Quick answer
A mixer shower is best if you have good hot water and pressure — it gives a stronger, more luxurious flow. An electric shower is best where hot water is limited or you want a shower that works even when the boiler’s off, since it heats cold water on demand. The right choice depends entirely on your plumbing, not on which is “better” in the abstract.
How each one actually works
The difference is simple once you know it. A mixer shower blends hot and cold water from your existing supply — so it relies on your boiler or hot water cylinder to provide the hot. A electric shower takes only the cold feed and heats it itself as it passes through, using a built-in element, much like a kettle. That single distinction drives every advantage and limitation on both sides.
Because a mixer draws on your stored or heated hot water, the flow can be lovely and strong — especially with a combi boiler or a pumped system. Because an electric shower makes its own hot water, it keeps working if your boiler breaks down, and it never runs out mid-shower. Neither is universally better; it’s about matching the shower to the system you’ve got.
Mixer shower — best for flow and feel
- Stronger, more generous flow on a good system
- Works beautifully with a rainfall head and dual outlets
- Stable temperature with a thermostatic valve
- The premium, brochure-look choice
Watch out: on a weak gravity-fed system it can be feeble without a pump, and it stops working if the boiler does.
Electric shower — best for independence
- Heats its own water — works when the boiler’s off
- Never runs out of hot water
- Cheaper to install in many cases
- Energy-efficient as it only heats what you use
Watch out: flow is gentler (the water can only heat so fast), and it needs its own dedicated electrical circuit.
Which suits a Plymouth home?
In practice, most of the renovations we do across Plympton, Peverell and Plymstock go with a thermostatic mixer shower, because plenty of homes here run a combi boiler or a decent pressurised cylinder that gives a strong, steady flow. Paired with a thermostatic valve, you get a stable temperature and that proper, drenching shower experience — see our thermostatic shower guide for why we recommend that valve almost every time.
An electric shower earns its place in specific situations: a second bathroom or en-suite where you don’t want to put extra load on the hot water, a home with a weak or unreliable boiler, or anywhere you value a shower that simply always works. We’ll look at your system honestly and tell you which makes sense — installing an electric shower means a dedicated circuit, which is one reason you need a qualified electrician for the job.
Common questions
Which is cheaper to run?
It depends on your energy tariffs, but an electric shower only heats the water you use, while a mixer draws on water you’ve already paid to heat. For short showers electric can work out efficient; for long ones a gas-heated mixer is often cheaper per shower.
Can I have a rainfall head on an electric shower?
Generally no — electric showers can’t push enough heated water through a large rainfall head. For that drenching feel you want a mixer on a good system, ideally pumped.
Which is best for a walk-in shower?
A thermostatic mixer suits most walk-in showers for the flow and stable temperature — but we’ll match it to your hot water system.
A worked example: matching the shower to the house
Take a common Plymouth scenario — a 1980s Plympton semi with a combi boiler and mains pressure that’s perfectly decent. Here a thermostatic mixer is the easy call: it draws on strong hot and cold feeds, drives a generous head, holds temperature steady, and there’s no need for a separate electrical circuit. That’s the setup we fit most often, and it gives the drenching shower people picture when they plan a new bathroom.
Now take a second scenario — adding an en-suite to a Derriford new-build where the combi is already feeding a family bathroom. Run a mixer off the same boiler and two showers at once can leave both weak. An electric shower sidesteps that entirely: it heats its own cold feed on demand, so it never robs the boiler and always works, even if someone’s running a bath next door. Different problem, different answer — and the reason we ask about the whole house before recommending either.
What each costs to fit and run
On fitting, an electric shower is often the cheaper installation where a suitable cold feed and consumer-unit capacity already exist, though it needs its own dedicated circuit run by a qualified electrician. A mixer is simple to plumb where the hot water’s already there, but a weak system may need a pump, which adds cost. Both sit comfortably within a full bathroom at £4,075–£10,870 in Plymouth — the shower is rarely the line that moves the total, as our bathroom cost guide shows.
On running cost, it comes down to how you heat water and how long you shower. An electric shower only heats what you use, which suits quick, occasional showers; a gas-heated mixer is usually cheaper per shower for longer, daily use. Neither is universally cheaper — it depends on your tariff and habits.
Can I switch from electric to a mixer later?
Usually yes, but it’s not just a swap of the unit — a mixer needs hot and cold feeds to the valve while the electric circuit becomes redundant, and going the other way means running a new dedicated electrical supply. It’s straightforward as part of a wider refit and far messier as a standalone change, so it’s worth deciding at the planning stage. Our FAQs cover the questions that come up most.
Matched to your system
Not sure which shower suits your home?
We’ll check your hot water and pressure and recommend the right shower honestly — then give you a fixed written quote.