NICEIC · BS 7671 Bathroom Zoning · Mira / Triton / Aqualisa
Electrical scope from £280 (8.5kW), £320 (9.5kW most popular), £380 (10.8kW premium flow). Dedicated 32A to 50A circuit, IP-rated pull cord, BS 7671 zoned install. Mira, Triton, Aqualisa, Bristan, Nuheat all installed.
Existing fuse box old? May trigger consumer unit upgrade.
The single biggest decision
The kW rating is the most important shower decision. It determines flow rate, cable size, breaker rating, and whether your existing consumer unit can take it. Get this right first, then choose the brand.
Best for: Bathrooms used by 1 to 2 people, mains pressure 2 bar+, when budget matters more than max flow rate
Adequate for short showers. Will run cooler in winter when incoming cold water is colder. Cheaper to install (cable size).
Cheapest. Shower from £80 + electrical scope from £280.
Best for: Standard family bathroom, mains pressure 1.5 bar+, the most common UK choice
Comfortable winter showers, good flow. Most popular rating sold in UK. Moderate install cost.
Most popular. Shower from £120 + electrical scope from £320.
Best for: High-end bathrooms, owner wants premium flow, modern Fraserburgh new build with sufficient supply
Strongest flow, near-power-shower performance. May trigger consumer unit upgrade if existing board is full. Highest install cost.
Premium. Shower from £180 + electrical scope from £380 (often £450 with consumer unit work).
Why a dedicated circuit
An electric shower running on full draws 32A to 50A continuously for the duration of the shower. That's 7,360W to 11,500W. Compare to a kettle: 13A intermittent. A washing machine: 13A peak, falling fast. An oven on full: 16A on a 32A circuit it shares with the hob.
This is why electric showers always need their own dedicated circuit running directly from the consumer unit. Sharing the circuit with anything else would either trip the breaker constantly or overload the cable creating a fire risk. The shower also needs its own RCD or RCBO (residual current device) for shock protection in the wet zone.
Cable size matters. 8.5kW: 6mm twin-and-earth. 9.5kW: 10mm twin-and-earth. 10.8kW: 10mm or sometimes 16mm depending on cable run length. Undersized cable can pass a quick test then overheat under sustained load and cause fire. We size correctly for the shower kW first, then verify cable run length with a voltage-drop calculation.
The regulatory bit
BS 7671 18th Edition Amendment 2 requires every electric shower to be isolatable via a switch that doesn't require you to enter the bathroom while the shower is running. Two ways to achieve this.
The pull cord must be 50A rated to handle the shower load. Brands we use: Mira (their own branded one), Hager Sollysta, MK Logic Plus. The cord itself is length-cut on site to suit the user height (3 feet typical, longer on tall ceilings). Pull cord position must respect bathroom zones: outside Zone 1, IP44 minimum, mounted away from direct shower spray exposure.
5 mainstream brands
Brand of the shower itself. We install all 5. Pick on price + reliability + tile fit (mounting hole spacing varies). The electrical scope is the same regardless of brand.
Mira
£120 to £280
Sport, Vie, Galena. UK heritage brand, the safest default. Mira make the most reliable electric showers in the UK market. 2 year manufacturer warranty.
Triton
£100 to £220
T80, Aspirante, Omnicare (disability). Solid mid-range, broad model range, easy parts availability. UK-focused brand.
Aqualisa
£180 to £380
Quartz Electric, Aspire. Mid-to-premium, sleek modern designs popular in renovation projects.
Bristan
£90 to £180
Joy, Glee, Bliss. Budget to mid-range. Decent reliability, common in landlord properties.
Nuheat / Galaxy
£70 to £140
Mid-range. Reasonable quality, lower-cost alternative to Mira if budget tight.
What we recommend most: Mira Sport 9.5kW for a typical Fraserburgh family bathroom. Reliable, good flow, parts available locally, comes in at the right price point. If budget is the constraint, Bristan Joy 8.5kW. If aesthetic matters, Aqualisa Quartz Electric or a higher-end Mira Vie.
The Fraserburgh water angle
Fraserburgh's mains water comes in cold. Properly cold. In winter, incoming water temperature at the harbour is 4 to 7°C, at the inland AB43 boundaries it's 5 to 9°C. Compare to a south UK incoming temperature of 9 to 12°C in winter. That's a 4 to 7°C swing the shower needs to make up to deliver a comfortable shower temperature of 38 to 42°C.
An 8.5kW shower can heat that much water comfortably at low flow rates, but a family of 4 wanting back-to-back showers on a January morning will struggle. Higher kW = higher heating capacity = better winter shower experience. We recommend 9.5kW as the default for Fraserburgh family bathrooms (vs 8.5kW that might be sufficient further south).
Mains water pressure also matters. Fraserburgh harbour-front properties sometimes run at 1.2 to 1.5 bar (lower than the typical 2 to 3 bar). Below 1.5 bar the shower's flow drops regardless of kW rating. We test pressure during the survey and recommend a pumped solution if mains pressure is too low.
Detailed pricing
Electrical scope only (excludes the shower unit itself, which you buy or we source). Includes cable, isolator, RCBO breaker if needed, pull cord, mounting, testing, certificate.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| 8.5kW shower install (6mm cable, 32A breaker) | from £280 |
| 9.5kW shower install (10mm cable, 40A breaker, most popular) | from £320 |
| 10.8kW shower install (10mm or 16mm cable, 45A breaker) | from £380 |
| Like-for-like replacement (existing circuit, same kW) | from £180 |
| Pull cord switch isolator only (no full shower work) | from £85 |
| Consumer unit upgrade if existing board is full | from £550 |
| Granite cottage uplift (chasing thicker walls) | +£80 |
What's NOT included: the shower unit itself (£70 to £380 depending on brand and rating), tile cutting if mounting hole differs, consumer unit upgrade if triggered (we quote separately when needed).
Common questions
All three deliver the same shower experience at the same temperature, but the higher-kW models heat more water per second so the flow rate is faster. 8.5kW: about 3.5 L/min in winter. 9.5kW: about 4.5 L/min. 10.8kW: about 5.5 L/min. Higher-kW also requires thicker cable (10mm vs 6mm) and a higher-rated breaker (40A or 45A vs 32A). For a typical Fraserburgh family bathroom, 9.5kW is the sweet spot.
Yes, always. Electric showers draw 32A to 50A continuously while running, which is more current than any other domestic appliance. They cannot share a circuit with anything else. Cable runs directly from the consumer unit to the shower's pull cord switch, then to the shower unit. Total dedicated circuit. The cable size depends on the shower kW rating (6mm for 8.5kW, 10mm for 9.5kW and most 10.8kW installs).
BS 7671 requires an isolation switch that's accessible without entering the bathroom, OR a pull-cord ceiling switch fitted IP-rated within the bathroom. Most installs use a 50A pull-cord ceiling switch (Mira, Hager, MK all make them) inside the bathroom but outside Zone 1 (the area directly above the shower). This lets you isolate the shower without touching the consumer unit. The pull cord is part of every install.
Replacement of an existing electric shower with the same kW rating: 2 to 3 hours. New install (no existing shower circuit, dedicated cable run from consumer unit): 4 to 6 hours including chasing cable, fitting the pull cord, mounting the shower, and testing. Combi or hot water tank conversion to electric shower: 5 to 7 hours because the existing pipework needs adjusting.
Depends on the existing consumer unit. Most modern consumer units have a spare way for a new 32A or 40A circuit and are happy to add a shower. Older Fraserburgh boards (pre-2008, Wylex split-load era) often don't have the spare capacity or the right RCD protection. About 30% of new electric shower installs in older AB43 properties trigger a consumer unit upgrade. We assess this in the survey and quote both jobs together if needed.
Cold incoming mains water + electric shower kW rating not high enough. In Fraserburgh winter, mains water at the harbour comes in at 4 to 7°C. An 8.5kW shower struggles to heat that much water to 38°C+ at the same time as flowing fast. Two solutions: either accept slower flow on coldest mornings, or upgrade to a 9.5kW or 10.8kW shower (which means new cable + breaker + possibly consumer unit upgrade). We assess the supply during the survey.
If your existing shower failed (heating element burnt out, pressure switch broken, casing cracked), most customers replace like-for-like with the same model from the same brand to minimise tile / wall changes. We can swap a Mira Sport for a Mira Sport in 2 to 3 hours, no tile damage. If you want to upgrade to a higher-kW or different brand with different mounting holes, expect minor tile work or a small panel install over the old hole.
Pumped showers: the pump is a separate dedicated circuit from us, plus the shower itself usually runs on hot water from the boiler not direct electric. Different scope. Mixer showers (no electric heating, just temperature control): no electrical work needed for the shower itself, just lighting and ventilation. Combi-fed instant electric showers: same install as a standard electric shower. We do all variants but need to know which type to quote correctly.
From £280 (8.5kW), £320 (9.5kW most popular), £380 (10.8kW premium). Mira, Triton, Aqualisa, Bristan, Nuheat. Pull cord IP-rated, BS 7671 zoned install.
