design.”
If the sheer pleasure of being wrapped in fluffy warmth has you wanting to turn your everyday shower experience into something more spa-like, (particularly with cold winter months looming) a heated towel rail could be the answer for you. Visit your local Mitre 10 to choose the best heated towel rail for your home.