Turning the shower temperature up in the Winter

mrochester

mrochester

mrochester

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Hi guys,

I have a basic electric shower with a 1-9 temperature range. During the winter I find I have to turn the temperature up, and I'm trying to figure out why. Could it be

a) the incoming cold supply is much colder during winter, so the shower needs to be on a higher setting to achieve the same water temperature I'm used to?

b) the 'winter effect' makes my body crave a hotter temperature?

c) something else?

Thanks!
 
I think it's option A as you should notice that the water out your cold taps is a lot colder now than in the summer after its been running for a few moments.
 
I do the same thing, a mixture of option A and B - I also notice because my basic shower isn't power-shower, when I turn the temperature up, the flowrate is slower - even when I turn it back down to the usual temperature, the flow rate is still pants.

I blame it on the water supplier.
 
Mixture of A and B as previously said. But to be honest, I always like my showers as hot as possible, coming out bright red, so sometimes in the winter I can't get it high enough haha.
 
Unless you have a cheap shower. It'll be down to your body wanting to warm up. Just like in the summer you will have a cold shower to cool down.
 
ours has hot and cold taps, its normaly hot on full and cold ever so slightly on, its now hot on full and cold ever so slightly more on.
without cold the water is boiling but with like a 2mm twist of cold it becomes freezing
 
mrochester said:
a) the incoming cold supply is much colder during winter, so the shower needs to be on a higher setting to achieve the same water temperature I'm used to?

b) the 'winter effect' makes my body crave a hotter temperature?
Click to expand...

A combination of option a and b.

AcidHell2 said:
Unless you have a cheap shower. It'll be down to your body wanting to warm up.
Click to expand...

Sorry man, but most electric showers dont work like that. They generally allow water to pass through an electrically heated heat exchanger. By restricting the water flow and slowing down the rate at which water is expelled through the shower head, the water can stay in the heat exchanger for longer, allowing it to be heated to a higher temperature. This means that when you request a higher temperature, the water flow reduces. Conversely, if you request a colder temperature, the flow rate increases.

Now, if the mains cold water temperature is lower (which is it is in Winter), then the temperature of the water expelled (for a given temp setting), will be lower, too. To counter this, we must increase the water temp setting on the shower unit, which in turn reduces the water flow, allowing the water to stay in the heat exchanger for longer.

Hence, for any given temperature setting on the shower unit, the temperature of the water expelled by the shower head will be colder in Winter than it is in Summer.

The above would not apply if you are using some advanced electric shower unit that monitors the temperature at the 'output end of the shower' and automatically controls the flow rate. However, even with such a unit, you will notice a drop in flow rate.
 
utajoker said:
ours has hot and cold taps, its normaly hot on full and cold ever so slightly on, its now hot on full and cold ever so slightly more on.
without cold the water is boiling but with like a 2mm twist of cold it becomes freezing
Click to expand...

Is that an electric shower system, ie. the water is heated by an electrically powered heat exchanger?
 
I'd say A. I'd think the opposite of B would be true - you don't need as hot a shower as the ambient temperature is cooler, so water would feel hotter than it actually is.
 
I turned the shower up today, felt like it was burning my skin but felt nice as it made me feel so nice and warm.
 
Always assumed it's A as the water from the cold taps is really icy this time of year, whereas in the summer it's almost warm.

Then again it also depends on the type of shower.
 
utajoker said:
its part of the bath ive no idea, i didnt put it in, just flick a lever and it switches between bath taps and shower head
Click to expand...

I doubt that's electric then. The water is almost certainly being heated using a gas boiler. Electric showers work slightly differently to what you have.
 
A, entirely. B, if present, would probably act in the opposite direction; your body responds to heat in a relative fashion - when you are colder you will feel cooler things as warmer and vice-versa.
 
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