What kind of water system do you have?

Low pressure gravity systems. This is the most common type of system. There’s normally a cold water
tank or cistern in your loft and a hot water cylinder in your airing cupboard.  The water is kept under pressure via the gravity-fed water delivered from the cistern. With this system it is recommended to use: mixer showers, pumped digital mixer showers and all-in-one power showers.

High pressure – mains pressure combination boiler systems.  A combination boiler heats cold water directly from the cold mains supply  as soon as you turn on a shower or hot tap. Typically, the boiler is the size of a small kitchen cupboard and can be fitted anywhere in the home. You  won’t have a cold water tank in your loft or a hot water tank in your airing cupboard.  With this system it is recommended to use: digital mixer showers and mixer showers - both of which will give you a powerful flow.  If water efficiency is important to you, then you could choose eco mixer showers, or fit an electric shower to the cold mains supply. This is an energy saving option if you want a second shower or an en-suite perhaps.

High pressure – mains pressure unvented systems. There’s normally a hot water cylinder in your airing cupboard, but there’s unlikely to be a cold water tank or cistern in your loft. The tank stores mains pressure hot water, and this is heated in a number of different ways  such as immersion heaters, central heating boilers or even solar water panels. There are other types of systems like this that give you hot water at mains pressure – they’re known as ‘thermal store systems’. With this system it is recommended to use: digital mixer showers and mixer showers - both of which will give you a powerful flow. If water efficiency is important to you, then you could choose eco mixer showers, or fit an electric shower to the cold mains supply. This is an energy saving option if you want a second shower or an en-suite perhaps.


Cold mains supply.  If you don’t have stored hot water, or don’t want to use it all up when  running a shower, then you can fit an electric shower directly to the cold mains supply. This heats the water for you and gives you hot water as soon as you turn it on. The higher the kilowatt rating of an electric shower, the stronger the flow it gives you. With this system it is recommended to use:  any electric shower. If your mains water doesn't give you enough pressure you can use a pumped electric shower that you can fit to your stored cold water tank or cistern.