While we normally start our posts with a summary of what the rest of the content is about, let’s discuss the elephant in the room (or should that be bathroom?) from the get-go. How on earth can a heated towel rail keep you warm in winter?
It’s a fair question, because if you’ve ever owned a heated towel rail you’ll know that while they can be hot to the touch, they don’t provide additional heat. In fact, if they’re the only source of heat in your bathroom, getting naked and taking showers is going to be very uncomfortable!
However, that’s most heated towel rails. And the Gordon heated towel rail is not like most.
The Gordon heated towel rail does provide additional heat
Eskimo Heat’s Gordon towel rail doesn’t look like traditional electric towel rails and it doesn’t operate like them either.
While most have horizontal rails that make them similar to ladders in appearance, and some have vertical rails, Gordon has vertical fins. This gives our heated towel rail a much larger surface area than our competitors’ models. In addition, Gordon is made from aluminium, a power efficient material that is lightweight yet has a high thermal conductivity.
The design of the Gordon heated towel rail, the larger surface area and the materials used means that it does provide additional heat output. In cold climates, it won’t be enough heat for most people, however, it will help to make your bathroom nice and toasty when you need it the most.
Gordon is an energy miser
Given that it does provide additional heat, and the current concerns over energy costs, you might think that Gordon would be expensive to run. Not so. It’s incredibly energy efficient and will not contribute significantly to your bills.
As we determined in a recent post (see Should heated towel rails be left on?), if you left the Gordon heated towel rail on all day it would cost you around $1.73 in electricity. However, if you use a timer and set your unit to only come on when you use the bathroom, it will cost much less.
For most people, having their Gordon on for about two to four hours a day will be easily enough to ensure towels will be dry. For these times, daily running costs would be around 15 cents and 30 cents respectively. That’s a total of $1.05 or $2.10 a week.
Testimonial from a Gordon customer
Consider this testimonial from a Gordon heated towel rail client in NSW. He compares his experiences over three houses that he has built and occupied.
“With our first house the ensuite didn’t have much natural light and air flow, so the room was always damp. We built for a second time and we installed underfloor heating and was very disappointed. It took way too long to heat up and we didn’t feel any benefit from it.
“On this third build I wanted something that took up minimal space and was vertical. Most vertical heated towel rails take up a lot of space because you have to have multiple.
“We went with the Gordon after reading the benefits on the website, and the colour and the quality looked amazing. We had a tradie work on the house and they left the unit on for nine days straight. When I went into the bathroom I could feel that the bathroom was warm, but when I touched the unit it was not overly hot to touch.
“I checked my AGL app to see how much it cost me for the nine days and it was less the $10. It is reassuring that if the unit is left on my house will not burn down and I won’t be hit with a huge electricity bill.”
Did we mention our towel rail dries towels too?
While its energy efficiency and additional heat generating capabilities are important, what really separates Gordon from other electric rails is how quickly it dries towels and bath mats.
The Gordon heated towel rail reaches operating temperature in one-third of the time of most competitors’ models. Plus, it dries towels in around a third of the time of horizontal heated towel rails. We call it flash drying and you can see why!
Not only that, but it can effectively heat and dry up to four large towels and bath mats at a time. The only way to fit four towels on a horizontal electric rail is to fold them over, resulting in even longer drying times.
The other thing you will notice about Gordon is its style. Gordon could be mistaken for a piece of art rather than a heated towel rail.
But don’t let its good looks fool you. Gordon’s ability to dry and warm towels, its energy efficiency and ability to add additional heat to a bathroom will make it one of the most practical investments you can make.
