How do you heat a bathroom?

The one room with a short, intense need

A bathroom asks for three degrees more than the rest of the home, for twenty minutes, twice a day. No other room has that profile, and it is that profile which should govern the choice of emitter.

Why responsiveness comes first here

A high inertia system has to be held at temperature all day to be warm at seven in the morning. An emitter with no mass reaches the set point within a few tens of minutes and then stops.

The role of programming

Two short periods a day are enough, and a connected thermostat holds them with no intervention. It is the most used function in this room, and it turns an occasional need into a marginal cost.

The walls are taken

Shower, vanity unit, towel rail, storage: almost no free wall run remains. The ceiling is often the only surface available, and it emits towards the zone where people actually stand.

Electrical safety

Installation rules define zones around the bath and the shower, and the equipment fitted must match the zone it sits in. That point belongs to the electrician and is dealt with at design stage.

Mist on the mirror

It comes from a cold surface in contact with air loaded with vapour. A slightly warmed surface no longer condenses, which settles the problem by temperature rather than by ventilation.

The heated mirror is presented on the temperature control page, and damp rooms on the bathroom page.