Which Shower Do I Have? A Simple Guide to Shower Types

Understanding which shower type you can have can often be a tricky process. We explain the four main shower types to help you identify which shower you have installed.

Electric Showers

Electric showers can often be confused with power showers. Although similar in design to a power shower with its white exterior, an electric shower only uses a cold water supply and heats your water by running it over the built-in element, in the same way as a kettle.

Mira electric showers will typically have an on/off push button and 3 power settings often described as Low, Medium and High or Low, Eco & High. The second, lower dial is the flow control which allows you to control the flow and temperature of the water. As you go from a cooler temperature (indicated by the blue) to a warmer temperature (indicated by the red) the flow will reduce to allow the shower to heat the water.

View our range of electric showers.

Power Showers

A power shower works in a very different way to an electric shower. They take water from both your hot and cold water supplies and mixes them together to create your desired temperature. Within a power shower there is an integral pump which is designed to increase the water flow and improve your showering experience and therefore is a little noisier due to the pump working. Power showers can be used when homes have a low-pressure gravity fed water system and can be either thermostatically or manually controlled.

Mira power showers will typically have 1 or 2 main controller knobs but feature separate temperature and flow controls (the dials may be one in front of the other).

View our range of power showers.

Mixer Showers

Often fully chrome in appearance, mixer showers take water from your hot and cold supplies, combining them to create the perfect temperature. Often found installed in households if you have lots of stored hot water or if you have a high-pressure system. A mixer shower should give you a more powerful flow than an electric shower.

Within mixer showers we do have specific types:
 
Exposed Valve (EV) – The shower control is mounted on the wall. The shower typically comes complete with showerhead, hose, clamp bracket and slide bar.

Exposed Bar Valve (EV) – A bar valve has separate on/off and temperature controls. Wall-mounted, it's complete with showerhead, hose, clamp bracket and slide bar.

Exposed Rigid Diverter or Dual Outlet (ERD) – The shower control and deluge over showerhead are both mounted on the wall on a single riser bar. The shower also has a second adjustable showerhead/handset.

Exposed Rigid Valve (ER) – The shower control and deluge showerhead are both mounted on the wall on a single riser bar. A simple, minimalist look.

Built-In Valve (BIV) – The shower valve is built into the wall for a clean finish, complete with showerhead, hose, right-angled hose connector, clamp bracket and slide bar.

Built-In Rigid Valve (BIR) – The shower valve/control and showerhead are both built into the wall. There’s no hose or slide bar, creating a minimalist look.

View our range of mixer showers.

Digital Showers

Precise control at the touch of a button. Like mixer showers, digital showers take water from your hot and cold supplies and digitally mix them to create your ideal temperature.

Wireless digital showers give you added flexibility, as the controller talks wirelessly to the digital mixer valve. This means you can choose where you position your shower controller. An additional shower controller can be purchased, and positioned up to 10m away from the valve, meaning you can even put it next to your bed for additional comfort and ease. Wired digital showers, such as the Mira Mode, offer you the same digital technology as wireless digital showers, just with a different installation.

View our range of smart and digital showers.

If you need any further help identifying your shower please see our Identifying Shower Model/Product Name & Product Code article.