Electric shower vs mixer shower: which suits your home?

Electric shower vs mixer shower comes down to where the water is heated. An electric shower heats cold mains water in its own unit on the wall as it flows; a mixer shower blends hot water from your boiler or cylinder with cold. Mixers usually give more flow, while an electric shower doesn't use your hot-water system at all.

This guide compares how each works, which gives the stronger shower, what the running-cost figures say, what switching involves and which heads fit. For filter heads in general, see our complete guide to filter shower heads in the UK.

We sell a filter shower head that isn't confirmed for electric showers, so read us as an interested party: every figure here links to its source.

Electric shower vs mixer shower: how does each heat the water?

An electric shower heats cold mains water inside its own unit as the water passes through. A mixer shower takes hot water from your boiler or cylinder and blends it with cold, and a power shower is a mixer with a pump built in.

An electric-shower maker's 2025 installation guide lists the supply for its shower as mains-pressure cold water only. Its heating elements run at a constant rate for the power setting you choose, so the flow sets the temperature: the slower the flow, the hotter the water.

A shower maker's 2021 guide to UK water systems describes a mixer shower as having a hot and a cold feed going into the valve in the wall. A power shower mixes separate hot and cold feeds in the same way, but has a pump in the unit to boost performance on low pressure.

Electric or mixer: which suits your home?

An electric shower suits a home that wants hot water at the shower without drawing on the boiler or cylinder. A mixer suits a home with a combi boiler or a high-pressure cylinder, where the hot water arrives at good pressure.

• Combi boiler: fed at mains pressure, a combi can give a powerful shower without an extra pump, the water systems guide says. Mixers typically suit combi and high-pressure systems.
• High-pressure (unvented) cylinder: fed from the mains, it can deliver stored hot water at higher pressure than a combi, the same guide says.
• Gravity-fed system: a cold-water tank in the loft typically gives low pressure, and the guide suggests a power shower there.
• Any of the three: an electric shower runs on cold mains water only, so it can work alongside any of them, provided your mains pressure meets its manual.

Not sure which system or shower you have? Our guide to the types of shower in the UK and the hot water systems behind them shows how to tell them apart, and which showers suit each system.

Pressure and flow: which gives the stronger shower?

A mixer shower on a good supply usually gives more flow than an electric shower. The Consumer Council for Water puts a power or mixer shower at around 15 litres a minute and an electric shower at 6.

CCW's page on household water use (updated April 2025) draws its averages from Water Mark 2024, Discover Water and Waterwise. They are averages, not ratings for any one shower.

Pressure and flow are different things. The water systems guide describes pressure as the force of the water through the pipes and flow as the volume delivered, and says that the lower the pressure, the worse the flow.

An electric shower has a limit of its own, because its heater works at a fixed rate for each power setting. The 2025 electric-shower guide says mains water is cooler in winter than in summer, so the flow at any one temperature setting varies between seasons.

For full performance, the same guide asks for at least 1.0 bar at 8 litres a minute for most power ratings, and 1.5 bar at 11 litres a minute for the 10.5 kW model.

In practice, an electric shower trades flow for heat, most of all in winter, while a mixer's flow depends on the pressure your hot-water system delivers.

Running costs: is an electric shower cheaper than a mixer?

Neither type of shower is cheaper in every home. An electric shower's running cost follows from its power rating, your minutes and your electricity rate, while a mixer's depends on your boiler, your gas rate and how much hot water it uses.

Ofgem's price cap for 1 October to 31 December 2026 sets the average electricity unit rate at 26.32p per kWh and the average gas rate at 7.97p per kWh. Both apply to a standard variable tariff paid by Direct Debit, averaged across England, Scotland and Wales. The gas figure includes VAT at 5%; the electricity figure has none, because the government has removed VAT from electricity bills from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027.

Per kWh, then, gas costs less than electricity. But a mixer usually runs more water: at CCW's averages, around 15 litres a minute against 6 for an electric shower, and on a water meter you pay for the water as well.

To estimate an electric shower's energy cost, multiply its rating in kW by the minutes, divide by 60 and multiply by your unit rate. A gas-heated shower takes more steps; our guide to how much a shower costs in the UK works through both, with water charges.

One shower maker, which sells both types, said in May 2026, using April to June 2026 prices, that an electric shower is often more cost-effective than a gas combi for one person taking short showers, under 8 minutes. In larger households where the boiler is already running, it said, a mixer is usually cheaper overall.

Can you swap an electric shower for a mixer, or the reverse?

Swapping one type of shower for the other is more than a like-for-like change: a mixer needs a hot supply at the valve, and an electric shower needs its own high-power circuit. Both are jobs for qualified installers.

The 2025 electric-shower guide says installation must be carried out by a suitably qualified person. It adds that a 30 mA residual current device (RCD) must be installed in all UK electric and pumped shower circuits. Its circuit breaker ratings run from 32 A for the 7.5 kW model to 45 A for the 10.5 kW model.

Another maker's 2012 guide for an electric shower calls its 7.5 kW to 10.8 kW models high-power appliances, subject to conditional connection. If the main electrical fuse is rated below 80 A, it says, the local electricity company must confirm the supply is adequate. Ask your electrician what applies to your home today.

GOV.UK lists changing electrics near a bath or shower among the jobs that might need building regulations approval, unless you use someone registered with a competent person scheme. This covers England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules.

Going the other way, from electric to mixer, means bringing a hot supply to the shower, because an electric shower is fed with cold water only. Ask a plumber whether your hot-water system suits a mixer, or a power shower, before you choose.

Which shower heads fit an electric or a mixer shower?

Which shower heads fit depends on the type: on an electric shower, don't fit a filter head unless the shower's manufacturer confirms in writing that one can be fitted to your model; some makers allow only their own head and hose. On a mixer with a hose outlet, check the connection, your flow and the manual.

The 2025 electric-shower guide says the outlet acts as a vent and must not be connected to anything other than the hose and shower head supplied. The 2012 guide says not to connect the outlet to any showerhead other than those specified for that shower.

That matters most for a filter shower head, which puts a cartridge in the water's path. Rather than repeat it here, our guide on whether you can use a filter shower head with an electric shower sets out what the manuals say and a five-minute check.

For a mixer or power shower, check that your current hose unscrews from the outlet, that the connection matches and that your flow is good. Our guide to shower head thread sizes shows how to check the connection. Our own thread size isn't confirmed yet, so contact us if you're unsure the kit will fit.

What the figures don't tell you

The figures in this guide are averages and published rates, not measurements of your shower. Your pressure, your boiler, your tariff and your habits decide what you actually get and pay.

• Flow: CCW's 15 and 6 litres a minute are averages; your own shower may differ.
• Electric costs: the kW sum assumes the shower runs at its full rating; a lower power setting or another tariff changes the result.
• Mixer costs: no single figure exists without your boiler, your gas rate and your flow.
• Manuals: we quote two electric-shower guides, not every model; the one for your unit is the one that counts.

If a figure matters to a decision, check it against your own bills, your shower's manual or an installer's survey.

Where Waterhush fits

The Waterhush Shower Kit is a handheld filter shower head on its own 1.5 m hose, so it needs a shower with a hose outlet. Many mixer and power showers have one, but the kit's thread size isn't confirmed yet, so contact us if you're unsure it will fit.

If you have an electric shower, don't fit the kit unless its manufacturer confirms in writing that a filter head can be fitted to your model. With a mixer or power shower, or if you aren't sure what you have: Is it right for your shower? Check in three questions.

The bottom line

An electric shower heats cold mains water itself and works without your boiler, but gives less flow, especially in winter. A mixer uses your boiler's hot water and usually gives more flow, if your system has the pressure. Neither is cheaper everywhere: gas costs less per kWh, but a mixer uses more water. Check your water system and your shower's manual before changing the head.