Do Heated Towel Rails Use a Lot of Electricity?
Heated towel rails may seem to be a luxury for those who can afford it, but this is a myth. They are far more useful than just keeping your towel toasty warm in the morning, heated towel rails offer a range of other benefits. Check out the blog below to find out how much electricity some of our heated towel rails use.
Electricity Output for Your Heated Towel Rail Style
To get an understanding of the true cost of heated towel rails, let’s take a look at the different styles and their electrical output.
Standard Ladder Heated Towel Rail
The most common style of heated towel rail is the wall mounted ladder-style. This is perfect for bathrooms with multiple users and towels.
COST OF ELECTRICITY USED
If we take Hydrotherm’s H2 Series Heated Towel Rail, it has an output of 70 – 200 Watts. Therefore, costing you roughly $328 a year to run (@ 25c/kW) for 24 hours a day.
While that sounds like a lot at first, most households do not run their heated towel rails all day for a whole year. Hydrotherm’s innovative heating elements are immersed in water to ensure a consistent temperature, these elements a thermostatically controlled to maintain the temperature without the need to continually draw power. With some rails you can set an automatic timer to program the towel rail to turn on and off at times to suit your shower times. For example, you can schedule the towel rail to turn on at 6AM for your shower at 7AM, then automatically switch off at 8AM after the towel has been dried. This can be applied to your evening routine. With your morning and evening shower, you will have only had your heated towel rail turned on for 4 hours of the day – that’s only $25.50 for a whole year!
Vertical Tube
Looking for a neat way to heat your towels while also having them toast warm? Vertical tube heated towel rails are clean and contemporary in design. It makes hanging a towel easy-breezy.
COST OF ELECTRICITY USED
Hydrotherm’s Tube & Robe Hook Heated Towel Rail has only an output of 40 Watts. Over a year for 24 hours straight (at 25c/kW), it would cost you only $87. It is by far the cheapest in electricity usage due to the size of the rail at only $14.60 for a whole year, 4 hours a day.
Floor to Ceiling Heated Towel Rail
For the ultimate luxury and statement piece in your bathroom, consider a floor to ceiling heated towel rail. It offers plenty of rails to hang your towels freely, fit for the entire family.
COST OF ELECTRICITY USED
If we use Hydrotherm’s Floor to Ceiling Heated Towel Rail as an example, you should expect a significantly higher use in electricity due to the size of the towel rail in comparison to the other models. At 250-300 watt, you may be paying around $600 if you were to be running it 24 hours for the entire year. As mentioned previously, there will be large intervals where you will not be running your heated towel rail throughout the year. Therefore, a more realistic estimation would be $75.28 for a whole year at 3 hours per day for this specific model of heated towel rail.
For the majority of heated towel rails, it costs around than $0.01 to run per hour, which is around the same cost as a light bulb. Similarly, you won’t be leaving a light bulb running 24 hours, 365 days of the year.
Freestanding Heated Towel Rail
Opt for a freestanding heated towel rail if you do not want to compromise wall space and maximising functionality. Similar to the wall-mounted ladder style, the freestanding style offers multiple bars however, it is mounted in the ground of the bathroom. It is the ideal combination of aesthetics and functionality.
COST OF ELECTRICITY USED
Hydrotherm’s Freestanding Heated Towel Rail offers the best of both worlds, that is, luxurious style without excessive electricity usage.
With an output of 100 – 150 watts, expect a bill of around $270 if you were to have it running 24 hours a day for an entire year. For 4 hours a day for a year, it will be $45.
Is running a heated towel rail expensive?
If turned on at appropriate times and turned off regularly, your heated towel rail is no more expensive than running a lightbulb, depending on what type of model you install. However, many homeowners do not take into consideration the money they could be saving in water and electricity bills when using a heated towel rail. Heated towel rails will not only warm your towel for drying after the shower, but it will also reduce mould growth and dampness. As a result, you will be washing your towel far less than usual.
Thinking about purchasing a heated towel rail?
Just Bathroomware is here to guide you in the right direction when it comes to choosing the perfect heated towel rail for your home. We offer a range of beautiful contemporary styles to complement the interior of your bathrooms. Contact us today to learn more about our heated towel rails or visit our showroom to purchase.