Heated towel rails and radiators on the surface may seem like totally different beasts, particularly if you’re used to the traditional ladder-style towel rails and rather austere wall radiators. But go behind the look and they share a pretty similar DNA. Let’s take a closer look at what we mean and try to answer the question on which is more efficient, the heated towel rail or the radiator?
Two main types of heated towel rails and radiators
Firstly, it’s important to point out that there are two main types of heating methods for towel rails and radiators. This ensures we’re comparing apples with apples.
Most of today’s heated towel rails and many radiators are electric. They have a heating element inside that generally heats up to a set temperature. Some heated towel rails and many radiators are liquid filled. They also have an element that is used to heat up the liquid inside.
In this article we’ll focus mainly on the fully electric, rather than liquid filled versions.
Heated towel rails vs radiators
When we’re looking at which is more efficient and comparing heated towels rails with radiators, essentially we want to know which has a greater heat output and is more effective in dispersing heat to where it’s needed. Because in terms price, a heated towel rail with the same output as a radiator will cost the same to run.
For heat output, if we compare a standard ladder-style heated towel rail with an electric radiator of the same dimensions, the radiator is going to win. It will generate more heat and be more efficient in heating your room because the radiator has more surface area.
Note that we did say standard ladder-style heated towel rails. More on this later.
So, which is more efficient? The obvious answer is that it depends on what you want your appliance to do. If it’s to heat a room, a radiator is going to be your best bet. But if it’s to warm and dry your towels while providing some heat, a heated towel rail is a great investment.
Why not do both?
If you’re reading this blog, you are possibly hoping you can buy an appliance that can be both a towel warmer and effectively heat your room.
As implied above, while most heated towel rails will dry and heat your towels, you’ll still need another heat source in your bathroom in the cold weather if you don’t want to freeze your toes (and other body parts). On the other hand, it’s not wise to drape towels, clothing or other cloth items over most electric radiators. It can cause a fire hazard and it’s really not efficient. Your towel may dry but your room won’t be as warm as it could be. It can also be a health hazard as mould can be produced.
We mentioned above that most ladder-style heated towels rails aren’t particularly good at heating your room, but Eskimo’s towel rails aren’t ladder-style and they do a good job of heating any room they’re installed in. Particularly a bathroom.
Our Gordon heated towel rail for example, which comes in two different sizes and four colours, features vertical rails instead of ladder rungs. This provides more surface area, which is part of the reason why double Gordon is excellent at heating your bathroom. It’s also very energy-efficient, which is why it can dry towels three time quicker than standard heated ladder-style rails, while using no more electricity.
Plus, we should mention that Gordon is stylish and, dare we say, pretty sexy looking. You may want to install a Gordon in your bathroom just for its looks, but you’ll soon fall in love with the way it can dry and warm your towels. Find out more about Gordon Heated Towel Rail on the Eskimo website.
