Towel Warmer - Hydronic vs. Electric

[durhas]

building a new house that will have 2 towel warmers.

would you either:

a. have an electric model

b have a hydronic model

if hydronic, would you ever hook this into the hot water recirc system so it would not need to depend on the bathroom radiant heat to be warm? i guess the downside would be that the bathroom might be warm in the summer months as the recirc keeps hot water running through the towel warmer and the bathroom gets heated up by default.

any ideas?

[Collin]

We do it both ways, if you go off the water heater make sure you buy a towel warmer suitable for potable water, otherwise you have to install a heat exchanger.

[heatpumpguru]

I installed it so when the shower or bath comes on the water flows through the rack.

[cem-bsee]

you must be in shower a LONG time!

I would use elec --

[heatpumpguru]

No we took the copper exposed and made the rack out out that,it is a steam shower so you stay alittle longer.

[craig1]

I have been looking at them recently and have found that in general the Hydronic models offer alot more BTUs (in most cases double) However the electric models are much more flexible. for example, you can use it during the summer without haveing to run the boiler. now, running it off of the domestic hot water heater is an interesting option i never thought of, but if you do that, you have to make sure its rated for potable water link collin said

[cem-bsee]

so, one is going to install a system which constantly wastes energy -- just for a "warm" towel?

NOT me!

do you light your cigars with dollar bills?

[Midwest]

In your case, maybe an electric towel warmer might be better suited for a few reasons. You won't have to worry about overheating a room in cooling seasons. If you shut off water supply to a hot water towel warmer for cooling season times, you could be at risk for Legionare's Disease or other problems created by stagnant water. Elecatrical control is a simple off/on switch and the ones I've seen have a light to tell when it is operating, telling you at a glance if it is on when not intended. Unless one takes interminally long showers, the normal time water is running would do little to heat a towel to a comfy level. This is my opinion and someone else may offer quality arguments for connecting a towel warmer to a hot water line instead.

[Collin]

Originally posted by cem-bsee
so, one is going to install a system which constantly wastes energy -- just for a "warm" towel?

NOT me!

do you light your cigars with dollar bills?

Huh?

Sounds like the OP is already installing a re-circ line so what's the big deal?

Durhas: Sounds like you are building a nice house. Are you installing the Vitoden Viesmanns? (high efficiency wall mounted boilers)