Advice needed: heating for bathroom.

sneakersss · May 25, 2007 2:07 pm

I need some advice, please!

I somehow neglected (or maybe forgot or overlooked :shock:

) heating options for our bathroom during all our pre-construction phase. Now, I've realised we don't have any heating in the bathroom. Doh!

What other options do I have to heat our bathroom?

I'm considering those heated hydronic towel rails but am told it starts at around 1k. I wouldn't have a problem with that but it just seems kind of steep. I've also considered getting a duct installed so it hooks/connects to the ducted heating system. Problem (or at least what I think is the problem) is that we will be having cooling running through that same duct. I don't really want the cold air to go into the bathroom(s).

But maybe if the cooling is zoned then I can have it zoned so that it doesn't go in the bathrooms? But would the price of getting a couple of extra duct outlets be the same as getting two heated towel rails?

Errr! Me lost! And I feel silly for forgetting about the bathroom. And it's always the room that gets really cold! Doh!

vanderlay · May 25, 2007 2:14 pm

What about a IXL tastic or similar - heat/fan/light? Probably the cheapest way of doing it.

mattwalker · May 25, 2007 2:16 pm

I personally would run ducting off the existing. buy the component yourself and install them yourself too.... save a fortune!

As for zoning thats big $$$$

If you buy ceiling vents with a shut off mechanism perhaps that could be a cheaper option.

Or you could just leave the door open?

Matt

Sallyho · May 25, 2007 2:20 pm

My thoughts are the same as Vanderlay. What about tastics?

Yak_Chat · May 25, 2007 2:52 pm

Melbourne -A heated towel rail will be realy nice, and it keeps the chill off the room. Electric ones are cheap to run and it's nice to have a dry towel, :lol:

Then put in a 2, 3 or 4 infra red fantastic tastic depending on your room size. Talk toyour sparky, they'll tell you which model for the size of your bathroom and the ceiling height.
Then you are only heating the room when you need it heated and they work very quickly.
Steve

sneakersss · May 25, 2007 3:25 pm

Thanks for the responses guys.

We asked our builder to have those tastic type heaters installed when we had our electrical appointment. But, the electrical person stopped us because apparently it wasn't very energy efficient. Something about it causing a draft or letting air in and out. Or something like that. But can't remember exactly.

Aesthetically, I don't really like them. Although, who really looks up when they go into a bathroom? :lol:

But they do work really well which is cool.

parker · May 25, 2007 4:44 pm

I personally dont like the type of heat from teh tastic lamps... I like the actual air to be warm. I dont think there is an efficient way to acheive that though. In my current old ******* house I use a little space heater thing (you know, a toaster with a fan

) but I dont want that in my new place.

Yak_Chat · May 25, 2007 5:30 pm

Yes the tastics would be bad for letting air through them.
Some ceiling exhaust fans have a lid that closes when the fan is not being used or you can buy them as an after market thing for this purpose,

The T lamps get very hot and they need to leave a lot of space around them to keep the bulb fitting cool and this gap is not closed off when the light is not in use. Hence they let lots of air up through them and out of your house into the ceiling space. (Reverse in summer)

Try the towel dryer.
You'll be surprised how warm the room remains when you close the door and the towel dryer is on 24 x 7.

vpande · Jun 09, 2007 9:23 am

I am at the decision making stage for this one. The builder charges 400 odd bucks for the ixl which I felt was too much. Is it possible to fix those in place of light battens? is it straight forward for the sparky or does it need special connections? As with a towel rail, can it be left on 24/7 in winter? what about energy efficiency?
cheers,
vp[/quote]

Casa2 · Jun 09, 2007 1:29 pm

vpande,

With regard to replacing a light batten with an IXL, the main problem I see is that the IXL has two things to switch (heat and light). If you replace the light batton with an IXL then the heat is always on when the lights are on (summer nights :shock:

).

If your builder will wire up a second switch and just terminate it (leave it hanging (and insultated) then you can always tap into it later).

With regard to a heated towl rail, I have one and it draws 60 W. Now if I leave it on all day that's 1.44 kW per day. Our entire householod uses 10 kW per day, so adding another 1.44 kW would increase our energy usage by 14%. Have a few of these and suddenly... I therefore have my towel rack off all the time.

I think the IXL is the most energy effecient method since although it draws a lot of power, it's only one for a short time. An alternative would be to put your towel rack on a timer and have it switch on four hours before you shower and leave it on for 1 hour after. I'm not sure if four hours of 60 W heating will raise the bathroom temperature by much, but at least your towel will be warm when you go to use it. The one hour after use ensures the towel is nice and dry thereby stopping goobies (to use the technical term) from growing.

Cheers,
Casa

royalblue · Jun 09, 2007 2:10 pm

The radiant heat given off by the IXL Tastic units is not the greatest. Very intense directly beneath and not that efficient generally.

There is another possible option that has a lot of practical value, although I think some wouldn't like it. Having a small floorstanding dehumidifier. The principal purpose of these is to remove moisture from the air, and condense it into an onboard container. A by-product of its operation though is to produce warm air. So when operating, it will generate a gentle flow of dry warm air that will take the chill out of the room and have the added benefit of removing excess moisture. This in tern reduces problems such as mould and odours. If its a small bathroom though, it may be annoying having it sitting there and I guess it isn't exactly the most attractive thing.

Another suggestion to make it more friendly is to have a carpet loose-fitted on the floor. This way you could have it there during winter and take it up in summer or for cleaning. Its important though, that the carpet is totally synthetic, including the backing materials. A carpet store should be able to advise what types are available. I'd go for a plush pile polyester or polypropylene or solution dyed nylon, with an 'actionbak' (polypropylene secondary backing.

Ash.

PS Another downer with the IXL types is the bank of switches is normally mounted near the door. A lot of people will turn on a switch and the room lights up and go in. Unless the purposely reach for the correct switch, in many cases it is the heater they turn on inadvertently. So there can be a lot of wasted energy with these. They are not energy efficient generally.

vpande · Jun 09, 2007 10:41 pm

Thank you Casa and Ash. I am using the carpet method right now. I have series of mats like stepping stones.. and do not feel the cold as much. I will go for the towel rail method with timer switch for the new house. I will have to ask the builder to provide a plug point for heated towel rails. The timer switch idea sounds good especially in the kids bathroom.
thank you,
VP

commodorenut · Jun 13, 2007 12:02 am

We recently looked at an open house that had a raked ceiling with exposed feature rafters in most of the house, including the main bathroom (and thus had no room for a tastic).

They had mounted on the beams what looked like PAR38 spotlight bulb holders (like you get on the DIY sensor lights) with infra-red heat lamps screwed into them.

Another possibility for heat without venting all the warmth out the tastic hole.

Michelle · Jun 13, 2007 12:16 am

How big is your bathroom?

I have the Heat / lighting and most of the time need to turn it off because I find it too hot, and it’s only a 2 light heating one. I find it more than adequate for my bathroom….but it’s a small room.

Dukekamaya · Jun 13, 2007 1:36 pm

IXL have new models which stop the heat loss etc. There also models with ducting for the fan rather than sending it up into the roof space.