Power shower and water heater suitable for small flat?

[boilerfrustration]

I have a small one bedroom flat (about 44 square meters) with no gas supply other than for communal heating. I'm fed up with the standard immersion which takes up a lot of space together with the water tank and the communal heating which is always breaking down.

I'm now thinking of different ways in which I can get hot water and heat: underfloor heating, a power shower and a water heater. For the last two, can anyone advise me what specification I should be looking out for as there are so many on the market.

 

[OwainDIYer]

It is not a power shower, but an instant electric shower and an under-sink wanter heater for the washbasin and kitchen sink would enable you to get rid of the hot water cylinder, which in a 44 sq metre flat in London is probably work about £10,000 in lost space.

 

[boilerfrustration]

What the difference between a power shower and an instant electric shower?

 

[OwainDIYer]

What the difference between a power shower and an instant electric shower?

An electric shower heats the water as you use it, is limited to mains water pressure and flow, and has a max heat output of about 10kW.

A power shower uses stored hot water which is pumped, can give much greater pressure and flow. But they can go through a lot of water very quickly so you need a big hot water store.

 

[JohnD]

or, to put it another way, an electric shower gives you a weedy trickle of lukewarm water, and a power shower gives you a forceful flow of hot water, which has been heated in advance of use, in a cylinder.

 

[DeltaT2]

Depending on your communal heating system & how it's fitted/metered you could fit one of these;
http://www.heatweb.com/products/showermaster/showermaster.htm

 

[Charnwood]

What the difference between a power shower and an instant electric shower?

None, if you use something like Mira's Elite or Advance Flex Low Pressure.
They are pumped electrically heated showers, therefore fulfills the criteria for both power and electric shower.

Mira Elite.

 

[JohnD]

it is still an instant heater, so the amount of heat it can put into the water is small. So if you get a forceful jet it will be cool, and if you get a hot spray it will be weak.